Jamie Carragher has written a column about Thiago Alcântara in The Telegraph today, and he’s aimed some criticism towards the Spaniard.
The Sky Sports pundit wrote: ‘Thiago is certainly a different profile of midfielder to the settled three. He is technically better, but lacks pace and his tackling is noticeably erratic, earning uncomplimentary comparisons with Paul Scholes’ tendency to dive in to challenges.’
Now, the pace aspect of Carragher’s comments doesn’t necessarily need to be construed as a criticism, to be honest.
The likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Xabi Alonso lacked pace, but their footballing brains made up for that, as does Thiago’s.
Carragher’s point about the former Barcelona maestro’s tackling is a more valid negative regarding his game, and is something he must sort out.
In any league, especially the Premier League, you can’t keep giving the opposition a chance to send their giants upfield and lump the ball into the box.
Sooner of later, by the laws of averages, they will score.
It was Thiago who gave away a silly freekick against Leicester last time out in the Premier League, which James Maddison struck beyond Alisson seconds later.
Even more so while the colossal Virgil van Dijk isn’t around to head things clear, Jürgen Klopp’s marquee summer signing needs to wise up when tackling.
Aside from the aforementioned set-piece issue, Thiago also runs the risk of picking up needless bookings, which would make him a target for the opposition as they aim to get him sent off.
He’s a majestic footballer, but the Spaniard must learn to be wiser in the tackle.
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