Fabinho makes surprise Champions League final defeat admission
By Tom Gott
Liverpool midfielder Fabinho has claimed that defeat in the 2022 Champions League final was the "best thing" that could have happened to Jurgen Klopp's side.
The Reds approached the end of the season in the hunt for the quadruple but were forced to settle for a FA Cup/Carabao Cup double as Manchester City won the Premier League and Real Madrid secured a 1-0 victory in the European finale back in May.
Klopp's men were perhaps the stronger of the two sides on the day but ultimately had to settle for second place, but Fabinho told The Athletic that the team learned more from defeat than they would have from victory.
"After the final, I didn’t want to do the bus parade [around the streets of Liverpool],” he confessed. “I was hurt from losing.
"The feeling was that we had just missed out on something big. But when we came back to Liverpool and started on the parade the mood changed so much. I came to realise that it was the best thing that could have happened to us. It helped us all appreciate that despite the disappointment we had still made a lot of people happy with the season we had played.
“I wasn’t surprised by how many turned up because Liverpool fans are just crazy. But the support they showed us that day really was unbelievable. It showed what the club means to them.
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“Even though we had lost in Paris, they were happy. We shared that moment with them. It’s not every season you win two titles. The more I reflected, the more I appreciated what a good season it had still been. We came so close in the Premier League and the Champions League.”
Liverpool have brought in Darwin Nunez this summer in an attempt to topple City at the top of the Premier League standings, but Fabinho still believes that Pep Guardiola's reigning champions are still the favourites to win.
“City are always buying new players, always reinforcing their team. This summer was no different with [Erling] Haaland joining them. I think it will be a really good battle with them, but not just them.
“Tottenham have bought some good players, Arsenal too with Gabriel Jesus going there, Chelsea too. Everyone has been reinforcing because everyone wants to beat City. That means the Premier League will be at a really good level this season.”