Micah Richards has sung Liverpool star Thiago Alcantara’s praises in his Daily Mail column after showing ‘immaculate’ skill to score one of the Champions League goals of the season.
Thiago left Richards in awe when he drilled home a half-volley from 20-yards to break the deadlock against Porto. Crashing the ball into Diogo Costa’s net with inch-perfect precision.
The 30-year-old was red alert as Otavio Monteiro headed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s free-kick clear. He swept in and fired the ball through Fabio Cardoso’s legs to find the far corner.
Jurgen Klopp had only handed Thiago his fourth start of the season across all competitions as Liverpool hosted Porto. The 2020 signing has again suffered with injuries since the start of the term, after a difficult debut campaign following his £25m move from Bayern Munich.
Thiago left Richards in awe as Liverpool beat Porto
Richards hopes Thiago can continue creating moments of quality like the Liverpool maestro managed against Porto. As the Spaniard’s goal will still be at the top at the end of the term.
“Thiago Alcantara… Wow! There wasn’t much riding on Liverpool’s Champions League date with Porto, but that didn’t stop their Spain midfielder producing a goal that will be in the competition’s top-five at the end of the season,” Richards wrote.
“The technique of his half-volley at the Kop end, the precision to put slice on it to ensure Diogo Costa could never get near it and the poise to keep his eye on the ball as it came to him were all absolutely immaculate. It zipped into the net like a stone skimming off a lake.
“Things haven’t gone as Thiago would have hoped in his first year at Liverpool, and he has found it a bit hard to adapt. But goodness me, he certainly is a player of the highest calibre.
“I hope he is going to produce more moments of this quality in the weeks to come.”
Thiago will want to repeat awe-inspiring feat
Thiago has only started one Premier League match in Liverpool’s last seven, ahead of facing Southampton at Anfield on Saturday.
Klopp fielding the 46-cap international against the Saints will also only see Thiago make his 10th outing of the campaign.
He has additionally already played 1,089 fewer minutes in all competitions than Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian has featured more often than any other Reds player so far this season.
Thiago, meanwhile, has managed just 394-minutes over nine outings in all competitions, with 282 coming in the Premier League.
A record he will no doubt want to improve, and show the quality that left Richards in awe and touting his strike as one of the Champions League goals of the season already.
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