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Fabinho was clearly the man of last night’s game against Ajax. The Brazilian put on a full command performance, highlighted by a goal-saving acrobatic punt to give the Reds a winning start to their European campaign. Interestingly, the only games in which Liverpool have kept a clean sheet are the two games that Fabinho has started as center-back.
Speaking after the game, coach Jürgen Klopp had some kind words about Fabinho and Joe Gomez’s partnership, revealing something about the former right-back’s preferences on defense:
“This combination had not played together, so they need to get used to verbal commands, what to say to midfield. Fabinho can play the position, he actually likes to play. If I asked him to play right back, I don’t think he would enjoy it that much. It doesn’t surprise me that Fabinho plays in the position, otherwise he would have thought of a different solution. It was a good performance but there is a lot to improve, that’s good. Tonight was absolutely fine and we would like it to continue. We are not foolish enough to think that we did not need a bit of luck as Fabinho needed to make a proper stretch to get that ball off the line and hit the post. A clean sheet is information, but we could have done better. I don’t care at the moment because we wanted to win the game and we did. “
The vice captain and teammate who plays all over the pitch, James Milner, was also effusive in his praise for the Brazilian:
He is a top player. The best players can adapt and did. He has played there before and has done very well. Amazing headroom too, obviously. I thought it was a good team performance, it was very tough out there; They are a good team, it was also a physical battle, the conditions were difficult. Actually, it was a bit like an old English game. We achieved the victory and that was the most important thing tonight: making sure we got all three points.
Fabinho will undoubtedly be present in defense much more this season, with the addition of Thiago to our midfielder, which will make it a less scary proposition. Having reliable and versatile players like Fab, Wijnaldum, Jota, Minamino and Milner on the team will definitely go a long way towards ensuring that the team remains fresh and capable throughout what will be a season of physical testing.
