Liverpool defeated Manchester City 3-1 at Anfield on Sunday evening to open up a nine-point lead at the top of the Premier League.

Fabinho put the Reds ahead after six minutes with an arrowing strike from 25 yards, just seconds after the visitors were denied what looked a clear penalty for handball at the other end.

Mohamed Salah grabbed another for Liverpool in similarly controversial fashion seven minutes later, though any suspicion of offside was ruled by VAR.

Jurgen Klopp’s men made a similarly ruthless start to the second half as Sadio Mane forced City to chase a three-goal deficit in a league match for the first time since January 2018.

Pep Guardiola’s stunned champions finally landed a punch in the 78th minute through Bernardo Silva, but it was too little too late.

Liverpool could hardly have made a bigger statement in what might well be the most telling result of the season come the final weekend in May.

The Merseysiders were a class above City throughout the 90 minutes despite sub-par performances from some of their key players.

Roberto Firmino continued his relatively nondescript season, registering the fewest touches of any starting Liverpool player before he was substituted with ten minutes remaining.

With that in mind, it’s no wonder many fans were bewildered by Gary Neville’s claim that the Brazilian is the first player he would want on his team sheet.

“I think he's the best centre forward in the league,” the former Manchester United defender said during his commentary alongside Martin Tyler and Jamie Carragher.

“If you asked me to pick one player for my team, it would be him.”

Here’s the best of the reaction on Twitter…

It’s difficult to overlook Firmino’s uninspiring return of three goals so far this term.

Since we’re already 12 matches into the campaign, there’s almost no chance of him catching the likes of Jamie Vardy (11 goals), Tammy Abraham (ten goals) and Sergio Aguero (nine goals).

For those who argue that he offers a vastly different skillset to a typical striker, Firmino isn’t exactly firing in that sense either.

The former Hoffenheim star is nowhere to be seen among the leading Premier League players for assists, key passes or dribbles this season.

While that shouldn’t discredit the unique role Firmino plays Klopp’s side, you have to wonder why Neville reckons he’s the best of the best in England.