Liverpool 4-0 Palace: Three things we learned – Old Fabinho is back

Old Fabinho is back

It’s been a while, and his place in the side has been under scrutiny, but the old Fabinho is back and it feels good.

When the Brazilian plays well, he allows the other two in the system the freedom to roam forward and have an influence around the opposition box – especially when they sit as deep as Crystal Palace did.

That’s why we saw Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum, who were criticised before the game by some fans, popping up in advanced areas. Henderson, in particular, was often found towards the right-hand touchline, where he could put crosses into the box.

Fabinho also displayed his quality on the ball as he lofted a brilliant pass to Salah for the second goal of the game. In one movement, he cut out the whole of Palace’s defence and allowed the forward a chance to get through on goal.

And of course, his strike was phenomenal as well.

After his injury and before the COVID break, Fabinho had struggled to get into the swing of things, but now he’s back to his awesome best and that’s something to celebrate.

It’s going to be tough for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita to break through into the first team now, at least until the league is wrapped up. We’ve seen why Klopp likes the three of Fabinho, Gini and Henderson and that looks set to stay.