Liverpool aren’t good enough to have a player like Thiago Alcantara in their team at the moment.
That’s the view of former Reds midfielder Dietmar Hamann. Speaking to TalkSPORT this morning in the wake of Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat to Brentford, the German assessed just what is going wrong for Jurgen Klopp.
“I think game management was always one of their strengths, they always knew what to do at the right time,” Hamann began. “But obviously, you depend on players being in-form, and the main culprit I’d say is probably Fabinho because he’s not been that defensive shield that he has been over the last few years.
“When the back-four haven’t got any protection then you obviously give away chances. They’ve got two very offensive full-backs, we know that, so it’s even more important that the middle is solid.
“Fabinho has not been the same for the last six or seven months, and in Thiago they’ve got a player who likes to play with the ball, and I don’t think Liverpool is good enough at the moment to have Thiago in their team.
“Harvey Elliott is a very promising player but obviously when things are not going well, it’s hard for a young lad to make the difference.”
Liverpool looking for more solidity
This is quite an interesting point raised by Hamann. For some fans, they’ll expect Thiago to be a standout player simply because he is a world-class operator.
But when a team isn’t playing well, at times it can be even harder for these kinds of players to play their own game.
That has been evident at times throughout Thiago’s Liverpool career. Since his £20m move in 2020, the Spaniard has had to adapt his game to the needs of a Klopp midfield. By and large, he’s done that really well, adding a tenacious side that maybe wasn’t as visible before.
But, there is still a question mark over whether his attributes fit completely with those around him. When everyone is playing well, he obviously slots in seamlessly. If others, like Fabinho, are off form though, Thiago sometimes looks unable to raise his game alone.
There have also been some sloppy moments in possession recently. Every player loses the ball of course, but with Liverpool playing as open as they do, misplaced passes can be punished more readily. Thiago usually looks after it, but one loose pass, and the opposition are in.
So, although some supporters may snort at Hamann’s suggestion, there is perhaps something to it. As good as Thiago undoubtedly is, you do sometimes wonder if Liverpool miss the solidity that Gini Wijnaldum once gave. Not that we’d swap our maestro mind you.
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