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Former Manchester United centre-back Nemanja Vidic has hailed Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino as the Anfield side's most important player, and claimed the Reds are the closest title challengers to Manchester City. 

Jurgen Klopp's side continued their fine start to the season by comfortably beating Fulham in a 2-0 win at Anfield, maintaining their unbeaten Premier League run. 

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Whilst on punditry duty for beIn Sports on Sunday, Vidic claimed Liverpool possessed all the necessary ingredients to mount the stiffest challenge to reigning champions City this season.

The ex-Serbia international said: "They have speed, can hurt them at set-pieces, I think Liverpool has everything. I don't know how many goals they have in their team, sometimes they miss the chances."

When asked about who he believed represented Liverpool's biggest player, the former five-time Premier League title winner opted for Firmino over fellow forwards Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

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Vidic added: "I like Firmino, he is the biggest player for them, the most important. So, yes, I think they are the biggest competitors to City."

After being held to a 1-1 draw at the Emirates by Arsenal a week earlier, Klopp's men responded in positive fashion by dispatching Fulham with relative ease.

The Cottagers thought they had taken the lead at Anfield when Aleksandar Mitrovic headed in, but the strike was controversially ruled out for offside by the officials. Liverpool went straight up the other end with a lightning counter-attack and scored through Salah, before Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri sealed the win mid-way through the second half. 

After the end of the international break, the Reds will return to Premier League action when they take on seventh-placed Watford at Vicarage Road.