Fabinho emerges as Liverpool’s goal machine as he hits purple patch in 2022

Fabinho was the standout player as Liverpool traveled to Burnley, hoping not to slip in the rain and lose their chance to close the gap on leaders Manchester City. The weather and Burnley’s renewed determination after holding Manchester United to a point in their last outing looked like a perfect trap for Jurgen Klopp’s men.

Relentless as the downpour, the Reds broke the deadlock through a cross from Sadio Mané that found Fabinho after a fabulous corner by Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Brazilian international’s recent stats speak for himself as he slowly emerges as Liverpool’s new go-to man in clutch situations.

Fabinho’s purple patch

The Liverpool midfielder has five goals in seven games so far.

Fabinho is leading the stats among the Reds as he tops the chart with the most goals scored in 2022. So far in eight games across competitions, he has added five goals to his tally. Bought from Monaco in 2018 for a fee of £40.5 million, the 28-year-old had scored only three goals for the club before firing on all cylinders this season.

The goal against Burnley was Fabinho’s third league goal in the last four games, after scoring against Brentford and Crystal Palace. As Burnley threatened Alisson’s goal, getting in behind the Merseysiders' high line, the Brazilian international’s strike helped alleviate the pressure on Liverpool’s defense.

Fabinho’s only goal helped the Reds cling onto second place in the table, demonstrating just how important the Reds number six is to Jurgen Klopp’s plans.

A new source of goals for Liverpool?

With Mohamed Salah is yet to find the nets since his return from AFCON, the Brazilian International stepped up as the new goalscorer for the Reds.

Fabinho was the main man against Burnley. He completed 83 percent of his passes, had 69 touches, three shots at goal and made two clearances. He helped tidy up the defense, as well as leading up front with his goal being the only thing separating the two sides.

Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for his midfielder:

“Yeah, great! Actually he probably would have already scored much more goals for Liverpool if I would have put him in the box in offensive set-pieces: only recently we put him in and since then he scores! Great goal, an absolutely great goal.”

The game against Burnley gave a glimpse of a tired Sadio Mané with Mohamed Salah still searching the back of the nets since his return from the AFCON. Luis Diaz was rested, considering the tough nature of the game and hence, the Reds saw themselves lacking a creative plan.

The Liverpool midfielder came through in the clutch, hence providing Jurgen Klopp with another option if the Reds find themselves needing a goal scorer.