Liverpool's Roberto Firmino is a rare breed of striker, says Ian Rush

Roberto Firmino is a player every Premier League manager would love to have in their side, according to Ian Rush.

The Brazilian's ball-retrieval skills and poise in front of goal has helped the Reds amass 105 in all competitions this season, with Firmino chipping in with 23.

Former Liverpool striker Rush says he understands exactly why Firmino is the first name on boss Jurgen Klopp's teamsheet.

"Everyone knows how amazing Mohamed Salah is but if you're looking at one player Liverpool rely on it's Bobby Firmino," Rush told Sky Sports News, ahead of Liverpool's clash with Crystal Palace on Saturday lunchtime, live on Sky Sports.

"With his closing down he reminds me a little bit of myself. Not only does he work hard for the team, he's also very skilful - he does everything.

"He may not be regularly getting 30 goals a season but he makes the opposition make mistakes. He is a rare breed of a Brazilian and I think his talents suit the Premier League down to a T.

"He is tireless, every manager would love a player like that in his team. We are very, very lucky that we have him in our side."

Salah's goalscoring heroics in his debut season on Merseyside have seen the Egyptian compared to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Rush says he would be happy for Salah to break his single-season goalscoring record - set during the 1983-84 campaign - provided he can fire Liverpool to Champions League glory.

"You can look at Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez and he (Salah) is up there with any Liverpool forward to have come in [during the Premier League era]," Rush said.

"He's been absolutely amazing but the thing with Salah is that he is so down-to-earth as well.

"The game against Watford was the best I have ever seen him play, he was untouchable - not just because of his four goals but also because he wasn't selfish and was trying to make goals for his team-mates.

"There are only two players I have seen that can play at that level, and that's Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo."

Klopp's men can go second with victory at Crystal Palace, but Rush says history has proven how tricky this fixture can be for Liverpool.

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"People often underestimate Crystal Palace," added Liverpool's all-time leading scorer, who was speaking ahead of a dinner to launch the Ian Rush Foundation, hosted in his honour by charity One Family in conjunction with Avalon Sports.

"They have been so unlucky in their last four games. How they lost to Manchester United, I'll never know. They were good against Tottenham and also came back strong against Chelsea.

"The last time I went to Crystal Palace they beat us. We just never know what we're going to get when we go to Crystal Palace. Their luck is bound to change and I just hope it's not against Liverpool on Saturday."

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