On Saturday night, as ‘Si Senor’ shouts echoed around Anfield, Liverpool’s departing hero Roberto Firmino took some time to enjoy the home crowd’s acclaim.

In his final home game, the Brazilian, who was making his 361st appearance in a red shirt, came close to a fairytale ending by scoring a last-second equalizer in the 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.

However, despite having 10 minutes extra, the 31-year-old was unable to conjure up another miraculous moment that would have brought the stadium’s roof down.

On the last day of the season next Sunday against Southampton, Firmino will exit the field as one of Liverpool’s greatest players in the Premier League era.

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“I will miss them all,”
The line from Firmino’s song that was playing continuously at Leicester’s King Power Stadium on Monday was, “Give the ball to Bobby and he will score.”

He was injured and missed the 3-0 victory over the Foxes, but he came back to play as a substitute and score in front of the Kop against Villa, bringing the curtain down on his time at Anfield with an emotional goal.

After the final whistle, the Liverpool team went back into the locker room and came out to form a guard of honor. Players leaving the team, such as Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and James Milner, received warm applause from their teammates and spectators.

The four players who will be going in the summer were each given a framed picture by Reds veteran Sir Kenny Dalglish, but it was modern-day great Firmino who received the greatest cheers. Newcomer Cody Gakpo then bowed down in respect.

Family members flooded the field, with kids shooting goals through the empty nets before doing a lap of appreciation as Firmino’s eyes filled with emotions.

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Manager Jurgen Klopp told BBC Sport that both of Milly (Milner) and Bobby’s efforts were “crazy.” “We observed what will be missed. It is like that.

“It is a story that we both contributed to, and now both of us and they must contribute to a new one. Without Milly, we must exercise more leadership.

Robert is Robert. I’ll miss them all dearly. We should all feel more worse that they are leaving than happy.

previous Hoffenheim forward Firmino, who was signed by previous Reds boss Brendan Rodgers in 2015, scored his 110th Liverpool goal and 40th league goal at home versus Villa.

Only three Liverpool players, including Steven Gerrard and Mohamed Salah, will have contributed to 100 or more goals and 50 or more assists in the Premier League when he departs.

At Liverpool, Firmino won everything, including the Champions League title in 2019 and a 30-year title drought for the team in 2020.

Not only Bobby, but all of them, said defender Virgil van Dijk to BBC Sport, “I will miss them all.” They contributed in their own unique way and have succeeded by doing their part.

“Bobby, along with Sadio (Mane) and Mo, has contributed significantly to the goals and assists. They make the news, but the other three should also be credited for their contributions, which is why both Liverpool supporters and the rest of the group hold them in high regard.

I’m not really that pampered,
The two points Liverpool lost at home to Villa appear to have put an end to their chances of finishing in the top four.

After beating Bournemouth on Saturday, Manchester United and Newcastle now only need a point from their next two games to guarantee a spot in the Champions League for the following season.

Liverpool, who came agonizingly close to winning an unprecedented quadruple last season, have been inconsistent for the whole of their season and finish it without any hardware.

The team’s seven-game winning streak came too late in the season, and they almost surely won’t be playing in the Europa League next season.

A rebuild of an older team is also on the cards, with Klopp needing to replace Firmino and Milner, as well as filling the midfield gaps left by Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Due to the associated expenditures, the Reds decided against signing Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, who is currently in advanced negotiations to join Real Madrid.

We’ll make the Europa League our competition, according to Klopp. I’m not that pampered.

“With all these clubs around us, it’s remarkable that we have already qualified for the Europa League. That was incredibly challenging, but we managed it, so that’s fantastic.

“We were so far away for so long that we couldn’t even hear the Champions League. The Europa League is doing great. See what we can accomplish.

Jermaine Jenas, a former Tottenham midfielder, commented on BBC Radio 5 Live that Liverpool had “had a really good run at it” despite having fallen far short of their prior standards.

Words like’rebuild’ and’signings’ will be bandied about, but the truth is that they simply fell short today and throughout the season.

“The other teams in this successful streak have been at the bottom, including Leeds, Leicester, and Forest. They recently faced a team in Villa who are in good form.