[ad_1]
Thiago Alcantara, Liverpool’s future midfielder, may be new to the Premier League, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t made his mark on the English opposition before. The Spaniard, one of the most accomplished and decorated midfielders of this generation, has faced various Premier League teams in the Champions League during his time at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
His long-awaited arrival at Anfield has the potential to swing the Premier League pendulum firmly in Liverpool’s favor. While some viewers expected a great response from Manchester City after handing over their crown to Jurgen Klopp’s men, the addition of Thiago could elevate the Reds’ midfield and help extend Liverpool’s tenure at the top.
If that happened, it would be somewhat satisfying for Liverpool fans if the decisive transfer involved Thiago, one of Pep Guardiola’s favorite players, helping to keep his former manager’s hands off the Premier League trophy.
While we wait to see how that particular subplot unfolds, it seems like an appropriate time to revisit the times Thiago has wreaked havoc against English teams in the past. Thiago’s first outing for Bayern against an English rival came in December 2013, when he began a 3-2 defeat in the Champions League group stage to Manchester City.
With Bayern leading 2-0, City staged a thrilling comeback to claim all three points at the Allianz Arena, although Bayern still finished at the top of the group. Thiago was also featured in Bayern’s knockout matches against Arsenal, but missed quarter-final clashes with Manchester United before Guardiola’s side fell to eventual champion Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.
However, it was in 2015 that Thiago really began to dominate the English teams. Against Arsenal in the group stage, he shone during Bayern’s 5-1 demolition of the Gunners, providing a wonderful assist for Robert Lewandowski’s opener before producing a midfield masterclass that included 91 percent. of passing precision, three shooting assists and 11 successful defensive duels, according to Wyscout.
The following season, now playing with Carlo Ancelotti, Thiago once again tormented Arsenal during Bayern’s memorable 10-2 victory in the round of 16. In the first of two 5-1 victories, the Italian-born midfielder was simply irresistible, scoring on his two shots on goal before serving Thomas Muller for Bayern’s fifth.
In addition to his three direct goals, Thiago completed 17 of his 18 forward passes, completed four takes and won three of his four aerial duels in a display of considerable balance and precision. Thiago also played in the second leg and allowed Bayern to progress comfortably to the round of 16, completing all but two of his 49 passes as the Bundesliga giants crushed the North Londoners.
The 39-time Spanish international’s only previous appearances against Liverpool came during the Reds’ triumphant 2018/19 Champions League campaign.
Thiago played on both legs, and while he couldn’t stop Klopp’s men from running out of overall winners at 3-1, he was one of Bayern’s best players, handling 21 interceptions on both legs. The Bayern number six also expressed his admiration for Liverpool’s style of football, describing it as “amazing” before saying that he was enjoying the opportunity to play against Anfield on a European night. We can only hope Thiago has a chance to shine against a depleted Kop in no time.
And while losing to Liverpool would have hurt, Thiago made sure that last season was not repeated with the imperious 29-year-old during Bayern’s run to their first Champions League since 2013. Interestingly, Niko Kovac sent Thiago to the tournament. bench for their group stage match. with Tottenham Hotspur after snagging him at halftime in Bayern’s win over Paderborn three days earlier, opting for a midfielder pair of Corentin Tolisso and Joshua Kimmich.
Thiago replaced David Alaba at halftime, however, and proceeded to slip into Bayern’s machine without a hitch when they crushed Spurs 7-2. Thiago ensured that Bayern continued to control procedures by scoring an assist for four-goal winner Serge Gnabry while producing a typically polished display, completing 41 of his 44 passes.
When the Spurs arrived at the Allianz Arena, he played the full 90 as Bayern progressed to the next round. The midfielder also earned praise for his role in ending Chelsea’s participation in the Champions League last season. Once again, although he did not score or assist in any of Bayern’s three goals, he orchestrated his midfield wonderfully, constantly fooling Chelsea players with subtle shoulder drops, disguised passes, and instantaneous changes of direction.
He also stood out in some of the most underrated statistics; he completed 10 of his 12 passes in the final third and made 20 ball recoveries, nine of which were in the Chelsea half.
Gnabry stole the headlines again, but Thiago was just as important to Bayern’s passing pace. After beating Chelsea, he played the 90 minutes when Bayen wiped out Barcelona and impressed against Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain to ensure he left Germany as European champions.
While he’s unlikely to score as many goals or get as many assists as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thiago could prove to be a critical cog in Klopp’s machine for years to come and help the Reds stay ahead of their top six rivals.
[ad_2]
