Nedum Onuoha says there was ‘a lot of frustration in the crowd’ towards Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara as Jurgen Klopp watched his side record a 2-2 draw against Wolves in the FA Cup over the weekend.
The former Manchester City defender added that ‘people are figuring out’ that you can dispossess the 31-year-old Liverpool player, especially when his attempted trickery on the ball doesn’t work, as he told ESPN.
That was proven when the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona star played his part in Alisson Becker’s calamitous error for Wolves’ opener.
There has been a lot of talk regarding Liverpool’s midfield this season and how it needs refreshing.
This just isn’t a case of one new face being added during the January and summer transfer windows, but several.
Whilst someone like Thiago is a genius with the ball, he’s not going to exactly suffocate you without it or provide that much-needed aggression, as Onuoha spoke about the Anfield crowd’s reaction towards the player.
“It kind of is (opponents brushing past Thiago when watching him live) because sometimes you can sense he is going to do the trick,” said Onuoha. “When the trick is going well, then it’s incredible.
“When certain players are reading him and sort of winning the ball off the back of it, then there is a lot of frustration in the crowd over some of the things he was trying to do.
“Again, he has a great eye for a pass, but sometimes he tries to drift into space and it’s not too heavily contested, then when he does try to break it with something, it wasn’t high energy and it’s something that didn’t look impressive, at all.
“As you saw from the first goal, he gave the ball away 30 yards out from his own goal and tried to beat a man. Sometimes it doesn’t work. People are figuring that out, both on the field and in the stands as well.”
THIAGO SUFFERING WITHOUT A WIJNALDUM-LIKE FIGURE
Yes, the Reds have the likes of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to pick from. But Henderson is coming towards the end of his career now and he can no longer be that leader with and without the ball in the middle of the park.
Added to that, Fabinho’s form has fallen off a cliff and it’s harming the likes of Thiago, with the £20 million star (BBC Sport) unable to provide what the Brazil star usually produces without the ball.
Back in 2021, Liverpool parted ways with Wijnaldum, and in truth, they haven’t replaced the currently injured Roma star, who has become more valuable now he is no longer at the club.
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