In an interview with The Times, Joel Matip has waxed lyrical about his team-mate Fabinho. The Brazilian midfielder was ludicrously good against Barcelona, and was a huge cog in the Liverpool machine.
Matip and Fabinho work closely on the pitch with our number three typically being deployed as the anchor of a midfield trio, and the former Cameroon international has nothing but positive feelings about that.
Gini Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson were like men possessed against Barcelona, and Fabinho’s impeccable performance against the Catalan giants may have gone under the radar.
But Matip didn’t miss a single trick. “Fabinho is amazing. Barcelona, he was everywhere. I don’t know if there were 2-3 Fabinhos, more,” he told The Times.
“You always know you can play the ball to him, even a s*** ball, he does not get stressed. When he makes a tackle his leg seems to get longer, like a gadget.”
Matip clearly has a sense of humour – I’m not sure I’ve ever thought to compare a footballer to Inspector Gadget, yet here we are.
The Reds are now set to face Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League final in Madrid this weekend, and let’s hope Fabinho brings his gadget with him.
Spurs’ incredible come-back against Ajax shows that we cannot take this game lightly, and our opposition will be keen to cap off their positive season with a trophy.