​Liverpool assistant Lijnders lauds Fabinho for centre-back 'sacrifice' | OneFootball

Liverpool assistant manager Pep Ljinders is full of praise for Brazilian midfielder Fabinho.

The defensive midfielder put in a classy display at centre-half against Chelsea in a 2-0 win. It is not Fabinho's natural position, and one where he would rather not play.

But the injury crisis in the position meant he had to step up, and he put in an assured display for his team.

"It shows his character that he is always ready to help the team. Playing at centre-back, he sacrificed himself," Ljinders told reporters of the Brazilian.

"If you saw the difference between the Leeds game and the Chelsea game, the last game is a big compliment to our last line. The way we defended with the last line, their behaviour and braveness how we always controlled the movements of Timo (Werner) going in behind and how we stopped counter-attacks.

"I always say avoiding goals takes 22 feet and two gloves. It's not just Fabinho stopping the counter-attacks, as a whole team we have to defend, but Fabinho was an easy choice to be man of the match! Jurgen [Klopp] likes players who can play in different positions.

"Do we want Joe Gomez and Joel Matip back? Yes please! But Fabinho can play a super game there as well, as long as we defend the last line as we did at Chelsea. Otherwise it would be much more difficult for him."