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Thiago: Most ball actions, best pass rate
Photo:
Jon Super/AP
There are few people in the football business who are as quick-witted as Jürgen Klopp, but a few days ago the 54-year-old was speechless.
Klopp sat at a press conference and was asked about his midfielder Thiago.
He started to answer, but stopped.
Then he made sure he understood the question correctly.
"There are people who have doubted whether Thiago fits our style of play?"
"If he doesn't slow down Liverpool FC, exactly."
Then Klopp switched on the Klopp smile.
"Thank God these people don't have a say."
On Wednesday night, Klopp now watched as Thiago and the other Liverpool players took a big step towards the Champions League final.
They won the semi-final first leg in Anfield against Bayern conqueror Villarreal 2-0.
Safe.
Thiago had 120 ball actions, most of them on the pitch.
96.1 percent of his 103 passes came through, it was the best percentage of all starting eleven field players.
He was asked afterwards whether he had ever enjoyed a career phase as much as the current one.
"Actually, I quite enjoyed each phase," Thiago replied.
You could hear the shrug.
I play like always, that's what it means.
"We were ourselves," he said then.
'Patient to the end.
That was the key.”
This 'ourself', the way Liverpool are currently playing, has a lot to do with Thiago Alcántara.
The 31-year-old came to England from Bayern Munich the summer before last.
In Munich he won the Champions League as Bayern's playmaker, where he was considered the favorite of coach Hansi Flick.
In Liverpool he has a good chance of winning the title again and more.
There could be four this season.
It would be a first in club history.
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The coach and his playmaker: Klopp and Thiago after the final whistle against Villarreal
Photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images
Thiago is a special case at Liverpool FC.
Players never reach the zenith of their creativity there;
the core of transfer strategy is recognizing who is about to break through and then striking.
For 50 million euros instead of 100. In recent years, no player older than 26 has come for a lot of money. With one exception.
Apparently something special was seen in the 29-year-old Thiago.
Anyone who followed the game against Villarreal, or the derby against Everton at the weekend, the games before that against Manchester United and Man City, who is currently experiencing this footballer in Liverpool midfield, understands why.
Liverpool had been one of the world's best teams before.
But with Thiago, the Reds' style of play has changed.
He expands Klopp's repertoire.
There were times when 90 minutes like Anfield's last night might have become a problem for Klopp.
Defeating very deep defending opponents who are as organized as Spain made the team more difficult than rivals Man City with Pep Guardiola.
»How we defended was the key«
This was also due to the fact that the Liverpool midfielders had one main task in 4-3-3 possession: to protect.
The six held their position in front of their own defence, the two eights guarded the zone behind the advanced wingers.
Counterattacking is still in Liverpool's footballing DNA to this day.
"How we defended was the key today," said Klopp after the Villarreal game: "If you don't put them under pressure for just a moment, they combine quickly." That didn't happen, they missed a single shot English too.
Six-man Fabinho and eight-man Jordan Henderson played in midfield, as they do now against Villarreal.
But Georginio Wijnaldum, now in Paris, was replaced by Thiago.
And so Liverpool's game is different.
What is unique about Thiago is that he embodies world class in several different areas.
In contrast to Wijnaldum, he is exceptionally good at gaining space with his passes, i.e. not just playing to the side, but past opponents.
According to the data portal fbref, he is currently one of the top percent in Europe's top leagues in this regard.
He also keeps the game going like no one else in the squad by making himself playable at the right angle.
This is more complex than it sounds because it requires answers to multiple questions.
Where do I have to stand so that:
my team-mate has a pass before he comes under pressure
I don't come under pressure even after receiving the ball
I at least have my own new play station
and this can also continue the game in a meaningful way, i.e. does not get into trouble itself.
Thiago brings this element of possession to the Liverpool game without neglecting defensive stability.
Because the Spaniard is also an excellent clearer.
Even in the Bundesliga, he was always one of the best ball chasers in the league for years.
He was also seen winning balls again and again against Villarreal, intercepting passes, struggling and winning second balls.
With him, the team defends as well as it did in the best of times, but at the same time is even more dominant and patient in possession.
Even if Thiago does not play the game alone, but usually shares this job with Trent Alexander-Arnold, he has played a major role in Liverpool now finding solutions.
Also those, by the way, that remained hidden from Munich in the quarter-finals against Villarreal.
It may not be a coincidence that Bayern have not made it past the quarter-finals of the premier class since Thiago's departure.
"For him, it's all about being fit and staying fit"
In the pre-season it didn't seem to fit between Thiago and Liverpool.
He often missed out injured and didn't look fit when he played.
He often seemed to rush into tackles instead of staying on his feet and deliberately defending.
As if he wanted to adapt to the tougher English style of play compared to the Bundesliga.
Possibly, however, Thiago simply lacked the fitness.
Footballers often tend to straddle if they lack the stamina to pursue an opponent for longer.
All or nothing.
»It's all about him being fit and staying fit.
That he's injury-free," Klopp said of his playmaker last week.
That has been the case for weeks and Thiago has been an issue ever since.
"His skills are amazing," Klopp enthused in February, but recently he seemed increasingly annoyed when asked about the Spaniard.
No coach likes it when one of their players is singled out.
After the 2-0 win over Villarreal, it was not goal scorer Sadio Mané who was named "Player of the Game" by Uefa, but Thiago.
At the press conference after the game, it wasn't just the Spaniard that was discussed, but also how good the result was.
A journalist reminded Klopp of a game from 2018. Back then, Liverpool also won against an outsider in the semi-finals of the Champions League, 5-2 against AS Roma.
In the second leg it was much closer than expected, Liverpool lost 2:4.
He didn't have to think about this duel at all, Klopp replied.
»Today's team is completely different.
We are different."
How right he is.