Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren has stated that teammate Roberto Firmino is beginning to prove his worth at Anfield.

Firmino arrived at Liverpool from Hoffenheim in the summer for a fee of around £28million amid much fanfare but the attacking midfielder endured a difficult start to life at Anfield.

The 24-year-old finally put in a performance worth justifying his price tag in Liverpool's 4-1 victory over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on the weekend and now teammate Lovren has gone on to back the Brazilian international to build on the brilliant display if he continues be nurtured on Merseyside.

Lovren told the Liverpool Echo: "Roberto is growing. We need to give him time as he's settling into a new country. But he has great talent. We see it every day in training and now we're seeing it in the matches.

"He caused City a lot of problem. He's an unbelievable player. He has so much skill. Roberto scored one and could even have got a hat-trick. He creates and he scores. He has so much potential and I know he's going to get better and better for us."