Erling Haaland had 20 goals in 13 appearances for Manchester City before the match against Liverpool at the weekend, so that obviously made him the big threat to the Reds at Anfield.
Despite all the worry about Pep Guardiola’s new centre-forward, the home team still managed to take good care of him, and by keeping a clean sheet, Jurgen Klopp’s side came out with an important 1-0 win.
Speaking to the Brazilian media after the match, Liverpool midfielder Fabinho talked about their preparation to stop Manchester City’s attack. And despite all the concerns regarding Haaland, the 28-year-old claimed that the Norwegian player wasn’t on his mind during the match.
“I think that, in my case, I wasn’t so worried about him because I already had Bernardo, Gundogan and Foden on my side (laughs),” Fabinho told ESPN Brasil‘s Natali Gedra.
“I was trying to close the spaces between the lines, then they do the movements very well, so they pass on the back of the fullbacks very well.”
Fabinho also sent praise to Liverpool centre-backs Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk, besides complimenting his national teammate Alisson.
“We were working well on the right side with Milner, Joe Gomez, so communication and also understanding with the other players is very important, and I think it worked very well. Then the two defenders played an excellent game, they managed to close Haaland’s spaces well.
“Of course, a player of that quality will always be able to have space, create chances, which is what happened, but Alisson was also very secure this afternoon, so I’m happy to have managed to close the spaces of a team as good as City.”
With the win, the Reds now jumped to eighth position as Jurgen Klopp works to get the team back on track. Before the Champions League returns, the Reds now have a couple of Premier League clashes against West Ham United and Nottingham Forest.
