Regardless of whether Liverpool are able to rescue their Premier League season and secure a seventh successive Champions League finish, there will be few within the walls of Anfield who are able to take any pleasure from what has largely been a poor campaign on Merseyside.
In truth, it will perhaps only be the continued record-breaking exploits of Mohamed Salah and the heroics of Alisson Becker at the other end of the field that Kopites are able to recall with fond memories at the end of a season that looks likely to finish with a place in UEFA's second-rate competition. Or worse.
None at Anfield, however, will examine the Reds' 2022/23 Premier League and Champions League quests with a greater serving of sorrow than Fabinho. The Brazilian, who had previously been a lynchpin of Jurgen Klopp's domestic, European and international trophy-sweeping juggernaut, has spent parts of a flawed campaign being pulled from pillar to post in midfield.
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After being rushed back from a hamstring injury for Liverpool's Champions League final against Real Madrid last May, Fabinho had, until recently, struggled to return to his pre-injury zenith as he became the embodiment of the club's early-season woes.
Having established himself as a key point of Klopp's all-conquering blueprint, an evident lack of protection from Liverpool's only true defensive-minded midfielder resulted in those elsewhere being impacted by such a dip in performance; chiefly Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk who both experienced similar individual slumps to the Brazilian.
That was, of course, until recently, when Klopp plotted the latest phase of Alexander-Arnold's evolution by allowing the Reds' No.66 to step into midfield when in possession.
In doing so, although it would increase the burden on the defensive duties of Ibrahima Konate, it has since allowed Fabinho to show signs of returning to a level of performance that was key in Liverpool storming to Champions League and Premier League glory since his switch from AS Monaco in 2018.
As expected in its early phase, the sample size of Alexander-Arnold's new role is relatively small and has less than 300 minutes of examination across the recent Premier League encounters against Arsenal, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest. But for Fabinho and Alexander-Arnold, the initial signs bode well.
With Liverpool boasting over 80 per cent of possession against Forest on Saturday, Alexander-Arnold formed a two-man pivot alongside Fabinho for much of the afternoon as the Reds were tasked with breaking down Steve Cooper's side's resolute, low-block defence.
It meant that on the rare occasion that the home side found themselves out of possession or in transition, the Brazilian's role was aided by both the starting position and mobility of Alexander-Arnold in the centre of the park. Ultimately it left Klopp's men more compact during turnovers of play, which has not always been the case this season.
In fact, it was when these two sides met at the City Ground in October that Fabinho endured possibly his own individual nadir of a tumultuous campaign. Despite Liverpool enjoying a 75 per cent share of the ball, the pace of Neco Williams, Jesse Lingard, Morgan Gibbs-White and Serge Aurier proved too hot to handle as the East Midlands outfit claimed their first victory over the Reds in 26 years.
On that particular bleak autumn morning in Nottinghamshire, the Reds' No.3 failed to win any of his attempted tackles and made no interceptions as the uneasy discourse around his form quickly turned into a critical matter for his manager to find a swift solution to.
But during a second successive Premier League victory for the Reds on Saturday, Fabinho, further aided by the presence of the Reds' marauding right-back, was afforded greater time and space while in possession and quietly impressed as he completed 35 of his 38 passes against the relegation-threatened Midlanders. Most surprisingly, 17 of those 35 were progressive and into more advanced areas.
On the contrary, for all of his proficiency in possession, which was once again highlighted by his wicked delivery to assist Mohamed Salah's winner, Alexander-Arnold was on hand to add a complementary gloss to Fabinho's display; finishing the contest with the most ball recoveries of any player on the pitch (10).
And now after a string of encouraging performances, most recently following Alexander-Arnold's tactical tweak but previously against Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in early March, Liverpool know they cannot afford to let the Brazilian suffer a similar decline next season if they are to return to the top end of the Premier League alongside Manchester City and the rest of the hunting pack.
Ahead of a summer of rife midfield changes at Anfield, perhaps Jurgen Klopp has just discovered his blueprint for a second, great Liverpool dynasty.
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