Via Echo
Fabio Carvalho has been asked to pinpoint the turning point in his first season with Liverpool where his campaign started to fall away
Carvalho
“I don’t know, maybe… I want to say after the Forest game.”
Signed in a deal worth up to £7.7m from Fulham when his contract expired, the Portuguese actually enjoyed a bright start at Anfield.
it didn’t prove to be the introduction to life at Anfield that Carvalho had hoped for.
Carvalho actually started back-to-back games for the first time in a Liverpool shirt when lining up at the City Ground in October 2022. It was his 12th appearance for the club
Yet he was withdrawn in the 62nd minute, soon after former Red Taiwo Awoniyi had fired Forest into the lead
Eighth in the table after 11 games played by the end of the weekend, Liverpool found themselves five points off the top four
Carvalho
“I started that game, we didn’t really play that well,”
“And after that game, I just didn’t really have that many chances. Or if I did, it would be like five minutes, 10 minutes.”
That trip to the East Midlands 19 months ago remains the last time Carvalho started for the Reds in the Premier League
Carvalho would start just three more times in the domestic cups
Carvalho added
“I played against Man City in the cup, but I wasn’t even supposed to start,”
“I think Bobby Firmino got injured or was ill. I scored, but got taken off at half-time. And that was it.”
Carvalho would knock on Jurgen Klopp’s office door, looking to talk to his manager about his limited game-time.
He admits he perhaps should have spoken to the German more.
Carvalho stated
“Yes, I spoke to him. Spoke to him not a lot, if I’m being honest with you,”
“Maybe I should have done that, I have should have done that a bit more.
“But I did speak to him. He just said, ‘Be patient. You’re training well, your chance will come.’
“And I did think I was training well. To the point where some of the players were asking me,
‘What’s going on? Why are you not playing?’
“It is what it is kind of thing. But yeah, I did see him and he said, ‘Just be patient, keep training, and your chance will come.’ That’s all I could ask of him.
“He was honest with me, he gave me a few pointers on what I could do and what I could improve on, and I just tried to apply that in training.”
It is easy to forget that Carvalho genuinely enjoyed a bright start to his Liverpool career, scoring in back-to-back appearances against AFC Bournemouth and Newcastle United - with the latter being a last-minute winner at Anfield.
Unsurprisingly, it is the highlight of the Portuguese’s Reds career to date.
Carvalho is in no mood to give up on his Liverpool career just yet. With Arne Slot set to replace Klopp as manager this summer, he still wants more highs to come
Carvalho
That goal (against Newcastle), I think that sticks out,” he said. “People don’t really see day to day in training, because I obviously didn’t play as much.
“Going in every day, training under one of the best managers and training with the best players in the world.
“The best in training for me, like technically, was Firmino or Thiago. I kind of try to emulate my game on how they play.
“But one that stands out to me was Mo (Salah). Just the work ethic. He’s always looking to give me advice. Not just me but all the young players who want the advice.
“I feel like if you work hard, on the pitch or off the pitch, he values that and it goes a long way with him. He takes you under his wing and he’s helped me a lot.
“The same with Milly (James Milner), Milly helped me a lot as well. At the same time, he’s doing his coaching.
“He would give me a few pointers and do extras with me after training, so yeah, he’s helped me a lot.
“What else could you ask for? Even if I wasn’t playing much, I was still improving every day. And I got a few goals and did have a decent start.
“In a footballer’s career, there is always going to be highs and lows. I am looking to hopefully go back and get as many highs as possible.”
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