Fabinho, one of Jurgen Klopp’s best ever Liverpool purchases, is likely to leave Anfield for Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad in a £40 million deal.
The Brazilian was brought in quickly after Liverpool’s Champions League final loss to Real Madrid in 2018 in order to assist the Reds progress.
In his five years at Anfield, he helped Liverpool win Europe’s highest prize the next season, as well as the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup.
Fabinho has certainly had some memorable moments in Merseyside. Here are his top five.
5. CRYSTAL PALACE GOAL (24/6/2020)
A win at Anfield in Liverpool’s second game back following the Premier League’s postponement due to COVID brought the club within two points of winning the 2019/20 season.
As Manchester City went on to lose to Chelsea the next day, this would turn out to be the Reds’ penultimate game before claiming the trophy.
Jurgen Klopp’s side took the lead thanks to a spectacular Trent Alexander-Arnold free-kick, which was doubled by Mohamed Salah. Fabinho struck gold ten minutes into the second half, picking up the ball 30-yards from goal and blasting a stunning rising right-foot finish past a hapless Wayne Hennessey.
If it hadn’t been for another strike later on this list, this might have been his best goal in a Liverpool shirt…
4. RENDITION OF YNWA AFTER BEATING BARCELONA (7/5/2019)
That night in May 2019 will most likely go down as one of the finest in Liverpool football club history. After falling behind 3-0 to Barcelona in the first leg, the Reds returned to Anfield a week later and destroyed the Spanish team 4-0.
The post-match celebrations will be remembered for all eternity, but a specific Brazilian belting out ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ at full-time stands out. As the entire squad and backroom staff sang the song in front of the Kop, Fabinho was clearly one of the most enthusiastic, screaming the lines at the top of his lungs.
It undoubtedly demonstrated to everyone at Liverpool how much the club meant to Fab, despite the fact that he had only been at Anfield for a few months.
3. LUIS SUAREZ TACKLE VS BARCELONA (7/5/2019)
I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if I didn’t include this moment among Fabinho’s best. Fab had just squashed Luis Suarez in the same match, long before he was shown emotionally shouting out club hymns.
The Brazilian produced a great tackle on the former Liverpool man 11 minutes into the game, grabbing the ball first and then clattering the Uruguayan. What should have been a perfectly legal tackle was ruled a foul, and Fabinho was given a yellow card for turning around to roar in the face of Suarez.
“I remember after we scored the first goal in the first 10 minutes, I did this crazy slide tackle on Suarez,” he later recounted for The Players’ Tribune. The referee handed me a yellow card, but I didn’t mind because my adrenaline was pumping. I was reacting to the crowd’s enthusiasm, and they were responding to us. Everyone was ablaze. Every single player and fan.”
2. PANENKA PENALTY VS CHELSEA (27/2/2022)
The Brazilian certainly displayed the coolest moment of his Liverpool career in the club’s first cup final of the 2021/22 quadruple chasing season.
The game proceeded to penalties after a very dreary 120 minutes at Wembley Stadium as the Reds challenged Chelsea for the League Cup. Both teams had taken the lead due to goals from James Milner and Marcos Alonso. Fabinho came up next, and he made the most of his moment.
A superbly dinked finish through the centre of the goal elicited applause around Wembley, as Liverpool went on to win 11-10 on penalties. To make matters worse, during his post-match interview, the Brazilian stated, “The day before, I tried to do a Panenka, and it was just me and Luis Daz.” ‘If it gets to pens tomorrow, I’ll shoot it like this,’ I assured him. He wasn’t convinced.”
Cool as ice.
1. MANCHESTER CITY STUNNER (10/11/2019)
You probably guessed it, we’re here. Fabinho’s sixth-minute goal against Manchester City will undoubtedly go down as his finest Liverpool moment.
During the Reds’ Premier League-winning season, their first true test came against the reigning champions in November. A win was desperately needed to keep Klopp’s incredible run going, and his team delivered.
Only a few minutes into the game, Fabinho riffled a 25-yard strike past his countryman Ederson into the net after a strong handball call on Trent Alexander-Arnold was waived away.
The images of Pep Guardiola yelling at the fourth official while Fabinho celebrated in front of the City away fans are famous.
It’s an appropriate time to crown Fabinho’s top five.
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