Friday 31 May 2019

Liverpool’s Fabinho rewarded for keeping faith


Liverpool (AFP) – Brazil midfielder Fabinho has declared he never had any doubts he would be a success at Liverpool, despite his early struggles to make the starting line-up.

Fabinho is expected to feature on Saturday when Liverpool face Tottenham in the Champions League final in Madrid.

The 25-year-old has established himself as a key player for Jurgen Klopp’s side, but had to wait for his chance after arriving from Monaco last July.

Fabinho did not make a Premier League start until October 27 and he conceded it took him some time after that before he started to feel comfortable in English football.

He believes the turning point came with his second league start, a 1-1 draw at Arsenal on November 3.

Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka overshadowed the Brazilian, who looked off the pace in midfield as he strained to keep up with the flow of the game.

But Fabinho now says that was the match when he began to understand exactly what was required of him in the Premier League.

His confidence began to grow, leading to his first stand-out performance in a Liverpool shirt, when he created a goal for Sadio Mane in a 3-1 victory over Manchester United on December 16.

“I knew it would be difficult, and that there would be times that I would be out of the team, but in terms of adapting, there was a lot of preparation and a lot of hard work,” Fabinho said.

“There were two games in particular that stood out for me. There was the game against Arsenal, because that’s when I really understood the speed of the Premier League, and the attention to detail that’s required.

“In terms of building my confidence, the stand-out game was against Manchester United. It was probably one of the best games of the season. 

“I managed to get an assist in that game and I really kept up with the rhythm and pace, and I felt we were much superior to Manchester United.”

Despite his initial difficulties, Fabinho never questioned his decision to join Liverpool.

– Intensity –

“No, for me, it was never in doubt that I’d made the right choice,” he said. 

“Not every player transfers to a new club and gets straight into the team, as was my case, and everybody told me that’s how the coach works with new players; they’re not automatically thrown into the first team straight away.”



from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2W4dcF2

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