Fabinho admits he did have concerns soon after joining Liverpool from AS Monaco.
The Brazilian was a surprise summer signing at Anfield last summer, something that only increased the excitement.
Here was a highly-rated defensive midfielder who would surely fill a void in the Liverpool squad.
Everyone waited, however, as Fabinho struggled to adapt to the team. He barely featured at all over the first few months and he didn’t make his debut until September – one sole minute in the Champions League.
Jurgen Klopp was always adamant that it would take time, though. But that didn’t stop the concerns that Fabinho just wouldn’t fit in at Liverpool.
And the Brazilian shared those concerns.
Fabinho on his Liverpool start
“I was concerned in the beginning of my time here because I was not playing so much,” Fabinho told Esporte Interativo. “But now I’m playing a lot and performing well.”
Klopp now has a lot of trust in Fabinho, though, as shown with the game against Bayern Munich.
A suspension ruled out Virgil van Dijk, while injuries did the same for Dejan Lovren and Joe Gomez. Liverpool had only Joel Matip as a fit centre back and Klopp chose Fabinho to fill the void.
But how do you replace a player like Van Dijk?
“It’s not easy to replace the best centre-back in the world,” said Fabinho. “We had some time to train in Spain.
“I got used to the position and we improved the communication between Joel, Robertson, Henderson and me.
“We know Bayern have a great attack and it was important to keep the clean sheet.”
Liverpool didn’t get a win against Bayern but things could have been a lot worse.
The first, second, and third choice centre-backs had injuries but Fabinho stepped up to secure a clean-sheet against an elite side.
Fabinho may have had concerns about Liverpool earlier in the season but he’s now one of the most valuable players they’ve got.