Liverpool should back Fabinho and Firmino to deliver when it matters vs Atletico

You have to say the win over Bournemouth wasn't the most convincing you'll ever see but it felt like one of the most important results of Liverpool's season.

You could tell from the way we played, certainly in the early stages, there's been a bit of a loss of confidence lately which is understandable after the few defeats we've had which brought everyone back down to earth.

It was just so vital to get those three points and return to winning ways, and it may well be the manner of the victory will have done us good ahead that big game in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The 'goal' we conceded was an absolute joke. What is the point of having VAR if they can't sort out a situation like that?

If the officials with access to replays can't help their colleagues out when such a big blunder has been made then they're not fit for purpose.

What surprised me was the VAR on Saturday was Michael Oliver who I feel is the best around out of all the referees in the Premier League.

It says to me that there is definitely a situation where officials don't want to undermine their colleagues when they've made a mistake and, as far as I'm concerned, that defeats the whole object of the exercise when it comes to VAR. You may as well just not bother then.

The important thing is Liverpool responded to a setback like they did against West Ham, got the couple of goals needed to get our noses in front and got over the line.

It was great to see Mo Salah and Sadio Mane get on the scoresheet again but I'm a big Bobby Firmino fan and it's clear to see this long run he's had without a goal at Anfield - dating back to Porto last April - has affected his confidence.

You could see it with the chance he missed to wrap it up near the end that he would normally bury in his sleep.

I know what it's like when you're on a drought like this, I've been there myself and it's really hard, it's almost like you know you're not going to score and you just need one to go in off your backside to help get that belief back.

For a Liverpool striker to get to March and not score all at Anfield all season - in a team that's been doing pretty well, by the way - is quite incredible.

It will be hurting Bobby, you can see it from watching him play and sometimes, as a striker, you can almost be scared to get into the box in case you end up missing another chance.

I know he's not a conventional centre forward and often plays a bit deeper but he's finding himself outside of the box too often when the ball's being played in and I'd like to see him busting a gut a bit more to get into the six-yard box.

That's where the majority of goals are scored and I think it would make sense to encourage him to get himself in there more often, certainly while he's looking to get this monkey off his back.

The great Bill Shankly said about Roger Hunt when he was going through a lean spell, "At least he was there to miss them" and I think the same applies to Bobby, if he can get himself in those danger areas more often it should only be a matter of time.

Another player not in the best of form at the moment is Fabinho and there have been some suggestions Jurgen Klopp may leave him out for the big second leg against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

For me though, he has to play. We really need to keep a clean sheet to give ourselves the best chance of going through and he is our best defensive midfield player.

So even though he's not playing to the best of his ability at the moment, you've got to have him in there as far as I'm concerned.

He was awesome in the second leg against Barcelona last season and we need him to get back to that level sooner rather than later. He gives the protection in front of the back four which is crucial in the kind of game Wednesday night will be where we have to be wary of what Atletico will try to do on the counter-attack.

They are dangerous opponents and are so used to playing their way in these kinds of games so we need Fabinho to sit in front of the back four to mop all that up, with hopefully Jordan Henderson being fit enough to play in front of him which will give us that bit more creativity going forward and a better balance overall to the midfield, which will be a key area on the night.