[ad_1]
Fabinho was your man of the match in the BBC Sport player rankings
No Virgil van Dijk, no problem?
We wouldn’t go that far, but Jurgen Klopp was a relieved man to see midfielder Fabinho put on a fantastic display on defense as the Reds started life without their injured middle half.
With Van Dijk he will probably miss most of the season with a knee injury and Joel Matip was also injured for the trip to Holland, Fabinho stepped up, or fell back, to accompany Joe Gomez in the 1 win -0 on Ajax.
Not only did Liverpool keep a clean sheet, but Fabinho was instrumental, with a superior kick clearance from the line to keep the Dutch team out.
The former Monaco player was his player of the match in the BBC Sport player rankings with a score of 7.00.
“Fabinho was immense in everything he did,” former Liverpool full-back Stephen Warnock told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“He went into the play and broke things, stepped in at the right times when he knew there was danger, spearheaded everything that went into the box.”
“What I liked about him was that he didn’t have the ‘I have to be Virgil van Dijk, where I shoot stuff and play from behind’ attitude.
“If he has to go, he goes and he just coped with situations comfortably and cleared his lines.”
‘He likes to play there’
“Fabinho can play the position, he actually likes to play,” Klopp told reporters after the game.
“If I had asked him to play right back, I don’t think he would enjoy it as much as he is enjoying the midfield position.
“I’m not surprised that he plays well in the position, otherwise we would have thought of a different solution, even when that would have been really difficult.”
“I’m very happy for tonight, happy for him. It was a very good performance, but there is a lot to improve.”
‘He was the catalyst’ Get out! Jurgen Klopp said he “did not know how” Fabinho made this authorization
Considering that he usually plays in midfield, it was perhaps surprising that Fabinho actually made fewer passes than Gomez in Amsterdam. But on the defensive he was in good shape.
The Brazilian made nine punts, four tackles, four interceptions and one block in a strong display, with a particularly timely tackle on Dusan Tadic.
Interestingly, in the Premier League so far this season, Van Dijk had averaged just 0.7 tackles, 1.9 punts and 1.2 interceptions per 90 minutes.
“All the questions have been about the departure of Van Dijk and Alisson,” former Liverpool forward Michael Owen told BT Sport.
“If Klopp had had something tonight, it would have been a clean sheet because it dampens all of that. Fabinho is a defensive midfielder and is used to seeing things and sniffing danger.
“I think it was the catalyst to deepen the defensive line.”
Fabinho’s display did not surprise Anfield’s other Mr. Versatile, James Milner.
“Fabinho is a great player and the best players can adapt and he did,” said Milner, after 90 minutes in midfield.
“He has played there before and he played very well. I thought it was a good team performance because it was difficult, it was a physical battle in difficult conditions.”
Source: bbc.com
[ad_2]
