Fabinho has finally taken a penalty in a competitive match for Liverpool. The 28-year-old stepped up on Sunday to confidently put the Reds 2-1 up against Shrewsbury just before half time.
This was far from the Brazilian’s first time dealing with the pressure of trying to score from the spot though.
During his time at Monaco, Fabinho became something of a penalty specialist. He found the net in 21 out of 22 attempts including scoring in big games against PSG and Marseille.
His only miss came in a Champions League quarter final against Borussia Dortmund, a tie which Monaco went on to win anyway.
Amazingly, his penalty on Sunday was his first in a competitive game for nearly four years. Some Liverpool fans may remember the number three stepping up 17 minutes into his Reds debut and missing in a pre-season friendly against Torino.
That may explain why he hasn’t been trusted in the past. But following his successful spot kick at Anfield on Sunday, Fabinho holds an impressive conversion rate of 96% now.
Better than Salah?
Comparing Fabinho to Liverpool’s regular penalty taker, Mohamed Salah, makes for interesting reading.
The Egyptian took over duties fulltime from James Milner at the end of the 18/19 season. He has proven to be an incredibly reliable presence from the spot, famously scoring a huge penalty in the Champions League final in 2019.
All in all Salah has taken 29 career penalties, missing four and posting a conversion rate of 83%. Two of those misses came in the same game for Egypt, while he has also worryingly missed two of his last four for Liverpool.
His last failure to convert, in the 1-0 loss to Leicester in December ended up being costly for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Time for a change
There is no doubt that Salah is a great penalty taker. But given his recent misses from 12 yards, it might be wise for Klopp to take the pressure off him and hand it to Fabinho.
The midfielder arguably has better technique and a better record than his teammate. He never looked like missing on Sunday. Granted the opposition was of a lower level, but Fabinho has the stats to back himself up. Even if it’s only temporary, maybe it’s time for a change.
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