Piledrivers, 'Panenka' and Premier League glory - five great Fabinho moments
Relive five memorable Fabinho moments after the midfielder concluded his trophy-laden five-year spell with Liverpool today.
The Brazilian has sealed a permanent transfer to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad, departing Anfield having made 219 appearances for the Reds and lifted multiple major honours – including the Champions League and Premier League.
Here are some of our favourite Fabinho moments during his time at the club…
A surprise arrival
Fabinho completed his transfer to Liverpool from AS Monaco just two days after Jürgen Klopp’s side had been beaten in the 2018 Champions League final.
His arrival was not just a timely pick-me-up for Reds fans still trying to shake off the disappointment in Kyiv, but something of a bolt from the blue.
The club truly swooped in to ensure the Brazilian was officially announced as a new recruit for 2018-19 before the dust had even settled on 2017-18.
Come August, Fabinho’s adaptation to his new team would prove to be more of a patient approach, with the No.3 having to wait for his chance to stake a claim.
His ability to dominate in midfield was soon clear for all to see, however, and earned him the label ‘lighthouse’ for his important influence on the pitch.
That crunching challenge against Barça
To this day, nobody is quite sure how it was a yellow card.
But it does not matter.
Fabinho’s raking, powerful tackle on Luis Suarez during the first half of the Champions League semi-final second leg versus Barcelona at Anfield in 2019 was high among the many tone-setting moments of that night.
Trailing 3-0 from the first leg, Klopp’s men needed a perfect performance to turn the tie around – and would have to do it without Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.
Hopes of a miraculous comeback got the ideal turbo-charge when Divock Origi netted just seven minutes in.
Fabinho’s cruncher on Suarez – a firm yet fair challenge in most eyes – was delivered moments later and, regardless of the referee’s decision, further fuelled the energy and belief inside the stadium as the Reds went on to achieve a stunning 4-0 win.
A piledriver past Manchester City
After just a single point separated Liverpool and Manchester City in the title race of 2018-19, a November contest between the sides the next season always looked likely to have significant bearing on the championship’s destination.
Klopp’s men would prevail 3-1 on that afternoon at Anfield – and of course in the battle for the league itself – and it all started with a thunderous swipe of Fabinho’s right foot.
Collecting a half-clearance 20 yards or so from the City goal at the Anfield Road end, the No.3 unleashed a pinpoint blast that whistled inside the left post.
As the home crowd erupted, Fabinho pointed to an imaginary watch on his wrist, acknowledging his belief he was overdue a goal.
Advantage to the Reds. And they did not look back.
Becoming a Premier League champion
Indeed, Liverpool ended the wait for a first league title for 30 years in the most emphatic of fashions.
A club-record 99 points were accrued over the course of a campaign that was prolonged as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with matches paused for three months from mid-March.
Fabinho remained at the heart of the XI, appearing in 28 Premier League games and delivering another stunning goal as the title neared.
In the Reds’ second fixture following the season’s restart, at home to Crystal Palace, he lashed in a brilliant drive from long range to aid a 4-0 success.
Twenty-four hours later, Chelsea’s defeat of City confirmed he and his teammates were champions.
His ‘Panenka’ penalty at Wembley
Fabinho boasted a strong record from the penalty spot before joining Liverpool.
And his efficiency from 12 yards held up on each of the three occasions he was called upon in normal time by the Reds: dispatching kicks against Shrewsbury Town, Palace and Watford in 2021-22.
But his best and cheekiest was certainly produced in the Carabao Cup final of the same season.
Second up in the shootout against Chelsea at Wembley, the Brazil international eschewed the more typical choices of power or placement to dink a ‘Panenka’ penalty into the middle of the net as Klopp’s men went on to win.
“The day before, I tried to do a Panenka [in training], but it was just me and Luis Diaz without a goalkeeper in the goal,” Fabinho later explained.
“I tried to shoot like this and I told him, ‘Tomorrow if we go to pens, I will shoot like this.’ He didn’t believe me, but when I was walking to the ball to take that penalty it was in my mind that I would shoot a Panenka. It worked!”