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Where would Liverpool be without Fabinho?
They wouldn’t be that strong of a team, that’s for sure. The importance of the Brazilian to Jürgen Klopp’s set-up has only increased with his time at Anfield.
Before the season started, not many would have expected to see him basically become the club’s senior center-back. Yes, he has shown glimpses of being able to play there at times in the past, but in the long run? It was not a situation that many wanted or thought was feasible.
Now that Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are on the sidelines for the foreseeable future, and that Joël Matip’s physical form is inconsistent to say the least, it’s pretty certain that Fabinho is essentially a center-back for the rest of the season. While this may not be that bad at first glance, it does present a problem.
Fabinho has established himself as one of the best midfielders in world football, if not the best, so his absence from his regular role is sure to make itself felt. They have done a commendable job in the heart of defense, but Liverpool lose a lot when they are not in their preferred position.
Take the image below as an example. When Fabinho is in midfield, he has a much better chance of engaging in attacks to provide assists or even score goals.
Against Burnley, who sat deep and had plenty of bodies behind the ball, Fabinho managed to make a clever cross to find Andy Robertson at the back post who headed in to score. That kind of pass has been lacking in recent months and it certainly would have helped in recent draws with West Brom and Newcastle.
Similarly here against Crystal Palace during Project Restart, the Brazilian’s pass from behind to Mohamed Salah is exquisite, but the move before is also top-notch. Passing an opposition player with ease, he shrugs and makes a delicate pass with effortless ease.
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These are just two examples that have resulted in goals, but in reality there are many more times where Fabinho has proven to be a great provider of key passes in generating great goal scoring opportunities. Taking him out of midfield and moving him 10-15 yards further back on defense makes these kinds of opportunities few and far between.
But now Liverpool have Thiago Alcântara, who is probably the only player on the team who is capable of playing passes behind defense with the same smart intuition Fabinho often provides. And there have been occasions when he has shown a keen eye for goal by shooting from afar, but if he has the same ability as the Brazilian we will have to wait and find out.
So what about the goals that Fabinho actually scores himself? He only has three to his name with a Liverpool jersey, but this is the option he offers from outside the area.
His first goal came from a Boxing Day corner kick against Newcastle two years ago, but his other two goals came from distance last season against Manchester City and Crystal Palace. From the moment he entered the club it was clear that he has the ability to score from long range, but it has not been fully exploited.
However, now that he’s playing defense, the chances of him getting into goal position are very slim, unless it’s from set pieces. It’s all about the options available to Liverpool, and taking Fabinho out of midfield automatically takes away a great deal of attacking versatility from him.
It only reinforces the argument that Liverpool would benefit from signing a central in January. While a new addition is unlikely to mean that Fabinho returns to midfield, it could mean that the option of having him back in his preferred role is more likely if Matip is fit and available, and one from Rhys Williams or Nat Phillips is named.
He would like to think that by the next season, Van Dijk and Gómez will be back in shape and Fabinho will return to his favorite position. Until then, Liverpool will only have to try to cope without the Brazilian in midfield, which is much easier said than done.
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