When Fabinho joined Liverpool for £43.7million, it did seem like an excellent deal. After all, the Brazilian midfielder was an architect of AS Monaco’s successes in the Ligue 1 and it went without saying that he would be a key player at Liverpool as well.
However, what followed was rather shocking. Fabinho hardly played for the Reds and it led to a lot of rumours about what could possibly be brewing between the player and Jurgen Klopp.
Be it at Borussia Dortmund or at Liverpool, Klopp is well-known for a lot of qualities but more than anything else, his patience always sets him apart.
At a time when clubs and managers want immediate results from players, Klopp is old-school in the sense that he is willing to give players the time they need to adjust and excel. He did the same with Fabinho by easing him into the team and the new style of play at Anfield. And quite unsurprisingly, Klopp’s method has worked.
Fabinho made his debut when Paris Saint-Germain visited Anfield and he came on as a substitute. But after waiting a bit longer, the midfielder received a start in the club’s recent emphatic 4-0 win over Red Star Belgrade.
Liverpool won 4-0 and suffice to say, the wait to watch Fabinho in action paid off. Injuries to Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita opened the door for the summer arrival and boy, did he take his chance!
Watching his fellow summer arrivals Alisson and Naby Keita making instantaneous impacts might have been tough for Fabinho.
After all, even Xherdan Shaqiri has made a mark for himself. But after watching him play against Red Star Belgrade, it is safe to suggest that nobody will forget about Fabinho anytime soon. And he has certainly boosted his chances of receiving more starts in the near future by putting in a spectacular performance.
He was a dominant force and was quite aggressive with the ball at his feet. The Red Star players struggled greatly to wrest the ball away from him and Fabinho excelled as a defensive midfielder. However, that did not stop him from contributing to the attack as well.
His diagonal through balls often helped Trent Alexander-Arnold feed the attackers and he never shied away from making his presence felt in the other half of the pitch. All this while essaying his defensive duties perfectly.
With Henderson doubtful for their game against Cardiff City, this is a brilliant opportunity for Fabinho to make a strong impression yet again.
