Fans “bewildered” by Jurgen Klopp’s subs after Fabinho’s “worst” cameo

Liverpool’s defence of the FA Cup came to a crashing halt as they lost 2-1 to Brighton, with fans questioning Jurgen Klopp‘s use of his substitutes.

Brighton 2-1 Liverpool

FA Cup Fourth Round, AMEXJanuary 29, 2023

Goals: Dunk 39′, Mitoma 90+2′; Elliott 30′

The Reds looked to be producing an improved display as they went a goal ahead at the AMEX through Harvey Elliott, but were undone by a lucky Lewis Dunk equaliser.

A controlled start to the second half was then undone, with Klopp turning to the likes of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson from the bench having dropped them for the past three games.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it proved Liverpool’s downfall, with Kauro Mitoma netting a winner in stoppage time to knock the Reds out of the cup.

Here’s how fans reacted to the 2-1 defeat on Twitter, Facebook and the This Is Anfield comments section.

After a bright start, there were some questionable subs…

“When our go-to players are Millie, Hendo and Fab, the world knows we are clutching at non-existent straws.”

– Imtiaz Ismail on Facebook.

“Klopp f***ed up with the late subs. He does it too often.”

– Anthony Poole on Facebook.

Another strong showing from Stefan Bajcetic was followed by an awful Fabinho cameo…

“Fabinho should’ve been sent off, that was a disgusting and reckless challenge. Which sums up his year, on for 3 minutes and deserved to be sent off.”

– Adil Gunturu on Facebook.

There was a mix of frustration, apathy and muted optimism at full-time…

“Couple of massive positives today:– No replay– Another day closer to the end of the season”

– Srikanth Suresh in the comments section.

“Thought we played ok for first 60-70 minutes, but by time we made all subs, everything went flat.

“Brighton are very good team and in great form, so no particular shame in losing, but disappointing to throw away in last few minutes.

“Gakpo played well at least.”

– Kiran Kara on Facebook.