It’s difficult to pinpoint Liverpool’s current position: three victories in four Premier League games, four consecutive clean sheets, a top-four finish beginning to appear more achievable, and a humiliating 5-2 home defeat to Real Madrid to highlight the turmoil
The Merseyside team defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0, with second-half goals from Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah sealing the crucial three points. The club is currently just six points outside of a Champions League position, with a game in hand.
The flow is not fluid, and the cohesion is not exactly resembling its former self, but the Reds appear to be crawling out of the gloomy hole that they have fallen into this season, a miry chasm that has inexplicably written off the chances of repeating a previous season that landed a domestic cup double and tantalised a historic until the final weeks of the campaign.
Furthermore, with a place in Europe’s premier continental competition now at the top of Jurgen Klopp’s priority list, the recovery of midfield anchor Fabinho comes at the ideal time to ensure that the club’s recent purple patch can be sustained through the conclusion of the season.
Was Fabinho at his best against Wolves?
Fabinho has received harsh criticism this season, most notably for playing “like an old man” in the eyes of journalist Graeme Bailey, and for his form having “fallen off a cliff,” according to Redmen TV’s Ste Hoare.
Indeed, it summed up why Liverpool’s midfield was in severe need of reinvestment, with his formerly unrivaled position in the club now appearing significantly less safe.
Since joining Liverpool from AS Monaco for £44 million in 2018, the Brazilian defensive midfielder has made 203 appearances for his Anfield club, helping them win the Premier League and Champions League.
He responded to recent comments with an emphatic display against the Old Gold, robust and energetic as he completed his work with industrious efficiency, providing a steely buffer for the backline and allowing his forward-thinking team-mates freedom to roam and look to instigate promising openings, with presenter Mas Patel remarking that he “looked more like himself.”
According to Sofascore, the 29-cap player was right in the midst of the action on Wednesday night, completing 87% of his passes and making 56 touches while losing possession only seven times from his position at the heart of Klopp’s system.
Making three tackles and three interceptions, the 29-year-old was crucial in ensuring the home side did not let their tenacious opponents to take control of the centre battle, though he would aim to be a little more tidy in his direct battles, winning three of his total seven ground duels.
Fabinho, praised by Liverpool reporter Paul Gorst for his “very good” contribution, will hope that he can now shake off the cobwebs that have laced his season thus far and play a pivotal role in climbing the table and avoiding the unthinkable prospect of playing outside the Champions League next season.
There will be plenty of hope that this year’s woes can be quickly forgotten and a successful path can be forged next year, challenging for silverware on multiple fronts once more, and Fabinho, now looking like the “monster” of old, as Si Steers has dubbed him, could rekindle his former vigour and play a major role once more.
Leave a Reply