Jamie Carragher has singled out Fabinho and claimed the Liverpool star is “miles off pace” at the moment.
The Brazilian international has been recognized as one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe in recent seasons, but he has been a shadow of his former self during the new campaign.
With him not offering the immense protection for their defense that he usually does, the Reds have kept just two clean sheets so far in the period and sent three home to Brighton on Saturday.
Carragher has highlighted the performances of the former AS Monaco player as a “major concern”.
“It’s a big concern, certainly the start of games because there’s always so much going on,” the ex-Rojo said on Sky Sports (via Express). “They haven’t lost a lot of those games, so it’s not an attitude issue, they’re still getting back into games.
“We’ve talked a lot about Liverpool conceding goals through their high lines, but for me a big problem is the midfield. Teams are moving forward and getting to those back four too easily. Also early in the games, hence the bad start. They are so open and so disorganized, this after 12 minutes against Brighton.
“They were 2-0 up but it’s fair to say they should have been 4-0 up after 20 minutes because Liverpool are not as organized and hard to beat as they always have been. The Jurgen Klopp thing was ‘we are the most difficult team to play against’, right now it seems the easiest to play against.
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“When there is rotation [of possession], I look at the midfield positions, they are not in the positions midfielders should be to stop counterattacks. That’s why teams can get to these back four and cause Liverpool big problems, early on in games.
“One would expect this if Liverpool are chasing a game in the last 15 or 20 minutes. This is a big problem for them right now. All the supporters would tell you that, even in the summer, they felt that midfield would be a problem.
“There is no doubt that they have a big problem there. I think certainly Fabinho has been way off the pace this season than he normally has been.”
While our No. 3 isn’t the only culprit behind the troubling defensive performances of late, his lackadaisical performances are certainly worrying.
The former AS Monaco midfielder received a serious dressing down from Klopp at Anfield on Saturday when the Seagulls dominated us all over the park for much of our disappointing 3-3 draw.
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Despite his current form, it is difficult to see the Brazil international being dropped any time soon due to the fact that not many of our current options are suitable for the defensive midfield role.
Jordan Henderson, of course, can operate from deep, but he hasn’t been at his best either before or after his recent hamstring injury.
Rangers’ visit on Tuesday gives the boys another chance to react before our difficult trip to the Emirates to face Arsenal at the weekend.
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