In the Copa America, Brazil is flying through the competition and forwards Roberto Firmino and Gabriel Jesus and proving to everyone they can play well alongside one another.
For years it seems like, Manchester City and Liverpool fans have been butting heads over who is the better Brazilian. Roberto Firmino or Gabriel Jesus? It is a loaded question to say the least, as the two really have contrasting styles of play.
Firmino is the flashier of the two but also has some very unique aspects of his game. The Liverpool striker is probably one of the best pressers of the ball in the world. His work in Jurgen Klopp’s gegenpress has given him a refined skill set in defense that allows him to come back and track as well as create space for his wingers to run into.
His play off the ball does not go unnoticed as his interplay and movement has caught the eyes of scouts for years. An example of his pressing and attacking prowess is shown in this video of a goal he scored against Peru in the Copa.
Jesus on the other hand is the much younger of the two, coming in at only 22 years-old. He is substantially faster than Firmino which allows him the versatility of playing on the wing and being able to using his dribbling ability a little bit more. Lastly, the City player stayed in Brazil for longer, playing for Palmeiras, which makes him the fan favorite.
However, even with all the success in Liverpool and across Europe in the Champions League, Tite decided to play Jesus in the World Cup last summer. This angered some from Brazil as Jesus really failed to make an impact over the competition.
Nevertheless, both enjoyed solid seasons at their clubs and Tite reversed his decision, by starting with “The Bobby Dazzler” in the Copa America. However, in the past couple games he has decided to play Firmino up top with Jesus on the right side of him.
On Tuesday night, this proved to be a wonderful pairing and might be the solution to City and Liverpool’s feud over who is better. In a 2-0 win over Lionel Messi‘s Argentina, both players linked up with each other, both scoring a goal and grabbing an assist on the only two scores of the game.
Fans are raving over how the two performed and want to see the pairing again in the final against either Peru or Chile. Their passing and movement set the opposite up for an easy tap-in on both goals, and let’s be honest, Roberto Firmino will always take an easy goal so he can no-look it in for some Samba magic.
It seems as though Tite might have just solved one of the Premier League’s greatest debates of the past few years.