Liverpool have a big Fabinho problem, and Jόrgen Klopp needs to make a ruthless decision nowThe Brazilian has looked off-the-pace since his return from injury, and it's time for the manager to make some difficult choices.
By
Oliver Connolly Staff Writer
01:00, 4 MAR 2020
Ever since his return from injury, Fabinho's play has toggled somewhere between blah and awful. At first, that could be put down to rust. But he doesn't deserve that benefit of the doubt anymore.
In the last three games he has looked slow, pedestrian on the ball, and more of a hindrance than a help in the transition game both attacking and defending He is not the sole reason why Liverpool have lost three of their past four games, and he's not solely to blame for the team's latest loss, losing 2-0 last night to Chelsea in the FA Cup fifth-round. But he is high on the worry list.
For much of the Chelsea game, Fabinho looked completely off the pace. The numbers are jarring and brutal: zero tackles, zero aerial duals won, dispossessed twice, one error leading to a goal, and one yellow card which meant he was unable to bring down Ross Barkley as the Chelsea midfielder surged forward to score the second goal on Tuesday night.
Prior to his November injury, the midfielder was redefining what it meant to be a single pivot in a Klopp team. He set the tempo of play, kept the ball ticking over, and would consistently, naturally, drop into the backline to form a back three alongside Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez.
Fabinho was lauded for his defensive work. Few, if any, players were better in the league at shielding his back two. He seemed to be anywhere and everywhere at all times, apparently apparating into position. Those long, gangly legs allowed him to close ground in a way the likes of Jordan Henderson simply couldnt. Where they looked like the defensive work took effort, Fabinho looked a natural.
What set him apart, though, was his work on the ball. He initiated a bunch of Liverpools build-up playing: spreading the ball out to either fullback, pinging it in between the lines, or moving with the ball himself gathering it off Alisson before breaking the first point of the press.
All of that has vanished in the past five games. He's looked sluggish on the ball, has been routinely dispossessed, and has looked like he's moving at a completely different speed to the rest of the match but not in a good way. Earlier in the year he was averaging 8 ball losses per 90. Since his return, that number has ballooned to 14, with five of them coming in his own half.
Tuesday's performance against Chelsea was his worst yet. He was routinely isolated and overloaded in the central areas. But whenever he was required to think two or three steps ahead, to shuffle across and snuff out danger before Chelsea could break the lines, he was two or three steps behind.
There is an argument to be made that what we've seen in recent weeks is a rusty Fabinho who's still to get over his injury. It's the first time in his career that he's experienced a knock that has ruled him out for multiple games. Those arguments hold some validity, but they deserve the follow up response: then why is he playing?
Is Klopp trying to play him back into form? Is the player struggling to manage his return, meaning the issue is getting worse not better as he plays?
It was noticeable how visibly frustrated Klopp was with Fabinho throughout the second-half. For a 15-minute spell, Klopp turned towards his own bench and unloaded to his support staff about the midfielder after each and every decision. If Fabinho played the ball to feet, the boss was unhappy with the spend or length of the pass. If he tried to switch the play, Klopp was unhappy that the ball was clipped to someones chest rather than drilled to their feet along the ground.
It was a frustration born of the past few weeks not just the previous 45-minutes. Fabinho was once one of the most reliable players in the team, and he's now become a liability.
Chelsea's second goal was indicative of all the issues. A poor, clumsy, pointless challenge not five minutes earlier had resulted in his booking. As Chelsea went to take a throw in, he found himself caught ahead of the game, strolling beyond Ross Barkley. As Barkley gathered steam towards the Liverpool goal, Fabinho had no choice but dawdle past him, unable to bring him down. Barkley slammed the ball to put Chelsea 2-nil up.
Klopp has a big decision to make. With Jordan Henderson out, Fabinho has been the sure-fire number six. But his play has been so sloppy that that should now be up for discussion. Will Klopp shift to a double pivot look, perhaps lining up in a 4-2-3-1 to give Fabinho more cover? Will he give James Milner a chance to slot in at the number six slot in a like-for-like swap? Or, perhaps would he be willing to give Pedro Chirivella a chance against Bournemouth at the weekend, if only to give Fabinho a mental and physical breather though Klopp opted to keep Chirivella on the bench despite Fabinho's struggles at Chelsea.
What's clear is something needs to change, even if just for 90 minutes. Call it rust. Call it a dip in form. Call it whatever. The worst run of Liverpool's season, which has seen them loss a chance at an invincible league campaign, slip in the Champions League and dumped from the FA cup, has corresponded with a drop in Fabinho's play. On the ball and off it he's been poor. And the manager needs to find a fix.
https://www.liverpool.com/liverpool-fc-news/features/liverpool-jurgen-klopp-fabinho-cup-17857743
