Thiago Alcântara has been speaking to Sky Sports about all things Liverpool in a revealing interview.
The 30-year-old spoke about how the pace of the Premier League surprised him at first, and also spoke about his past experiences of Anfield.
However, Thiago also found time to heap praise on Fabinho.
Sky Sports quote him as saying: “He is a very smart and intelligent player. He knows how and where to be on the pitch, and he has great strength in challenges. He’s there, he’s strong and he wins all the battles for us.
“Sometimes he has to handle not just his own player but my player or another team-mate’s player as well, but he does a great defensive job and you can see also that sometimes he goes forward in an offensive way and does amazingly for us as well.”
It’s no surprise that the 41-cap Spain international loves the 12-cap Brazil international.
Fabinho makes Thiago’s life a lot easier in Liverpool’s midfield, to say the least.
The 27-year-old hoovers things up ahead of Klopp’s backline, and always seems to find a way to intercept the ball with those long legs of his.
Players like Fabinho, N’Golo Kante, Fernandinho and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg are crucial to helping their sides function properly.
With Fabinho in the team, the more creative players like Thiago, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino are able to thrive with less defensive responsibility.
It speaks volumes that Liverpool have looked much more like their old selves ever since Klopp reinstated Fabinho to the midfield.
When Jordan Henderson regains full fitness, Liverpool’s midfield three should compliment each other perfectly, in our view.
In Fabinho, Henderson and Thiago, there is a nice blend of creativity, robustness and energy, which should help Salah, Firmino and Sadio Mané excel.
When Fabinho had to cover at centre-back, it was also telling to see Thiago struggle to impose himself on games, as he found himself doing the dirty work in midfield.
Simply put, Liverpool’s No.3 is crucial, and can influence how others perform with his displays alone.
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