Few expected the drop in from that Fabinho has experienced from last season but Jurgen Klopp was again quick to defend his midfielder, as he explained the timeframe on the player’s comeback to top form.
Speaking with the media before the game with Crystal Palace, the 55-year-old said: “It took a while but I think Fabinho is now completely different to what we saw four or five weeks ago, we have to keep that going now.
“It’s like [he’s playing at] 80% but he was not at all a problem in the game (against Real Madrid), he looked a lot better but had to play a lot. So it is not like click click click he is back, play on, these kinds of things, because we have plenty of No.6s.
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“Stefan Bajectic can play it, Jordan Henderson can play it, but when Fabinho is at his best, it is really important to have him there because he sorts or used to sort a lot of situations for us. That was fine in these last few games.
“‘Did Fabinho come back from an injury?’ No! It can just happen. A drop in form and no-one expected and you look at it and think ‘OK, it is interesting to watch’. But yes, everything needs time in a business when there is no time”.
It must be hugely frustrating for both player and manager that this drop in form can last so long but it’s great for our No.3 that he is being so publicly backed and that the boss is prepared to wait for him.
Let’s hope we don’t have to wait much longer for this 80% to turn to 100% and that the Brazilian can restore his performance level that saw him be regarded as one of the best players in world football, in his position.
You can view Klopp’s comments on Fabinho (from 3:53) via BeanymanSports on YouTube:
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