Liverpool earned a hard-fought three points after going two Premier League fixtures without a win. Their disappointing run of form was rectified against Sheffield United on Saturday, who suffered their fifth loss of the season. The Reds came away with a 2-1 victory after Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota saw their side over the line.
Another man who put in an impressive shift for the reigning champions was Fabinho. The Brazilian has taken to his new role as centre-back like a duck to water, following the injury blow of Virgil van Dijk’s ACL damage. Joe Gomez has been paired up with Fabinho for Liverpool’s last two matches, which have both ended in three points.
A solid display from Fabinho
According to Sofascore, the former Monaco man made an impressive six clearances against the Blades and took a total of 102 touches. He also contributed eight successful long balls and despite giving away the opposition’s penalty, made sure not to put another foot wrong for the rest of the game.
Kevin Phillips has lauded Fabinho’s display in Liverpool’s defence and believes he could be someone Jurgen Klopp can rely on for the remainder of the season.
“It is a bit like Fernandinho at Manchester City,” the pundit told Football Insider. “Jurgen Klopp would never even consider putting someone like Fabinho in there unless he was confident that he could do the job.”
Indeed, the Brazil international also showed his worth with a solid performance against Ajax in the Champions League. He has some big shoes to fill in the absence of van Dijk, but he will have definitely impressed with his most recent two displays.
Likening Fabinho to Fernandinho is a huge compliment for the Liverpool ace. The Man City man has slotted into Pep Guardiola’s defence several times over the years and has done well to keep the backline solid. The Spanish boss waxed lyrical over his performance against Shakhtar Donesk last September, lauding him as an “incredible” and “intelligent” player (via thenationalnews.com).
With huge faith being put in Fabinho’s abilities, it will surely only spur on even more confident performances from the stand-in centre-back.
In other news, New Klopp tactics could be huge for Liverpool’s title chances…