Fabinho ‘sacrifices’ himself but how have we come to this?

How have Liverpool come to this with Fabinho?

How have the Premier League winners and former Champions League holders been forced to play the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League as an emergency central defender?

Jurgen Klopp’s assistant Pep Lijnders has praised the Brazilian for the way he ‘sacrificed himself’ in order to play at centre-back in the 2-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday.

"The Echo reported that Lijnders said: “It shows his character that he is always ready to help the team. Playing at centre-back, he sacrificed himself.”"

All it took was two minor injuries and Fabinho was thrust into a role we’d rather not see him in, even if it is a convenient way to have Thiago in the squad without causing too many congestion issues.

When Dejan Lovren was sold, we all knew this was going to be an issue. Sepp van den Berg was clearly not trusted to set up into the senior ranks, while the discovery of Billy Koumetio caught everyone by surprise.

Koumetio is only 17 and isn’t ready for Premier League football, so why have Liverpool been resorted into an emergency option only three weeks into the new season?

There are some benefits to playing Fabinho at the back. Liverpool often dominate possession and their central defenders are key to starting attacking and progressing the ball forward. The Brazilian is excellent on the ball and can spray passes towards the midfield and front three better than Gomez or van Dijk.

That gives Klopp another dimension to work with against teams who are likely to sit off and cede territory to the Reds. Fabinho possesses some transferable skills, like his 1vs1 tackling, ability in the air and reading of the game.

But wouldn’t you rather have that further forward, where the Brazilian could break up attacks before they even reach the final third and launch attacks against a broken opposition?

Wouldn’t you rather have a natural defender to cover for when Matip and Gomez are injured, which has happened regularly over the past two seasons?

This feels a little bit like Liverpool are cutting off their nose to spite their face. Klopp’s squad is balanced and ready to attack the title, but this feels like the one oversight that could be an issue further down the line.