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Gary Neville: 'Fabinho is a top player'

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville brands Liverpool midfielder Fabinho "a top player".

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has branded Liverpool midfielder Fabinho "a top player".

Fabinho did not feature in any of Liverpool's first eight Premier League matches of the 2018-19 campaign following a summer move from Monaco.

However, the Brazilian has been a regular in recent weeks, and impressed in Liverpool's 3-1 win over Manchester United last weekend before putting in another strong performance in Friday's 2-0 success at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Neville has admitted that he was initially unsure whether the 25-year-old would be able to cope with the demands of Premier League football but has now completely changed his mind.

"He got a little bit of criticism a few games ago, against Arsenal, when he didn't do to well and I had wondered whether he would adapt to the pace," Neville told Sky Sports News. "But last week against Manchester United he was fantastic.

"What I liked about him was sometimes you see a defensive midfield player and they play horizontally, the shuffle across horizontally, they pass horizontally. He actually moved up the pitch. He was up in the game, backing up at the edge of the box. His pass for the first goal was absolutely fantastic, cut United open.

"Last week was the first time I saw him put in a performance where I thought 'this looks like a top player'. Obviously we know he's top player but you just think is he going to settle into this Liverpool team? It looked like a slow start but now it looks he's delivering what Jurgen Klopp wanted him to."

Liverpool will be top of the Premier League table at Christmas.

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Matt Law
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Liverpool midfielder Fabinho in action during a pre-season friendly with Bury in July 2018
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool15113131131836
2Chelsea16104237191834
3Arsenal1686229151430
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest168442119228
5Manchester CityMan City168352823527
6Bournemouth167452421325
7Aston Villa167452425-125
8Fulham166642422224
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton166642625124
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1672736191723
11Brentford167273230223
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle166552321223
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd166462119222
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham165472129-819
15Crystal Palace163761721-416
16Everton153661421-715
17Leicester CityLeicester163582134-1314
18Ipswich TownIpswich162681628-1212
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1623112440-169
20Southampton1612131136-255


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