'He Was So Important For Us Again,' Klopp Credits Forward For Liverpool's 3-0 Win [Watch]

Jurgen Klopp heaped praise on Roberto Firmino, saying he was "so important" for Liverpool after he scored in their 3-0 win against Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday.

Firmino has been on the receiving end of criticism, having managed only 12 goals in 52 competitive appearances for Liverpool last season, whereas, the duo of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane had netted 23 and 22 goals respectively.

Even on Sunday, Firmino repeatedly failed to score during the second half at Anfield, hitting the post twice and seeing a shot cleared off the line. However, the Brazilian redeemed himself and silenced the haters by scoring via James Milner's set-piece. Firmino headed that one effortlessly into the far corner, registering his second goal of the 2020-21 campaign from 13 matches.

Firmino, who is one of the most complete No. 9s, had been struggling to score goals since the beginning of the 2019-20 season. Klopp said the side was happy and relieved after seeing him on the scoresheet Sunday.

"We were really happy and relieved. He deserved it so much. He played a super game, he played a super game, and was so important for us again. You could see in the face of all the players when he scored that everybody thought, 'Yes, exactly the right goalscorer'," the Reds manager said at the post-match press conference.

Leicester's Jonny Evans put Liverpool in the lead with his 21-minute own goal. Diogo Jota then scored a goal for Liverpool before Firmino netted the hosts' third goal of the game.

With the win over Leicester at Anfield, Liverpool are now unbeaten in their last 64 home games in the top –flight (Win – 53 and Draw -11) – the longest such run in the club's history, according to Opta Sports. In the same press conference, Klopp said he was proud of his players for setting a club record.

"Look, my problem is that at the moment I spoke so much about football, I have so much to think about how we can play the next game and things like this. So, it doesn't feel it. Maybe it's not right but there will be a moment, for sure, in the future when I think back – and hopefully, it will be a different number and not only 64. It's absolutely incredible, but it's all about the boys. It's really difficult to achieve something like this but when you think about how tight a lot of games were then it doesn't happen just like this. You have to really dig in for that and the boys did that," added Klopp.

Placed second in the 2020-21 Premier League table, Liverpool are next set to take on Brighton. Before the league fixture, Liverpool will play Atalanta at home in the Champions League on Wednesday.