Thiago Alcantara has sadly been removed from the Liverpool starting-XI after suffering an injury in the warm-up prior to the Reds’ upcoming tie with Chelsea in the League Cup final.
Naby Keita takes the Spaniard’s place in the first-XI, as noted in a tweet by Carl Markham, with Harvey Elliott brought onto the bench.
.@Thiago6 injured in the warm up and replaced by @NabyDeco. Harvey Elliott gets a last-minute reprieve and is on the bench
— Carl Markham (@carlmarkham) February 27, 2022
It’s a huge blow to the Merseysiders given how the club has previously struggled in midfield against Chelsea without the talents of the former Bayern Munich midfielder.
Though undoubtedly a massive shame for us in a game of such importance, there can be no question that we have more than enough quality across the pitch to ensure that we’re genuine competitors for our potential first piece of silverware of the season.
Naby Keita, though somewhat inconsistent, has likewise proven to be a strong performer when called upon by the coaching staff of late and we’ll be looking forward to the Guinean hopefully making a strong start against Thomas Tuchel’s men.
#Ep36 of The Red Nets Podcast: Is Thiago the one we can’t do without? The title race… and more!