Liverpool dropped points once again in the Premier League, this time against Newcastle United, a team who are 16th on the league table.
This 1-1 draw happens to be their ninth of the 2020-21 EPL season and as a result of this Liverpool’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season are now in serious danger.
One of the biggest problems for Jurgen Klopp has been the injuries to all of his first-choice centre-backs forcing him to use Fabinho in central defence for most of the season. And according to Paul Robinson, the scarcity of defenders is the root cause for all the problems for Liverpool right now.
“He [Fabinho] obviously works best in midfield,” Robinson told Football Insider.
“He’s a player who they’ve utilised at centre half this season because they’ve had a huge problem there. It’s like Fernandinho at Man City last season. City had the same problem last year.
“John Stones was out of form and Aymeric Laporte was injured so Fernandinho had to play there and they were shipping goals because they missed his presence in midfield.
“That’s what has happened at Liverpool.”
Fabinho is a defensive midfielder by trade but this season, the Brazilian has played more as a centre-back(24 times) that he has done in the middle of the pitch(13 times).
This alone goes to show the problems that Klopp has been facing in his defensive departments. Also, the numerous injuries is the sole reason why the club had to bring in two central defenders during the January transfer window.
After the arrival of Ozan Kabak, things looked much more settled but as soon as Nat Phillips got injured, Fabinho was swiftly brought back into defence and things started to crumble once again.
It’s not that Fabinho is not good at playing as a defender but with the Brazilian out of midfield, there’s no one to add that extra layer of protection to the backline.
If the defensive woes were not enough then Liverpool’s forwards have suddenly gone out of form which has just added to the frustrations for Jurgen Klopp.
After being knocked out of the Champions League, Liverpool need to finish in the top four if they wish to remain in the competition next season as well. And their next Premier League match against Manchester United could hold the key to where their fate lies.
