Martin Tyler noticed Thiago Alcantara was acting as translator for Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez, just before he came on against Tottenham Hotspur yesterday.
Speaking live on Sky Sports, the commentator picked up on Thiago having some last minute words with his Liverpool teammate before he entered the field.
Nunez came on with Liverpool 3-2 up, replacing Cody Gakpo up-front, but he failed to have too much of an impact – with the game all too chaotic as it reached its final stages.
Interestingly, Nunez has said that he struggles to fully understand Jurgen Klopp earlier in the season.
And Thiago may have been have been trying to help out before the Uruguayan came on to the pitch, as he was spotted having a chat with Nunez before he entered the field, just after Klopp had given him some instructions.
Tyler said: “Thiago, just going out of your picture there, he was helping Jurgen Klopp get the message across to Darwin Nunez.”
Thiago the translator?
Klopp’s reaction to the chat suggested that he was slightly confused by Thiago’s actions, so he perhaps wasn’t told to act as translator by his manager.
But ultimately Klopp is unlikely to care too much, given the full time result.
It also, perhaps, shows why Nunez has had his struggles this season.
The front-man is obviously very popular at Anfield and has huge amounts of promise, but it is clear that he is raw and still has plenty to work on.
His lack of understanding of the language is unlikely to be helping him on that front, and it will be important that he finds a way to communicate better in future years, as he acclimatises to living in England.
Thiago, meanwhile, appears to have picked up another injury as he was spotted limping before the game.
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