Jurgen Klopp has given thrown his weight behind his new summer signing Thiago Alcantara, the Spanish playmaker, who made his debut for the Reds’ in Sunday’s 2-0 victory against Chelsea away from home.
The ex-Bayern Munich star midfielder was introduced on the pitch at the start of the second half, with the 29-year old replacing Liverpool FC skipper Jordan Henderson on the pitch. Minutes following his arrival at Stamford Bridge, Thiago played a major role in setting up Liverpool FC’s opening goal scored by Sadio Mane.
The closing 45 minutes in West London saw a brilliant performance in the centre of the park from the latest Anfield recruit. Thiago racked up 75 successful passes, the most by any player who played a maximum of 45 minutes since at least 2003-04 in the Premier League era.
Klopp was full of praise for his player’s showing against Frank Lampard’s side and the German coach expressed his delight with Thiago’s ability in his post-game interview while speaking to BBC Sport.
“We decided to bring Thiago on early because it was 11v10 and a player like him can command the rhythm. It was the perfect start for him and the boys helped him massively,” the Liverpool FC boss told BBC Sport.
“I liked his game a lot. Defensively it was tricky for him, but offensively, with the ball, that’s him, he wants to pass the ball.”
Liverpool FC supporters will undoubtedly be eager to see Thiago get his full debut in the Reds’ shirt very soon when Jurgen Klopp’s side go up against Lincoln City in the third round fixture of the EFL Cup on Thursday.
