"Strolling in the field like he's Messi," "Time for a move to Braga" - Liverpool fans rip into 'useless' player for performance against Real Madrid
Liverpool fans were beyond dismayed as a torrid performance from the Reds saw Real Madrid secure a comeback from two goals down to win 5-2. While they were entirely displeased with the vast majority of their players, one, in particular, stood out for his horrible showing against Los Blancos - Fabinho.
The defensive midfielder struggled to impact the game in all areas of the pitch. He was unable to keep up with the pace of the game, making just one tackle and intercepting the ball just once, even though he played through the entire 90 minutes.
Liverpool fans were not pleased about the 29-year-old, and as they watched their team slump to a defeat, they took to Twitter to rip into Fabinho for his performance. Here is a selection of their tweets:
Gomez and Fabinho should never put the shirt on again never been good enough
Never seen Henderson and Fabinho so useless on the pitch. #FSGOUT
Man is strolling in the field like he is Messi. #Fabinho
@Corballyred From Stefan to Fabinho to Alisson. We lost it. These legs are tired
Modric has sent Fabinho to a care home. He is finished
@AnfieldWatch Pls terminate Gomez and Fabinho contract pls
38 yrs old Modric completely destroyed 29 yrs old Fabinho. Speechless :(
@Swigs21 They had it, but fabinho looks like a 60 year old man out there
Fabinho, time for a move to Braga.
Real Madrid pull Liverpool apart with a 5-2 win
The Madridistas went to Anfield and shocked the hosts into submission with an impressive performance that saw them clinch the win with three goals ahead on the tie. It seemed as though things would go to the Reds' benefit, especially as they started rather well with two quick-fire goals.
Mohamed Salah found Darwin Nunez with a low cross into the box early on, as the Uruguayan snuck behind Real Madrid's defense. He wasted no time putting it past Thibaut Courtois with a stylish effort, unmarked and from close range, in the fourth minute.
Courtois then made a horrible error with just 14 minutes on the clock, as he misjudged the bounce of the ball from his knee. Salah was already marking him, and the Egyptian easily stole the ball and put it past the Belgium international to put Liverpool up by two goals.
And then, things turned around for the hosts, as Real Madrid sat up.
A curling effort from Vinicius Junior saw Los Blancos score their first goal of the game with 21 minutes on the clock. The forward picked up the pass from Karim Benzema, cut into the area, and put his effort beyond Alisson Becker's hands and into the far goal.
A howler from Allison, who was trying to clear his lines, saw him hit Vinicius and bounce right into his goal, putting Madrid level in the 36th minute. By the start of the second half, the game was entirely in the hands of the visitors.
Eder Militao was on hand to score a header only minutes after the half-time break (47'). Luka Modric played the ball in from a set piece near the box, where a surprisingly unmarked Militao was the only one near the ball, and the center-back did not miss.
The comeback was complete, and it seemed to break Liverpool down. Karim Benzema saw his shot deflected into the net in the 55th minute. Just after the hour, the Ballon d'Or winner picked up the fifth goal of the night for Real Madrid, dribbling past Alisson before curling the ball into the empty net (67').