Liverpool legend John Aldridge has taken apart Thiago Alcantara’s critics, arguing for the Spaniard to be judged at the end of the season, as reported by the Liverpool Echo (via GOAL).
The No.6 suffered a great deal of criticism after the club’s goalless stalemate with Manchester United last Sunday, with Didi Hamann accusing him of slowing down the game.
“Thiago has come in for some recent criticism after the draw with Manchester United and I find that very harsh,” the ex-Red said. “You can’t put it on Thiago, no chance.”
“He’s such a gifted player and so lovely to watch,” Aldridge added. “No, I’m not having it. Assess him at the end of the season.”
The targeting of arguably our best performer at the weekend is truly bizarre, particularly given that the evidence available clearly points to the opposite.
Even assuming that Thiago had performed anywhere near as poorly as some pundits have claimed, it’s not a good look to be hammering a new signing who has only recently returned from injury.
As brilliant as the likes of Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum are, the technical ability on offer from the Spain international is just on another level.
Make no mistake, having the 29-year-old back in action is a massive plus to a side that has seen Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Diogo Jota continue to suffer with injury.
When it comes down to it, we at the EOTK have no doubt that Thiago will play an important part in our return to form, which we hope will begin tonight as we host Burnley at Anfield.