Let’s call it the Denis Irwin rule, the dictum that when a player is described as underrated so often then it’s probably no longer valid to call him underrated. It’s starting to happen to Roberto Firmino, whose all-round excellence for Liverpool has been recognised much more in recent times. To get more soccer news, you can visit shine news official website.

The 26-year-old’s range of skills defy stereotypes. His Brazilian flair was evident in his ingenious flick for Mo Salah’s goal at St Mary’s, Liverpool’s second in a routine victory, and he has a resting heart-rate when all is manic in the opposition penalty area. Yet Firmino is also one of Liverpool’s best defenders and shows a rare appetite for donkey work. He also scores and makes all kinds of goals – including the first early on against Southampton – is two-footed and subtle in his passing and movements. Firmino might not be underrated but he is certainly unique.
What a strange player Jonjo Shelvey is. He lacks pace, of course, and at times self-control. And yet when the mood is with him he remains a supremely gifted footballer. It is not just his passing, impressive as it can be when he measures a deft seven iron over the top for Dwight Gayle. It is the sense of composure he, counter-intuitively, can offer. There were moments in the final 15 minutes or so at St James’ Park on Sunday when the game became frantic for Newcastle, when they could have allowed themselves to be overwhelmed. But every time the ball came to Shelvey it was as though the stadium breathed a sigh of relief. One floated chip to Kenedy, landed precisely between two defenders, was reminiscent of Phil Mickelson. There were even a couple of well-timed sliding blocks. Temperament and that lack of pace may stop him ascending the highest peaks but Shelvey remains an extremely useful player.
Arsène Wenger’s interpretation of Munch’s scream as Alexandre Lacazette dragged the chance of a last-minute equaliser wide spoke volumes. Then the camera panned in on the striker, who looked as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. This is a difficult period for Arsenal’s last-but-one record-signing striker, usurped for a starting berth by Pierre‑Emerick Aubameyang. Wenger admits Lacazette is struggling for confidence. "Certainly – but he is a good goalscorer. He has gone through difficult periods before. He works hard in training, works on his finishing. It can happen. It is a fraction of a second. Maybe the confidence is not at its highest because he has seen a competitor coming in for him.” Lacazette’s form is a worry as he is the main choice for the Europa League, with Aubameyang suspended. Wenger said: "He scored goals in his whole career. He will score again.”Morgan Schneiderlin came on to a chorus of boos in the comfortable win against Crystal Palace. Sam Allardyce said he was surprised by the reception but was not exactly overflowing with sympathy for the £22m midfielder. "What it says is that for whatever reason they think he should be doing better,” said the Everton manager, who asked the club’s press officer "to have a deeper look into why that happened”. But on social media many Everton fans claimed the boos were for Allardyce’s decision to introduce a defensive midfielder for the injured Idrissa Gueye and not the new £27m striker Cenk Tosun at 3-0. "How could I?” the manager responded. "Putting Tom Davies alongside Wayne Rooney might have meant they made it 3-2 and that would be the last thing we wanted. We had two players off injured in the first half and then another which meant we had to put Morgan on. Had we not had that we would have put those players on, particularly when 3-0 up. But once we got two injuries that was impossible for me to even consider.”

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