Jamie Carragher has stated that Thiago Alcantara has been ‘brilliant’ for Liverpool during these past few months following their 2-0 first-leg Champions League semi-final win over Villarreal on Wednesday night.
Liverpool landed the first few blows at Anfield, with Thiago securing the Man of the Match award and Carragher claiming that he is now ‘one of the first names on the teamsheet’, as he told CBS Sports (27/04/22 at 10:10 pm).
Thiago moved to Merseyside as a Champions League winner and with serious credentials behind him, although, his first season in the Premier League didn’t go as planned.
But, during this campaign, the 31-year-old has been outstanding, as the Reds chase an unimaginable quadruple.
Someone like Thiago has been key to their recent success, as Carragher shared ‘there was a lot of criticism’ towards the player when he first joined and he thinks he’s answering those now.
“He’s been brilliant, he really has,” said Carragher. “In these last three or four months, he has been one of the first names on the teamsheet.
“There was a lot of criticism when he came in because he wasn’t like the other Liverpool midfield players and would Liverpool lose something?
“But the reason they brought him in is that he can provide something different. There was always that debate last season ‘has he fitted in?’ Last season was a write off for Liverpool because of the injuries, also for Thiago as well.
“I think during the last three or four months, not just one of the best Liverpool players. He has possibly been one of the best players in the Premier League. He has made a huge difference to Liverpool.”
Thiago has been proving during these past few weeks how stats can sometimes be irrelevant.
Just like in the Champions League last night and against Manchester United last week, he has zero assists to his name.
Yet, during both of those matches, he was the one pulling the strings, protecting the ball like he had a shield around it and pinging passes like he had a Playstation controller in hand.
The tempo in which he plays in, the manner in which he disguises the ball, his vision and weight of pass is extraordinary.
But more of that is going to be needed during these coming weeks if the Reds are to create some never-written before history.
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