Liverpool are lucky to have the mercurial talents of Thiago Alcantara in the middle of our midfield, but a former Rojo has made a slightly odd assessment of the Spain international.
Speaking to Midnite.com (via Metro), Glen Johnson said: “He’s one of those, Thiago is great when he plays and you wish he could play every week.”
“But he should be fit for every game every week, because he’s that player who walks around and doesn’t run, so he shouldn’t have so many muscle injuries, what I mean is that Thiago doesn’t get hurt in a game.” .
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“Thiago has some weird injuries and misses games for weird reasons, but he can’t be replaced, he just needs to go out there and play.”
It feels a bit like our former defender has failed in his attempt to praise our No. 6 here, the point he’s trying to make is that he’s so valuable to our team that we need him playing every week.
It’s no secret that the former Bayern Munich player often finds himself on the treatment table and his recent ear infection that caused him to miss the trip to Nottingham was certainly another example of that.
However, to say that the 31-year-old just “hangs around” is grossly unfair and his defensive efforts show that he is more than capable and willing to put up the tough yards and try to win back possession.
When a player is so good on the ball it can seem like he has plenty of time and doesn’t need to run, the former Barcelona maestro is just one of those players.
Yes, he is vital for Jurgen Klopp’s team and he needs to play most or all of the games.
Yes, it picks up some weird and unwelcome injuries.
However, to say that he does not run is unfair.
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