Great comparison. 2 completely different players playing the same position in completely different ways within completely different tactical setups. And one of them played for a 1/3 of the season in a wide position.
Its not a straight comparison, as youve said, but I'd wager Firmino has played more minutes this year than Benteke did for us last year in the league in order to reach his league goal tally.
Point is that Benteke was judged to not score enough goals to compensate for his lack of suitability to the team, so was quickly moved on.
Firmino is hardly blowing him away in terms of the numbers game, however he's clearly a much better fit. But that issue of us having someone who should be the focal point of our attack, who plays closest to the opposition goal, more often than anyone else between the width of the 18yd box who's not putting up great numbers still remains.
People will say the attacking unit benefits even if Bobby isnt the one putting up strong numbers, and that we've made strides forward in that sense. And they'd be right to an extent. But Benteke didnt have Mane, he didnt have Lallana in midfield instead of the front 3 so the degree to which Firmino is a boon to our front line and we can overlook his lack of pure numbers remains a conversation that needs to be taking place, imho.