Fabinho Honors Firmino Before Final Match

Fabinho has paid tribute to Roberto Firmino ahead of his last opportunity to feature for Liverpool this weekend. The midfielder joined the Reds shortly after their defeat in the 2018 Champions League final in Kiev and has spent five years of his career with his fellow countryman. Firmino said an emotional farewell to Anfield in the side’s final home game of the campaign against Aston Villa, coming off the bench to score a late equaliser in front of the Kop. Fabinho was full of praise for the departing forward and admitted that the entire squad will “miss” his presence when he has gone. He said “We all will miss Bobby. You can see how special he is for the fans, for us the players. For me personally, he was really important for me since my arrival at the club, the way he welcomed me, he helped me to adapt in the club, in the city.” Four players will leave Anfield upon the expiry of their contracts this summer, with James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joining Firmino in bringing their Liverpool careers to an end after the trip to Saint Mary’s. It has been a difficult campaign from both an individual and collective standpoint for Fabinho, but both his and the team’s performances have taken a turn for the better in recent weeks. Fabinho admitted that there have been few things to shout about from a Liverpool perspective but praised the impact of Stefan Bajcetic, who took his place in the side after the World Cup while the Brazilian grappled with form. He continued “In general I think we can take positive things from the season – some players stepped up, had the opportunity and played really well. It’s the case of Stefan Bajcetic.” Liverpool will look to bounce back from a turbulent campaign to compete for all of the major honours once again next season.