Micah Richards gave his take on Liverpool star Fabinho on Match of the Day on BBC One (10:35pm, October 24, 2020).
The former Manchester City and Aston Villa defender believes that Fabinho played well for Liverpool in defence in their 2-1 win against Sheffield United at Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday evening.
With Virgil van Dijk out injured, the Brazil international, who is a defensive midfielder by trade, slotted into central defence alongside Joe Gomez.
Richards, who now works as a pundit for BBC Sport, believes that Fabinho played well against the Blades, but he added that the 26-year-old will make mistakes in that role.
The Englishman said about Fabinho playing as a centre-back on Match of the Day on BBC One (10:35pm, October 24, 2020): “No, he should be fine. I think he has played in that position before. He did a good job today.
“Yeah, he is going to make mistakes, but I think he can do a good job there. He is not going to replace Van Dijk because nobody could do that, but I think he is a good replacement for the team until he gets back.”
How did Fabinho play against Sheffield United?
Fabinho was controversially adjudged to have committed a foul on Oliver McBurnie on the edge of the box in the 13th minute and conceded a penalty.
The Brazilian did look a bit shaky thereafter in the first half and appeared to be leaving it at the last second for his defending.
However, the 27-year-old was better in the second half and looked more assured at the back.
According to WhoScored, Fabinho took one shot which was not on target, had a pass accuracy of 86.1%, won four headers, took 110 touches, and made one tackle and six clearances.
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