Jurgen Klopp turned to Fabinho as Liverpool played their first match since Virgil van Dijk sustained a serious knee injury against Everton last weekend.Fabinho partnered Joe Gomez in central defence for the Reds’ first group-stage match of the 2020-21 Champions League against Ajax in Amsterdam.And the versatile Brazilian midfielder produced a performance that Van Dijk himself would have been proud of.Liverpool won the match thanks to a Nicolas Tagliafico own goal in the first half.But without Fabinho, the Reds may not have sealed all three points.
Shortly before half-time, the Brazil international kept Liverpool’s clean sheet intact with a stunning goal-line clearance.Dusan Tadic thought he’d equalised after lobbing Adrian, who was positioned inside his six-yard box, but Fabinho appeared from nowhere to acrobatically clear his lines.Watch Fabinho’s superb goal-line clearance here…That was reminiscent of James Milner’s goal-line clearance against Bournemouth last season.On closer inspection, eagle-eyed fans also spotted an amusing moment from Adrian.As Fabinho produced his clearance, the Liverpool goalkeeper pretended to kick the ball.Watch it here…
Here’s how fans have reacted…
Adrian - who played in the 7-2 defeat to Aston Villa before the international break, as well as the 2-2 draw against Everton - also began the match by inadvertently tackling Gomez.
He may have kept a clean sheet against Ajax but Liverpool fans are counting down the days before Alisson returns from injury.
The world-class Brazilian ‘keeper returned to training earlier this week and could return to action before the end of the month.