Roberto Firmino missed Liverpool’s chance, Sadio Mane and Daniel Sturridge failed

Roberto Firmino missed Liverpool’s chance, Sadio Mane and Daniel Sturridge failed

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Roberto Firmino is one of four players who could play their last game at Anfield for Liverpool this afternoon
There won’t be dry eyes in the house onü Saturday when Liverpool host Aston Villa in their final home game of the season while the Kopites bid farewell to four players who helped them win.
The club confirmed earlier this week that James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will join Roberto Firmino when their contracts expire this summer. Meanwhile, Liverpool announced in their club’s official statement that “the quartet will receive special recognition at Anfield and further tributes will follow on the club’s digital platforms after the end of the season”.
After seeing Gini Wijnaldum and Divock Origi both receive free copies of The Champions Wall and the Belgian also receive a compilation of his greatest moments in red signed by his teammates, one can imagine that the latest quartet leaving Liverpool is something special is granted

But they will also be offered something so many players lacked in this era of modern Reds legends – a chance to bid farewell to a full home crowd with one last performance at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool are considering signing a centre-back as a transfer change

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whether Keita or Oxlade-Chamberlain take the field against Aston Villa. The Guinean has not played since being withdrawn at half-time after the disastrous first-half match against Crystal Palace in February, following an injury sustained during the international break in March which saw him absent from team training.
Meanwhile, Oxlade-Chamberlain has not been in the Liverpool squad since he came on as a substitute in the Reds’ 4-1 defeat at Man City in early April. In his absence, Jurgen Klopp’s side went nine games unbeaten to revive their slim hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
But hopefully it should be a different story for Firmino and Milner, with the fit and available Liverpool vice-captain having made an impressive 41 appearances this season despite being 37 years old now. Such a tally is only exceeded by seven members of the Reds side.
As for the Brazilian, he hasn’t played since Liverpool’s 6-1 win over Leeds United last month through injury but returned to training with the squad earlier this week. His huge serenade to traveling Leicester City fans on Monday night, with the striker merely as a spectator, is just a glimpse of the reception he will receive at Anfield on Saturday, whatever his role.
“We are saying goodbye to four legends in their own right, in different ways and with different stories,” Andy Robertson admitted earlier this week.

Firmino and Milner have made more appearances under Jurgen Klopp than any other player in his entire managerial career (353 and 321 respectively). While injuries ultimately prevented Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain from being all that important to the Reds, all four players will still leave Anfield having won the Champions League, Premier League, FIFA Club World Cup, European Super Cup, of League, FA Cup and Community Shield.
This season may have been a disappointment for Liverpool, but it has nonetheless been a golden era for the club over the past five years. And as the club prepare to say goodbye to their latest departing modern legends, Anfield will have the chance to thank Firmino, Milner, Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain with fitting tributes both on and off the pitch.
It’s not something many others have experienced by leaving the Reds in recent years. While Origi received a guard of honor for his Wolves farewell last May, injury has ruled him out of the game and he will also miss the Champions League final. Meanwhile, Sadio Mane may have known he would overtake Liverpool but did not publicly confirm his plans when he was last on the turf at Anfield. While he would score at least one goal in that final home game against Wolves, he would join Bayern Munich in June after several hints and hints from both sides in the Champions League final.
It was also suspected, but not known, that home cup hero Takumi Minamino would leave the Reds last summer. He scored in his last away game at Southampton and remained as an unused substitute against Wolves and in the Champions League final, with his final game at Anfield before his move to Monaco in June when he scored a brace against Norwich City scored the FA Cup. early March.
Of course, the trio weren’t the first pair of players to be denied dismissal on and off the pitch, and a number of former teammates also had to quietly leave without enjoying a proper farewell. Emre Can was called up late for the 2018 Champions League final knowing it was his farewell appearance but injury kept him out of both a decent dismissal at Anfield and a vital contribution of Kiev in the previous weeks.
Meanwhile, Daniel Sturridge and Alberto Moreno remained unused as the Reds beat Tottenham in the Champions League 12 months later. Having last played against Barcelona the previous month and against Wolves in January, it was soon realized that the offer of new contracts would not be on the table and they ended up joining Trabzonspor and Villarreal.
At least the players above got their last performances in front of the fans, which is more than can be said for the leavers during the Corona Pandemic.