Jermaine Jenas said on Match of the Day on BBC One (10:37pm, February 13, 2021) that Thiago was “a really weak component” in the Liverpool midfield against Leicester City in the Premier League.
The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, who now works as a pundit for BBC Sport, said that Thiago was doing things that he should not be doing, as Liverpool went down 3-1 to Leicester away from home at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
As usual, former Spurs striker Gary Lineker was presenting the programme, and he pointed out that Thiago is used to playing a high-press game from his time at Bayern Munich.
Jenas said on Match of the Day on BBC One (10:37pm, February 13, 2021): “I think it was clear today when they were trying to play high press, for me, Thiago was probably a really weak component without the ball.”
Lineker quipped: “One thing to you on that. Thiago, when he played for Bayern Munich for quite some time, they also played very high press.”
Jenas responded: “It’s just within this system at the minute, so whether it’s just the fact that his presses at Bayern Munich were at different times than at Liverpool, it just seems quite clear to me that he is doing things that he shouldn’t be doing.”
Thiago needs to do better
Thiago did not play well against Leicester. The Spain international central midfielder seemed to struggle to make the right runs and the right decisions without the ball.
Even when the 29-year-old had the ball, the former Bayern and Barcelona star did not always pick the right passes.
According to WhoScored, Thiago had a pass accuracy of 95.6%, won two headers, took 64 touches, attempted two dribbles, and made three tackles and two interceptions.
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