Liverpool lost 2-0 away to Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, with Fabinho one of the few to genuinely impress for the Reds.
Jurgen Klopp‘s men faced a tough test on their return to European action and they tasted their first competitive defeat since May.
Jose Callejon won a soft late penalty after an apparent ‘foul’ by Andy Robertson—with the flaws of VAR exposed once again—and Dries Mertens converted the spot-kick.
Fernando Llorente then capitalised on a rare mistake by Virgil van Dijk to rub salt in the Reds’ wounds in the dying seconds.
Here we compare our player ratings with those from the Liverpool Echo, the Mirror, the Independent, Squawka, FotMob and the TIA readers.
Fabinho (8.0) was comfortably Liverpool’s standout performer on the night, once again showing why he is one of the world’s best defensive midfielders.
The 25-year-old was particularly colossal in the first half, making numerous tackles, producing incisive passes and dominating in the middle of the park.
The Echo‘s Ian Doyle described Fabinho‘s performance as “outstanding,” highlighting that he was “so often in the right place.”
Meanwhile, Squawka lauded the fact that the Brazilian “made a match-high six tackles and completed 95 percent of his passes.”
Adrian (7.5) also impressed at Stadio San Paolo, even though he ended up conceding twice.
It was no surprise to see his remarkable save to deny Mertens talked about, with David Maddock of the Mirror hailing it as a “worldie.”
Joel Matip (6.9) took home bronze in the average ratings, as he again cut an accomplished figure at the heart of the defence.
This is Anfield’s James Nalton stressed that neither Napoli goal had anything to do with the Cameroonian: Robertson (5.3) and Van Dijk (6.4) were the guilty parties for once.
Speaking of lowest-rated individual Robertson, he endured a tough evening, with Maddock saying he was a “subdued” figure who wasn’t fully fit.
Next up for Liverpool is a testing trip to Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday, as Klopp’s team look to retain their 100 percent record.
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