Football Features

    Do Liverpool have the best midfielder in the Premier League? Twitter reacts to Thiago’s masterclass

    By Muhammad Butt

    Published: 22:02, 19 April 2022

    Thiago Alcantara orchestrated a night of utter dominance as Liverpool beat Manchester United 4-0 at Anfield.

    The win sent the Reds to the top of the Premier League table and came after a blistering first-half saw them open the scoring just five minutes into the game from Luis Diaz. Thiago kept Liverpool on top and Salah doubled the Reds’ lead later in the half.

    United started the second period with a bit more gusto but Liverpool still bagged the third through Mané and then Salah scored a simply sublime fourth goal to seal a delightful victory.

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    One Liverpool player that managed to stand tall above all of his excellent team-mates was midfield maestro Thiago Alcantara. The Spanish international oozed class as he strangled United into submission, but in the most stylish way imaginable. When Thiago left the pitch on 80 minutes he had the most touches (129) passes, completed passes (he had 105/110 for 105% completion!), tackles (3) and chances created (3).

    Obviously Thiago had an immaculate CV before arriving at Anfield but his early struggles with injury and form caused some to perhaps forget about the staggering depth and breadth of his skill-set. This is a midfielder who can be a tenacious tackler and passing phenom. He can dominate and be decisive, he knows how to win and knowshow to win in style. When he’s fit and in form one could argue he’s the best midfielder in the Premier League, or at least on the same level as the all-conquering Kevin De Bruyne.

    Thiago’s class in that first-half was such that by the break, Twitter was gushing with praise for Liverpool’s no. 6. And who could blame them? The way Thiago glided about the pitch serenely being better than everyone in that godawful blue-and-white United kit was quite a sight to behold. As Martin Tyler said as Thiago was leaving the field to a standing ovation: “he didn’t get on the pitch, he dominated the pitch.”

    https://twitter.com/_jasminebaba/status/1515380801776623624

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    At half-time we here at Squawka even asked some of our readers if they felt Thiago was the best midfielder in the league, just to see how they felt after witnessing the Spanish international cut a swathe through the United midfield still in his slipper. Here are some of the responses.

    Kev doesn’t rate the standard of opposition:

    Sarah thinks he’s “one of” the best.

    Hasheem and Damancy, meanwhile, think Thiago is the top don:

    https://twitter.com/hasheem99_/status/1516508592903491585

    While a whole host of readers were keen to remind us of the Belgian brilliance of Kevin De Bruyne:

    https://twitter.com/Lil_Mr_Dynamite/status/1516507832350552069

    https://twitter.com/zakarialm19/status/1516508198978605060

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