“Has the physicality and mobility of a 50-year-old”, “stealing a living” – Liverpool fans suggest key player is ‘mentally tired’ after poor display in 2-1 defeat to Leeds
Liverpool fans have slammed midfielder Fabinho after their 2-1 loss to Leeds United in the Premier League at Anfield on October 29. While their attack stumbled against brilliant goalkeeping from Illan Meslier, their defense lacked the concentration to see off the game with at least a point.
While the Reds' supporters are understandably upset about their team's overall performance, they have slammed Fabinho in particular.
The Brazilian defensive midfielder did not have a good day at the office, often struggling to keep up with the run of play. He won four of his eight duels, lost possession 10 times, made two fouls, and didn't complete any of his three attempted long balls.
Taking to Twitter, the Reds' support slammed the 29-year-old, with some even calling for Jurgen Klopp to drop him. Here is a selection of their tweets:
Fabinho needs a break from the team.
He’s so far off the pace right now and has been for a while.
Fabinho has the physicality and mobility of a 50-year-old.
Fabinho is garbage, don’t care what his wife comes on Twitter and says.
Fabinho looks so mentally tired, I don’t know if he will ever find his best form this season.
Fabinho 22/23 season highlights https://t.co/6i0bt66wKO
fabinho does that shit every game man how can he go from being one of the best in the world to being worse than mctominay
Nunez, Salah and Firmino are more of a DM than Fabinho
Fabinho is stealing a living I can play his role brother is just stuttering
Liverpool fail to secure points against Leeds
The Reds will not be pleased about their inability to maintain a draw for all of 90 minutes, as a late Leeds goal pushed them out of the game. Early on, Liverpool looked like the better side, threatening with near chances that the Peacocks had to clear off the line.
However, against the run of play, it was the visitors who stunned Anfield into silence with a fourth minute goal. A shoddy pass from Joe Gomez was too slow to get to Alisson Becker, and the goalkeeper slipped to get to it. Rodrigo snatched the ball and played it easily into the empty net to get the opener.
Soon enough, Liverpool retaliated with an equalizer. A floated cross from Andrew Robertson found Mohamed Salah's left foot in the six-yard area. The Egyptian ace did not miss out from that position, putting the Reds level with their visitors.
The game continued with a back-and-forth that saw both sides garner chances before the first half came to a close. Leeds had a big chance in that period with a shot from Brenden Aaronson smashing the crossbar.
In the second half, it was a remarkable display of the highest goalkeeping quality from Meslier that kept the Peacocks in the game. He made nine saves, keeping out Darwin Nunez, Salah, and Roberto Firmino at different periods of the game.
Eventually, a slump in defensive responsibility from Liverpool caught them lacking as Crysencio Summerville scored the winner in the 89th minute. The forward's shot at goal was too quick for Alisson to get himself ready on time. The goalkeeper's hand just touched the ball as it passed him and went into the net.
Liverpool are ninth in the league table and will next host Napoli in the UEFA Champions League on November 1.