Fabinho’s return to midfield key for Liverpool: Richard Buxton
Brazilian playing in natural position has given central defence better protection
The solution to Liverpool's problems has been under Juergen Klopp's nose all this time.
He just hadn't realised it until now.
Shunting square pegs into round holes led the German to prioritise caution over convention as the Reds' season rapidly deteriorated to the point of near collapse.
Booking a place in the Champions League quarter-finals with a 2-0 win (4-0 on aggregate) over RB Leipzig yesterday morning (Singapore time) indicates Klopp's safety-first approach has shifted.
His shrunken "mentality monsters" finally rose again to secure a long-awaited home victory at Budapest's Puskas Arena, some 2,000km away from their Anfield abode.
Yet it was not the change of setting which set in motion a mirror image of Liverpool's round-of-16, first-leg triumph against Julian Nagelsmann's Bundesliga title hopefuls.
Fabinho's return to the heart of midfield proved the catalyst for the fallen English Premier League champions to revert to a familiar incarnation of their former selves.
He had not started a game in that preferred position since last October. Arguably, Virgil van Dijk's season-ending injury has claimed more victims than just the Dutchman himself.
A lack of command in games due to a sheer desperation to recapture what had been lost when their talismanic defender limped out of the Merseyside Derby saw them sacrificing key influences elsewhere, with Fabinho's upheaval a classic case in point.
Klopp removed the Brazilian enforcer and Jordan Henderson from his engine room out of bare necessity to cover a backline which was decimated on an almost weekly basis.
Whatever misgivings the Liverpool manager had over the collective inexperience of Nathaniel Phillips and Ozan Kabak, Fabinho helped the duo allay them in the Hungarian capital.
MOPPING UP PLAY
Leipzig's inability to seriously test Alisson throughout their latest encounter was thanks in no small part to the role of his compatriot in mopping up play. Fabinho boasted an impressive 12 ball recoveries and won a further eight balls through duels and interceptions.
Kabak and Phillips were not the sole beneficiaries of Fabinho's reassuring presence, either. Thiago Alcantara appeared more akin to the player that Liverpool believed they had signed for a steal from Bayern Munich at the beginning of this campaign.
For large parts of his formative months at Anfield, the Spain international resembled an amalgam of the EPL's two most ignominious midfielders. He was part Juan Sebastian Veron and part Lee Cattermole. Rash challenges and misplaced passes became fortes.
Unburdened by being the original port of call for containment, however, Thiago showcased the repertoire which helped Bayern reach Europe's pinnacle last term.
Ironically, having the shackles released led to the 29-year-old producing more tackles than any other Liverpool player alongside a sharp eye for creativity in the final third.
Klopp belatedly realising the error of his ways has the potential to galvanise his side to go forth and salvage respectability from the competition they won barely two years ago.
The omens are already in Liverpool's favour, not least with this season's Champions League final being held at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium - the scene of the "Miracle of Istanbul".
But it is another Anfield side that became kings of the continent that carries the more striking parallel; one which appeared destined to claim back-to-back titles after topping the table on Boxing Day, only for injuries and poor results to send them into a tailspin.
Sound familiar?
Four decades on from the glory of 1981, history could be coming full circle for Liverpool.
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