Jamie Carragher has singled out Fabinho and claimed that the Liverpool star is ‘miles off the pace’ at the moment.
The Brazil international has become recognised as one of Europe’s top defensive midfield players in recent seasons but has been a shadow of his previous self so far during the new campaign.
With him not offering the immense protection for his defence that he usually does, the Reds have kept just two clean sheets so far this term and shipped three at home to Brighton on Saturday.
Carragher has highlighted the former AS Monaco man’s performances as a ‘huge concern’.
“It’s a huge concern, certainly the start of games because they’re always giving themselves so much to do,” the ex-Red said on Sky Sports (via the Express). “They haven’t lost many of those games, so it’s not an attitude problem, they’re still getting themselves back into games.
“We’ve spoken a lot about Liverpool conceding goals because of their high lines but for me a big problem is the midfield. Teams are coming through and getting at that back four far too easily. Also early in games, hence the poor start. They’re so open and so unorganised, this after 12 minutes against Brighton.
“They were 2-0 up but it’s fair to say they should’ve been 4-0 up after 20 minutes because Liverpool are not organised or difficult to beat as they always were. Jurgen Klopp’s thing was ‘we’re the most difficult team to play against’, right now they look like the easiest to play against.
“When there’s a turnover [of possession], I look at the midfield positions, they’re not in the positions midfield players should be to stop counter-attacks. That’s why teams can get at this back four and cause Liverpool big problems, early in games.
“You’d expect this if Liverpool are chasing a game the last 15 or 20 minutes. This is a massive problem for them right now. Every supporter would tell you, even in the summer they felt midfield would be a problem.
“There’s no doubt they’ve got a huge problem there. I think certainly Fabinho’s been miles off the pace this season to what he’s normally been.”
Although our No. 3 is not solely to blame for the concerning defensive performances of late, his indifferent showings are certainly worrying.
The former AS Monaco midfielder received a serious telling off from Klopp at Anfield on Saturday as the Seagulls dominated us all over the park during large parts of our disappointing 3-3 draw.
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Despite his current form, it’s hard to see the Brazil international being dropped any time soon due to the fact that not many of our current options are suited for the defensive midfield role.
Jordan Henderson can of course operate from deep but he hasn’t been at his best both before and after his recent hamstring injury.
The visit of Rangers on Tuesday offers the lads another chance to provide a reaction before our difficult trip to the Emirates to face Arsenal at the weekend.
The post Carragher discusses form of Liverpool star who is ‘miles off the pace’ as Reds’ slow start to the campaign continues appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.
