Jurgen Klopp dismissed criticism of Thiago and insists the player is a ‘long-term’ project. The Spaniard shone against RB Leipzig.
Jurgen Klopp gave his take on Thiago on Wednesday evening. He spoke after the player had a starring role in Liverpool’s win over RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League.
“People are saying [the poor form] has to do with Thiago – that’s rubbish,” he told a press conference. “All of the new players have always needed some time to get used to our gameplan.
“Obviously, Thiago doesn’t have that yet but he improves week on week. It’s not a short-term project, it’s a long-term project.
“This evening, tonight, everything was good, it was very fluid.”
What RTK has to say
Thiago hasn’t had the easiest of starts as a Liverpool player. And we don’t mean that in a ‘he hasn’t played well’ kind of way – it hasn’t been easy.
He made his first start against Everton on October 17th and was immediately out for over two months. By the time he returned, Liverpool were a mess.
No Virgil van Dijk, no Joe Gomez and soon no Joel Matip. That had a huge impact on Thiago. Not only was he no longer playing in a solid side but he didn’t actually get to play with the players he was signed to shine with.
The idea was undoubtedly Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Thiago, as we saw on his debut. But both teammates were in defence by the time he returned.
The fixture list was unreasonably strong, too. All in all, it’s been a tough one and Thiago hasn’t played particularly well.
But he was fantastic against Leipzig. Thiago was solid defensively, wonderful in possession, and created opportunities. It’s a sign that Klopp is absolutely right – he’s getting there.
And if Thiago clicks into place anytime soon, Liverpool have a truly world-class player shining in their midfield.
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