Does Fabinho have a place in the upcoming Liverpool midfield rebuild?
It wasn’t that long ago that Fabinho lost his place in Jurgen Klopp’s starting XI to an 18-year-old. There had even been some talk that his career on Merseyside could be coming to a premature end.
- Published prior to Liverpool 1-1 Aston Villa
Stefan Bajcetic replaced the experienced Brazil international for the FA Cup replay with Wolves at the base of the Liverpool midfield. He impressed enough to retain his place alongside Thiago and Naby Keita for the visit of Chelsea in the Premier League.
Fabinho had to watch on from the sidelines as the youngster started against Brighton and then against Wolves.
The results weren’t exactly positive for the Reds. They lost the latter two and picked up a point against Chelsea. Klopp was making a point though.
Earlier in January, the German tactician had been accused of being too loyal having stuck with underperforming players in the first half of the campaign. He responded, saying: “I am loyal, I think everyone should be loyal, but I am not too loyal.
“The problem is too complex. You have a good player who did a lot of good stuff in the past and then maybe, in your mind, you think: ‘That’s it for him now.’ If you can then go out and bring in another player to replace him then it makes sense from both sides to say: ‘Come on, it was a great time, see you later.’ If you cannot bring anybody in then you cannot take anyone out, that’s the situation.”
He could’ve been talking about any number of players but he kept both Jordan Henderson and his No3 on the sidelines for a run of games not long after this press conference.
Furthermore, just prior to the World Cup break, Klopp openly discussed Fabinho’s form.
“In a long career, players have ‘dips’ in performance, that’s completely normal.
"Usually you sort that by not playing that often, stuff like this, but because of our situation, Fab had to play through everything. You get through it, and at one point you are back to yourself, that’s how it is. If we have other options, which we use more often than in other seasons, then we use that to give him the chance to recover completely from the last game or whatever.”
While team performances weren’t necessarily great following the midfield switch, Bajcetic continued to catch the eye on an individual basis.
Klopp had referenced the fact his side hadn’t been involved in enough challenges following the 2-2 draw with Wolves in the FA Cup, so there was an extra focus on that side of things.
In the four games the 18-year-old started in place of Fabinho, he involved himself in eight, nine, 10 and 14 duels respectively.
Around this time, there was even some talk that the former Monaco man could be sacrificed in the summer to fund part of the midfield rebuild. Barcelona reportedly held an interest in the 29-cap international.
He found his way back into the starting XI after an injury to Thiago. Bajcetic shuffled over to the left side and Fabinho returned as the defensive midfielder. His performances improved with the Reds opting for more solidity in the middle third.
Klopp introduced a box midfield with Bajcetic at the base alongside Fabinho. Cody Gakpo dropped deep from his false-nine role to make a double pivot ahead of them with Henderson.
The Reds kept five successive clean sheets in the Premier League and beat Everton, Newcastle, Wolves and Manchester United. They then went winless in four, losing to Bournemouth and Manchester City before picking up points against Chelsea and Arsenal.
But something changed against the then Premier League leaders.
Klopp deployed a different system with Liverpool moving into a 3-2-2-3 shape when in possession.
Trent Alexander-Arnold moved from right-back into a double pivot alongside Fabinho and suddenly Liverpool had a solid base.
The No66 racked up six assists in five matches in his new role while Curtis Jones, playing a hybrid role on the left of midfield, has been a revelation.
This new shape was a game-changer for the one-time Real Madrid youngster. The many variations of the 4-3-3 used by Klopp this season all had one thing in common - they all had Fabinho marooned in midfield.
The system exposed his weaknesses and masked his strengths.
In the example above, Fabinho has had to vacate the central area to get across to Eberechi Eze. He was in a lose-lose situation.
If he didn’t look to close down the man in possession, he had lots of space to carry the ball into. If he shuffles over in a bid to close him down, he leaves the centre of the pitch wide open.
There was no support, he was expected to cover the width of the pitch almost singlehandedly.
It is no coincidence that he’s looked back to his best over recent weeks.
Fabinho can support the play on the Liverpool left and help regain and retain possession knowing the middle of the pitch isn’t vacant.
He’s been allowed to concentrate on his game instead of having to be a one-man midfield, being everywhere at all times.
During this recent run of nine unbeaten matches, the Reds limited Leicester, Brentford, Fulham, West Ham and Nottingham Forest.
All five teams failed to register opportunities totalling 1.0 expected goals (xG) or above. The pick of the bunch was probably the game against the Bees, with Thomas Frank’s side racking up an xG of just 0.2 at Anfield.
With a smaller space to cover, Fabinho has been dominating once again.
Liverpool have won seven successive games in the Premier League and during this run of form, the Brazilian has averaged a 92% pass success rate, he’s won 60% of his ground duels, 90% of his aerial duels and he’s recovering the ball six times per 90.
The introduction of Jones has helped, with the 22-year-old one of the best counter-pressing players in the Premier League.
The new system played a part in Fabinho’s resurgence too but all it has done is highlight why not playing to his strengths earlier in the season was an oversight on Klopp’s part.
Fresh legs this summer could prolong his Anfield career, as could the return of Bajcetic.
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