Liverpool's 5-0 victory at Manchester United last season was surely the zenith of their 92-point Premier League campaign, but for Fabinho, he was forced to watch some 50 miles away back at home.
While Naby Keita, Jordan Henderson and Curtis Jones, who replaced James Milner before the half-hour mark, tormented their United counterparts in midfield, Fabinho was resting up following a knee injury.
As the goals rained down at Old Trafford last October, the Brazil international was urging his colleagues on to do even more damage after Mohamed Salah had wrapped up a hat-trick to make it 5-0 with 40 minutes still left to play.
READ MORE: Fabinho opens up on Liverpool transfer links as midfield challenge outlined
READ MORE: 'I'm not in charge' - Jurgen Klopp makes Liverpool transfer admission as midfielder wish made
"To be honest I wanted the team to attack more and score more goals!" he laughs in an interview to preview Monday night's fixture at Old Trafford. "We had one more player at that moment (after Paul Pogba was sent off) and there was a moment where we tried to control the game. As a fan I wanted them to score more because it was a big opportunity to make a historic scoreline at Old Trafford, but of course 5-0 is not bad!
"Was I shouting at the TV? Sometimes, yes! Sometimes we are in a more fun [mindset] than a player one but then you understand because you are often on the pitch, so you try to understand a little bit of both sides but I think the fans were happy with the 5-0 win."
The famous victory in October over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men was followed up by a 4-0 hammering of a team coached by Ralf Rangnick in the return fixture at Anfield in April as Liverpool convincingly illustrated their superiority over United last term.
Jurgen Klopp's side have scored 13 times in their last three meetings with United and haven't been beaten by their historic rivals in the Premier League since March 2018. According to American data and market measurement company Nielsen, last season's fixture was viewed by 3.6m people in the UK and the fixture is generally the most watched in world football.
With the eyes of the world once again diverting to Old Trafford on Monday night, Fabinho expects to be front and centre in the middle of the park this time around as Liverpool aim to kick-start their own season by piling the misery on rock-bottom United further after they began their term with successive defeats to Brighton and Brentford.
"It is always good to play in a big game like this," Fabinho adds, as he chats at the AXA Training Centre on Friday morning. "I think it is the biggest game in England. I remember my first game against them (in December 2018). I was playing well but if you play well against them it gives you a different dimension – the fans will see you with different eyes and maybe the press as well.
"It was one of my best games in the Liverpool shirt and I was happy. It is nice not to lose to your biggest rivals in the league, it shows that maybe you are really strong. I hope it will stay like this because it is always good to win against them.
"It's always a big game and during the week the media talks a lot about this game so playing there is never easy and we know if we win there the fans will of course always be happy to beat the rivals. So I think at this moment we need three points as well, it will be the first three points of the season, so there are a lot of things that give us motivation.
"Playing in derbies is always a big motivation, I remember the last away game at Man Utd, I was watching at home because I was injured and the first half was almost perfect. We scored four goals in the first half and the way we played, the way we pressed them, the quality on the ball was unbelievable. I don't think about a win against them pushing them a little bit more into crisis, I just want to beat them and win three points."
If Liverpool's Premier League start has been underwhelming with back-to-back draws against Fulham and Crystal Palace, United's has been hugely alarming for new manager Erik ten Hag. An opening weekend defeat to Brighton at home was followed up by that shocking 4-0 loss at Brentford.
Fabinho says he can understand the supporters taking some enjoyment from the plight of their fierce rivals and admits United's wider struggles make it easier for the team itself in their pursuit of honours.
He says: "I think Man United is a really big team and has big money to invest as well so when a thing like this is not successful, I think it is good for us because it is one less team that will fight for titles or to win championships. I think this is good for us.
"If this happens with Man City as well I would be happy! It is one less team that will fight with us. Some of the clubs that can always fight for the top of the league or winning a championship and I think Man Utd is one of the teams and if things don't happen in the way they expect of course we will be happy because it is one less team on the top fighting for us.
"It is not the start we wanted [for ourselves] of course - two games, two draws. But it is only the beginning of the season, we are really calm about this. We know we can win the games to ensure that the gap doesn't become too big, to the other clubs, not just Man City. We are calm because we know the quality of the team and there are still 36 games left."
READ NEXT:
- Liverpool fitness boost for Manchester United and four other things spotted in training
- Liverpool 41-goal striker given opportunity as Manchester United squad hint dropped
- Wayne Rooney makes Man United v Liverpool prediction and Cristiano Ronaldo dropped claim
- Piers Morgan blasts Wayne Rooney over Cristiano Ronaldo call for Liverpool match
- Jurgen Klopp wants Liverpool to be awarded points if Manchester United match postponed again
