Ten moments of artistry against United show why Liverpool has so much faith in Thiago Alcantara

Liverpool 4 Manchester United 0, April 19, 2022, will be remembered for Thiago. Yes, for United’s feebleness too, but from a Liverpool perspective as the signature game of a Spain midfielder whom the Kop was in love with long before his bravura night. Thiago played 79 minutes and completed the same number of passes (105) as Bruno Fernandes, Nemanja Matic, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga combined.

He has always been a connoisseur’s player but it has probably taken until the past two months, in which – significantly – he has at last been injury-free and in a full-strength Liverpool team, to be properly appreciated by the wider football public in England.

Those passes – like someone once said of Robin van Persie’s goals – could be hung in a gallery. Here is Thiago, seen through 10 of them, all from the United game.

1 minute 9 seconds – Thiago to Virgil van Dijk

It was appropriate that Thiago’s first pass was to van Dijk, a simple five-yard ball, as the pair kept possession. “He knew how we played and that he would fit in and we knew it as well. It was always about being fit,” Jurgen Klopp said, alluding to why it has taken until recently to fully witness the package that led Pep Guardiola to tell Bayern Munich’s board, when discussing transfers after arriving in Germany, “Thiago oder nichts” (Thiago or nobody).

Injuries bedevilled Thiago’s seven seasons with Bayern and have hampered him at Liverpool, causing him to miss 44 games since his transfer 19 months ago. Klopp traces those issues back to the hit Thiago took from a red-card-earning reckless challenge by Richarlison in the notorious Merseyside derby of October 2020, in which van Dijk also suffered serious injury.

Thiago’s fortunes are entwined with van Dijk’s not just because of that game, but because of how van Dijk makes him more effective. The return of van Dijk enabled Liverpool to move their defensive line higher, allowing Liverpool to press further up the pitch and – according to Driblab, the leading football data consultancy – 18 per cent more aggressively.

Driblab’s analysis suggests Thiago’s play has not changed much. In 2021-22 he is in the upper echelon of players in Europe’s big five leagues for progressive passing and passing in the build-up to expected goals (xG) – but that was already the case last season. His defensive work is up (more recoveries, more interceptions, more tackles) but not radically. The difference is that Liverpool’s better and higher pressing means they are recovering the ball closer to the opposition goal, making Thiago’s actions more eye-catching – and telling.

2:06 – Thiago to Jordan Henderson

Thiago’s second pass of the match came after he received possession from Andrew Robertson on the halfway line. United were in their perfect defensive shape: a narrow, compact 4-4-2, and Thiago came infield from the left, looking like he was about to play square to Joel Matip. It was all disguise. Thiago suddenly dropped a shoulder and swivelled to play a slicing diagonal ball through the crowded midfield to the feet of Jordan Henderson on the opposite side, taking six United players out of the game and getting his team 25 yards up the pitch. An opportunity ensued.

Against United, Thiago progressed the ball an astonishing 592 yards – the length of 5 and a half pitches – and in Europe only Toni Kroos and Clermont’s Johan Gastien have been better at progressing the ball this season.

4:23 – Thiago to Matip

Why did Guardiola want Thiago so much? He wanted Bayern to learn how to control games through possession and, having worked with Thiago at Barcelona, knew he possessed the rare gift of timing. “This team just needs to slow down a bit. They’ve got everything else. They need some deceleration in the middle of the field,” Guardiola told the writer Marti Perarnau when explaining Thiago’s signing.

On Friday, Klopp scoffed when a journalist said: “Some people think Thiago slows up Liverpool.” “Thank God these people don’t make decisions,” was Klopp’s retort. Thiago is a thinker, Klopp said, and an intelligent player might “calm a game down due to a lot of reasons”. The build-up to Liverpool’s first goal against United featured a crucial example.

Liverpool had begun the match playing jittery passes in their own penalty area, with Fernandes twice almost pressing Alisson out of possession. Thiago then came deep into his defensive third to receive the ball from van Dijk, in a pocket between Rashford and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. There was the opportunity to turn quickly and risk a pass forward, but instead Thiago jogged back towards his own area before striking a square pass to Matip.

United’s press relaxed and Liverpool got out down the other side to penetrate via a through-ball by Sadio Mane to Mohamed Salah, who centred for Luis Diaz to score. Thiago is the fifth-best player in Europe’s big leagues in 2021-22 for passes involved in xG build-up. Only Kroos and Joshua Kimmich combine progressive passing and xG build-up passing in a similar way.

15:01 – Thiago to Mane

Thiago is dribbling towards United’s area when engaged by Matic and he toys with the Serbia midfielder, tapping the top of the ball with the sole of his right boot, then almost instantaneously slipping a cute pass round Matic to Mane with his left. Mane shoots, Liverpool win a corner. “It’s looking ominous, this” says Gary Neville on the Sky Sports commentary. This beguiling moment of cheek and skill is reminder of Thiago’s heritage – his father is the Brazil World Cup-winner Mazinho. For the book Pep Confidential, Thiago told Perernau how Guardiola taught him to remove certain fripperies from his game – but not self-expression. “I’m Brazilian after all.”

27:45 – Thiago to Diaz

In a congested area, as Thiago receives possession, Fernandes slides in to challenge. Standing strong, Thiago rides the tackle, chests the ball, shrugs off a second challenge from Fernandes and finds Diaz. Moments later, when the ball comes back to him via Robertson, Thiago improvises a lovely pass to Diaz with Phil Jones breathing down his neck. Robertson puts his hands together and applauds.

At Bayern, Thiago’s body strength and hunger for conditioning work surprised people. “I came to Germany to toughen up,” he said. He has an ability to play his passes under physical pressure that has rather embarrassed the lobby who believed him to be too delicate and “too tiki-taka” for the Premier League, epitomised by Steve Nicol. When Thiago signed, Nicol said dismissively: “He can play in the FA Cup, the League Cup; you can bring him on and give him half an hour to pass the ball around if that’s what you need.”

29:43 – Thiago to Salah

Klopp has made a significant tweak to Thiago’s positioning, switching him from right-sided to left-sided No 8. In the left channel, without having to cover for the free-roaming Trent Alexander-Arnold outside him, Thiago can roam more himself. And he can play long passes to switch play – one of his best skills – to Alexander-Arnold and Salah, perhaps Liverpool’s two most productive weapons.

In this instance, Thiago received possession near the left touchline and faced up Fernandes, confusing him with stepovers, before cutting inside and lobbing a gorgeous cross-field pass to Salah, who ended up shooting. “That pass,” an increasingly anguished Neville yelped.

42:21 – Thiago to Alexander-Arnold

A simple offload to Alexander-Arnold on the edge of the United penalty area – not simple is what happened ten seconds before. Jesse Lingard was leading a United counter-attack, steaming through the centre circle with the ball. Thiago was Liverpool’s last man and he ignored the threat of Rashford to slide in and dispossess Lingard. A brilliant gamble, which showed the overlooked defensive prowess in his game. When you put Thiago beside other creative maestros, he wins on all-round contribution. The Driblab Radar comparing Thiago and Kroos shows the difference – in Thiago’s favour – when it comes to defensive contribution.

60:40 – Thiago to Diaz

Thiago drives towards United’s area and when Victor Lindelof blocks his first pass, he flings himself and gets the ball to Diaz anyway with a diving header – risking a boot in the face. This piece of improvisation shows the intelligence of a player who speaks five languages (Spanish, Portuguese, English, German and Italian). And the bravery proves his will to prevail.

When a coach at the Barcelona academy told Thiago’s youth team that “the most important thing is to participate”, he was quietly set straight by Mazinho, who repeated what he told his sons (Thiago’s brother is Real Sociedad’s Rafinha): “You are mistaken. The most important thing is to compete.”

71:05 – Thiago to van Dijk

The full sequence was actually: Mane to Thiago, Thiago to Mane, Mane back to Thiago, Thiago to Henderson, Henderson back to Thiago, Thiago to Fabinho, Fabinho back to Thiago, Thiago to van Dijk. He is a player who gets in the middle of everyone and connects – and is said to be the same socially. Adrian and Kostas Tsimikas are probably his best friends in the dressing room, but Thiago is popular with all.

78:35 – Thiago to Robertson

Thiago’s 105th and final successful pass against United was one last, gorgeous switch of play that took three players out of the game and prompted Robertson to create a chance for Mane. Bayern let Thiago go for only pounds 25 million but have regretted it – in their shock Champions League exit at the hands of Villarreal, they clearly lacked that special creative passer who can break organised opposition.

– The Sunday Times

Originally published as Ten moments of artistry against United show why Liverpool has so much faith in Thiago Alcantara