Gattuso sees red over Milan’s display

Liverpool have wealth of midfield options in return to domestic action against Cardiff

AC

Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso says his side can forget about success in the championship if they continue to deliver the kind of “embarrassing performance” that saw them beaten 2-1 at home by Real Betis in the Europa League.

Italian media said Gattuso had a long meeting with Milan’s director of sport Leonardo Araujo after Thursday’s defeat and had been given two more matches to put things right. Milan are 12th in Serie A with 12 points from eight games and have dropped to second in their Europa League group. (Reuters)

Fabinho’s impressive display in Liverpool’s midweek Uefa Champions League success has left his manager Jurgen Klopp with a difficult decision to make ahead of the team’s return to domestic action at home to Cardiff today.

But, more importantly for Liverpool fans hoping to see an end to their club’s 29-year wait to be crowned champions of England again, the Brazilian’s emergence offers yet more hope that Klopp is assembling a squad capable of challenging for the Premier League trophy, with the Reds currently level on points with leaders Manchester City.

The 25-year-old, signed from Monaco in pre-season, has made a slow and stuttering start to his life in English football. His 21-minute substitute appearance in last weekend’s victory at Huddersfield is still the only league football he has to his name this season, with Klopp appearing to have done a masterful job of integrating him carefully into his line-up.

But Fabinho’s 90-minute performance in the 4-0 victory over Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday suggested he is capable of playing a significant role in a versatile midfield corps that compares favourably with any in England’s top flight.

“He was very good, very good,” said Klopp of Fabinho who celebrated his 25th birthday on Tuesday. “The present for his birthday was not that he was in the line-up, it was that we played his favourite system. He played really well and it was good to see.”