Roberto Firmino, the former Liverpool star, was denied the chance to captain his team Al-Ahli to its second league victory of the season on Friday – thanks to a last-minute equaliser from Sadio Mane’s teammate.

Firmino, now in his second season with the Saudi Pro League’s Al-Ahli, seemed set to secure an away win against Al-Nassr, but a last-minute own goal resulted in a draw for Mane’s side.

Both Firmino and Mane played the entire match, but neither managed to score during the 1-1 draw. If Al-Ahli had managed to hold on, it would have been a surprising victory against a team expected to challenge Al-Hilal for the Saudi Pro League title once again.

Despite the disappointment, Firmino is regularly starting and has become a crucial part of his team. This wasn’t the case throughout last season, as he lost his place on the teamsheet for seven consecutive league games between November and December.

Rumors circulated last year that Steven Gerrard would attempt to reunite Firmino with his former Liverpool teammate Gini Wijnaldum by getting him to sign with Al-Ettifaq, the team he oversees.

Regarding Firmino’s potential transfer to Aston Villa, Gerrard expressed his admiration by saying: “I obviously know Bobby extremely well, I’ve been a massive fan.” He’s been my follower for years. Since he currently plays for Al-Ahli, I find it extremely difficult to offer commentary on that matter. However, I’ve been a tremendous fan of Bobby Firmino since the day I first saw him.”

While there were rumors of Mane making a European comeback with a transfer to Besiktas, the move didn’t come to fruition as the Turkish transfer window shut its doors on Friday night.