Gary Lineker gives Twitter verdict on Sturridge omission, compares him to Firmino and Origi

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Published on:

27 Aug 2016, 9:04 am

By Tony Hughes

Gary Lineker has questioned why Daniel Sturridge was overlooked for Liverpool's 1-1 draw against Tottenham on Saturday.

The striker, who scored two goals in midweek against Burton, was dropped from the starting X1 after he was played out wide in the 2-0 defeat to Burnley last weekend.

Manager Jurgen Klopp deployed Roberto Firmino in the spearhead role for a third consecutive league match and chose to bring on Divock Origi to replace Philippe Coutinho after 68 minutes when he made his first substitution.

Sturridge did not come on until the 87th minute, when he replaced Sadio Mane, who was once again outstanding on the right flank.

Former England striker Lineker took to Twitter on Saturday to reveal his disappointment at Klopp's decision not to give proven scorer Sturridge more of an opportunity and compared his goalscoring qualities with those of Firmino and Origi.

Don't know what's going on with @DanielSturridge at Liverpool, but I do know, when fit he'll score a lot more goals than Firmino or Origi.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) August 27, 2016

Broadcaster Stan Collymore offer an even more forthright view, as he accused the manager of "d******" Sturridge around and urged Klopp to sell the England player if he did not rate him as a spearhead.

Sorry, but Sturridge is being dicked around. Play him as 9 or let him go.

Firmino is no #LFC striking 9. He's just not.
— Stan Collymore (@StanCollymore) August 27, 2016

Collymore further added that given the opportunity Sturridge could scored 25 goals a season and is wasted in a wide position.

Firmino also led the Liverpool front line against Arsenal and Burnley but has not scored in any of the team's opening three Premier League matches, although he did win the penalty against Tottenham that was converted by James Milner.

By contrast, Sturridge has a prolific record at Liverpool, scoring 56 goals in just 95 appearances.

In other Liverpool team news, a £75,000-a-week Anfield regular has revealed he held talks at Mauricio Pochettino's house.

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