Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was keen not to throw new signing Thiago Alcantara in at the deep end for their 2-0 win at Chelsea on Sunday, but was impressed with how the midfielder fared on his debut.
The Spain international was signed from Bayern Munich in time to be registered for the match, but started on the bench. However, after Chelsea were reduced to ten men on the stroke of half time, Klopp decided to unleash Thiago immediately following the restart, and the Reds soon raced into a two-goal lead following a brace from Sadio Mane.
Thiago enjoyed more than his fair share of the ball, completing 75 passes after coming on - more than any Chelsea player, and the most of any player in one half of football in a Premier League game since Opta records began. However, he gave away a penalty late on after clipping Timo Werner, though Alisson was on hand to save Jorginho's spot kick.
Klopp revealed he didn't want to start Thiago after having just one training session with his new teammates, but is sure he'll get up to speed with how Liverpool play soon.
"He played with Spain and trained with [Bayern] Munich so he's fit, that's not a problem," Klopp said, as quoted by the Express.
"But he's not used to our things, that's clear. He needs to get used to his team-mates, but when they went one man down it became the perfect game for him.
"I liked his game a lot. Defensively it was tricky for him, because we set it up differently. But offensively, with the ball, that's him, he wants to pass the ball."
Liverpool's next match is at home to Arsenal on Monday 28 September, and the Reds will be determined to avenge their Community Shield defeat at the hands of the Gunners last month.
Source: 90min
