Liverpool put four goals at Crystal Palace last week to bring them 102 in all competitions this season.
Opta pointed out They have broken the century mark for the third consecutive season, accomplishing this feat for the first time since 1986/87.
The sensational scoring records of the club’s first three established players obviously play a huge role in this. Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah have collectively contributed exactly half of the champion’s goal score in 2019/20.
Add the 15 goals that have helped other team members, and two-thirds of Liverpool’s goals have had some contribution from the attacking trio.
The other main creative threat comes from the defenders, who have assisted or scored 11 other goals that have not involved Firmino, Mane and Salah.
Liverpool could benefit from a greater contribution from other places, particularly when one or more of its most powerful attack quintets is absent.
Salah and Andy Robertson missed the recent derby at Goodison Park, and while the correlation is not automatically causal, the Jurgen Klopp team created very little note.
With this in mind, should Fabinho offer more to attack from the side? He showed against Palace that he is able to provide more than he has for the club. The Brazilian played a sublime ball to Salah towards the end of the first half, and Liverpool No.11 came home as everyone watching assumed they would.
Although not identical, he recalled Fabinho’s assist for Sadio Mane in the 3-1 victory over Manchester United last season. In both cases, the former Monaco man threw a beautiful pass over the defense to leave the attacker clean in goal.
He also scored a fabulous goal against the Eagles, which again sparked memories of Manchester. However, it was City who came up with it this time, as his goal on Wednesday was similar, though even better, than the one he scored against the champions who will soon be ousted in November.
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Fabinho’s efforts against Palace mean he has a total of three goals and five assists for Liverpool as his second season with the club nears its conclusion.
However, he seems capable of providing more, and it is important to remember that much of what a player does is based on the instructions provided by his coach. Just because Fabinho hasn’t added much to the goals and attendance column doesn’t mean he can’t.
A look at your shooting maps in UnderStat provides ample evidence of that. The 26-year-old has only fired five shots from within the Premier League’s penalty boxes with Liverpool, and his direct effort against Newcastle in 2018 was his only goal from that range.
However, he threw nine shots, plus four penalties, in opposition penalty areas in Ligue 1 during his last season with Monaco, and 12 excluded point shots the year before when his team won the title.
It is a similar story with creating opportunities. Fabinho has lined up 33 chances for his Liverpool teammates in the league in his two seasons with the club, however he established 36 alone during 2017/18.
The standard of soccer in France is not as high as in England, so it is to be hoped that his numbers have been a success since he joined Liverpool.
But his history with Monaco and the ability he has shown in flashes with the Reds show that he is able to add more assists and goals to his game. Whether it happens or not, the tactical decisions made by Klopp are as much as anything else.
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