Everything fit for Thiago and Liverpool or seemed to. And, the signing of the midfielder this summer by the Premier champion was considered the icing on the cake to a seamless project. A different player who brought that extra creativity to Klopp's muscular midfield. Nevertheless, With more than half a season played, the Spaniard has begun to accumulate more criticism than praise, with the net defeat against Leicester (3-1) as the straw that broke the camel's back.
“Liverpool were spectacular until 1-1. Thiago is a drag defensively! The goalkeeper's decision-making capacity has disappeared in the last two games!”Jamie Carragher, club legend and now commentator, tweeted after the match. The second part of the sentence was addressed to an Alisson who has abandoned his usual reliability and has made serious errors. The first, towards the former Bayern. Thiago entered the field at 16 minutes, to replace an injured Milner, and the equalizer came after a foul committed, and converted directly by Maddison, for the oldest of the Alcántara on the edge of the area.
“Thiago was a weak component”
Another ex-footballer who joined in pointing out was Jermaine Jenas, on the 'BBC'. The former Tottenham midfielder, among others, had this to say: “I think they don't have enough legs there (in midfield) right now. When you have a link, be it weak or strong, missing in a chain, everything falls apart. I think it's clear today (by game day), when they try to push up, for me, Thiago was a weak component for them without the ball. “
“He's doing things that he shouldn't”
Likewise, he compared it with his previous stage in Munich and analyzed the problem from his prism. “He was doing well at Bayern. So it's a problem with the system right now. QMaybe his way of pressing was different at Bayern Munich. It's pretty clear to me that you are doing things that you shouldn't be doing. I feel like he's pulling himself out of the game. Press someone when three Leicester players are around, they dodge easily. If you hold the position, it is even more complicated. It arrives late to the pressure “, sentenced.
The statistics do not accompany
A knee injury and the coronavirus, in addition to waiting for his signing to be resolved, did not let Thiago start the season at the same pace as his teammates. On his return, has started in seven of the nine Premier matches played (He entered the second half in the first and at the beginning of the first, in the last), but he has not managed to settle in the defensive fabric of Liverpool. What's more, he is not being able to count on the bodyguards he would have wantedBecause Fabinho or Henderson are spending more time caring for the center of the rear, due to the injuries suffered by their teammates, than the engine room.
The '6' has not managed to have the desired impact on the game of Klopp's (neither goals nor assists, sensations aside), depressed, in fourth position and 13, with one more game, from a City that is launched for the Premier. It's more, When Thiago returned to team dynamics, Mersey's were leading. In these last nine games, they have only achieved two victories. Be that as it may, both Thiago and Liverpool need a swerve …