What a cameo from Thiago Alcantara for Liverpool on Friday night.
When the Spain international came on at half-time, the Reds were drawing 1-1 with Aston Villa’s Under-23 side effectively.
Sadio Mane fired Liverpool into an early lead, but Louie Barry, on his senior debut for the Villans, levelled up shortly before the break with a clean finish in this third-round FA Cup tie.
Jurgen Klopp unleashed one of his big guns at the break, swapping Jordan Henderson for Thiago and the former Bayern Munich midfielder’s influence showed immediately.
The 29-year-old’s range of passing and vision was missing for the Premier League champions, and he played a big role in Liverpool scoring three second-half goals.
And Michael Owen, speaking on BT Sport, says that Thiago is simply a joy to watch, adding that there’s nobody else in the Premier League like him.
He said: “This fella just makes me want to watch football 24 hours a day. The way he looks around, the way he gives it the eyes.
“There’s nobody in the Premier League, nobody that plays like him. He’s playing a different type of game than everyone else. His disguise on passes is unbelievable.”
What a huge miss he has been for Liverpool these past few months.
Well, they’ve still won enough games to reach the top of the Premier League table, but how much better could they be doing if he was fit?
He’s a majestic footballer and if he’s fit for the second half of the campaign, it’s just not good news for Klopp’s title rivals.
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