Seven minutes was all it took for Liverpool’s impressive performance to be crushed in the most startling manner at the King Power Stadium. It was perhaps the perfect metaphor to epitomise Jurgen Klopp’s season.
Meanwhile, off the pitch, the relentless injury crisis at Liverpool continues to showcase no signs of slowing down.
Klopp’s injury setbacks at present reads: Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho, Diogo Jota, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, James Milner, Ben Davies, Naby Keita, Divock Origi and Caoimhin Kelleher.
Ironically, Liverpool top the injury table and are also the leading pack in terms of errors leading to goals, per The Independent.
Fabinho reports
If such a lengthy list of absentees wasn’t enough to stomach, it appears as if matters could be about to get worse.
Prior to the defeat at Leicester, The Telegraph reported that Fabinho’s muscle injury could be worse than first feared.
In fact, the Brazilian could miss the Champions League clash with RB Leipzig, as well as the Merseyside derby against Everton next Sunday.
My Revenge On Ben Foster
Fabinho, 27, was rushed back from injury only last week to play in the defeat to Manchester City at Anfield.
Once again, his absence forced Jordan Henderson to deputise out of position.
As Arsene Wenger perfectly eluded to, so many forced tactical tweaks and systematic changes have damaged the dynamic to Liverpool’s relentless approach in matches.
“They lost Van Dijk and what was their strength was winning the ball high with him and Jordan Henderson in midfield,” the former Arsenal manager analysed on BeIn Sport. “By moving the captain back, they’ve lost that as well.
“Liverpool were very efficient because the time on the ball for the opponent was short.
“By changing structure, they’ve given more time to their opponents. They used to win the ball higher up and quickly feed their strikers.
“That was the main reason for their success – and of course – good defensive stability. They have lost a bit of all of that.”
And as a result, Liverpool have gone from runaway Premier League leaders, to a team fighting for their lives to secure a top-four finish.
Without Fabinho for a sustained period of time, even breaking into the Champions League suddenly looks like a mammoth task for Klopp’s players.
Reaction
Let’s see how the Anfield faithful are reacting to the latest reports on Fabinho…