OPINION
Many Liverpool fans were no doubt crying out for Fabinho to start in the midfield for the clash against Southampton on Friday, and rightly so.
Some of them were certainly puzzled why he did not make the team in the 2-1 win over Tottenham last Sunday after the impact he made when he came on in the second half.
So they were obviously relieved that Jurgen Klopp finally rewarded the 25-year-old for his efforts by starting him alongside Gini Wijnaldum and Naby Keita in the 3-1 win over the Saints on Friday.
However, Fabinho was not entirely convincing. Yes, overall the midfield were not at their greatest – Wijnaldum was particularly shaky – but it was surprising that the Brazilian was all over the place in the first quarter of the match.
He did steady things up a little bit in the middle of the park after that, but it was not entirely convincing. Klopp would not have been too pleased with his overall performance, and it is something that he will have to think carefully about ahead of their Champions League quarter-final.
Fabinho really needs to step up a gear if he wants to cement a first team place at Liverpool. The manager has plenty of other options to call upon if necessary, and he will not be afraid to use them in the last stretch of the season if the needs to.
The fans all know that Fabinho is capable of so much more than he showed on Friday. Where was the player that made the huge impact against Spurs? If anything, he looked a shadow of himself in what was a fairly lucky win for the Reds.
He needs to do a lot better – and fast. There is no doubting his ability, but he just needs his displays to be a lot more convincing, rather than frustrating.
