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Jurgen Klopp praised the return of “super” Thiago Alcantara, and is confident that the Liverpool midfielder will soon return to top speed.
Thiago, who arrived in the summer for £ 20m from Bayern Munich, made his long-awaited comeback by emerging as a substitute in the 73rd minute in the Premier League’s goalless draw with Newcastle United on Wednesday.
The Spaniard had been restricted to just two previous outings before being sidelined with a knee injury sustained in the Goodison derby on October 17.
And Klopp was impressed by the midfielder’s brief cameo at St James’ Park.
“We hired Thiago because we thought he was a good player,” said the Reds coach. “You can imagine that we would like to have him in the team, that is clear.
“What the other guys did in the time that he was unavailable is absolutely incredible.
“James Milner, for example, he played a great game in midfield tonight, really.
“He’s good. Thiago is a super player. During the 20 minutes, 12 were brilliant and then he felt the intensity.
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“That is normal, since he trained exactly twice with the team. He still has some physical work to do, still some pace to hit. “
Xherdan Shaqiri also made a late appearance from the bench for his first appearance in seven weeks, with Klopp buoyed by his bigger options ahead of Monday’s trip to Southampton.
“Shaq is back too, and that’s the best news tonight,” said Klopp, whose team is now three points clear of Manchester United at the Premier League summit after playing one more game.
it’s going to get better next year.
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“The guys are back and to my knowledge at this point, no one was injured tonight, which is something very important.
“It means we can probably go with the same team to Southampton.”
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