Jurgen Klopp told his pre-match press conference that Thiago Alcantara ‘had to learn’ about Liverpool and they had to learn about him this season.
The German shared that, after a slow start because of injuries, Thiago has been ‘outstanding’ for Liverpool and he has had to ‘adapt’ his game since his £20 million move from Baryen Munich in the summer (Sky Sports).
The 29-year-old has started five Premier League games on the bounce for the Reds and it seems that, slowly but surely, his motor is starting to heat up.
Klopp was asked about how he thinks Thiago has faired in the colours of Liverpool and the impact he has had.
“Good, good, good,” said Klopp. “Really good. We were far from being perfect the situation, so with him coming in and being injured pretty early and stuff like this.
“But coming in. We had to learn and he had to learn. We had to learn how he plays and he had to learn how we play. Without changing everything.
“So, you buy Thiago Alcantara from Bayern and you tell him ‘okay, nice. But, from now, you do this different, this different and this different’, so it’s a job and usually, you need time for that.
“That it settles. Things find together, kind of naturally, without changing too much, just making it better by using the different skill sets.
“What did he do at Bayern? Which role did he play there? Yes, it was a six but it was more of a double six, so we decided to adapt his position, a little bit. And it worked out really well. It gives us stability. It gives him stability and we use his football skills, which are outstanding.”
Whilst Thiago’s game is beginning to pick up and he is starting to earn regular minutes out on the pitch, it still seems as though Liverpool aren’t getting the best out of him because of their lack of balance in the side.
It isn’t helped when the likes of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho are playing at the back, but that will now all change with the arrivals of centre-back duo Ben Davies and Ozan Kabak on deadline day.
The quicker they can settle in, the more it can help the team, but the duo won’t be available for Liverpool’s showdown with Brighton tonight.
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