Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara is ‘exceptional’
Thiago Alcantara has „exceptional“ vision and is the perfect addition to Liverpool’s squad, says boss Jurgen Klopp.
Thiago joined Liverpool from Bayern Munich last month in a deal worth up to £25m, arriving at Anfield with a huge reputation having won 11 league titles in his last 12 seasons with Bayern, and Barcelona before that.
An injury to Jordan Henderson saw Thiago thrust into action after the interval against Chelsea, just 48 hours after joining the club. And Thiago did not disappoint, completing a record-breaking 75 passes, the most of any player playing at least 45 minutes in a Premier League game since Opta stats began.
Klopp says the 29-year-old’s skillset makes him an „interesting package“ but insists the Spain international remains eager to continue to develop and improve.
„Thiago is obviously a very good football player,“ Klopp told Sky Sports News ahead of the Monday Night Football visit of Arsenal.
„You saw it [against Chelsea]. Some things are natural for him that are not natural for other players, but we won the league and we won the Champions League without Thiago. He won it with Bayern, so obviously it is a good fit I would say, but we now have to get used to each other.
„There are very special things [he has that separates him from others] in world football. His vision is exceptional, pair that with pretty good technical skills, and a nice passing ability and these kind of things, and you become a really interesting package. That’s what Thiago is.
„On top of that as a guy, he couldn’t be better. It’s incredible, when you give him a ball, he is still a kid. And when you take the ball away he is a really mature and experienced football person, who is interested in a lot of things, tactics and all these kind of things. He wants to learn which is very important.“
Thiago joined Liverpool either side of the arrivals of Kostas Tsimikas and Diogo Jota, with the club’s transfer business now looking increasingly focused on departures.
Liverpool have more than 30 players in their first-team squad, and Klopp indicated the number of players he currently has at his disposal is at an unsustainable level.
„You cannot or you should not have a 30-player squad. That makes no sense we don’t have enough games for that,“ he said.
„The schedule for professional football players, especially if you play for the national team, is really on the edge and we try to do what we can by rotation.
„We will see how we can sort it, but you cannot leave a team in the garage and take them out every two or three weeks. It’s not like an old car in your garage and on a Sunday you take it out.
„There will be difficult situations where you miss a player here or there so we will see how we can deal with that. But 30 players for sure is not something we are looking for.“
Henderson ruled out of Arsenal visit
Klopp, meanwhile, confirmed Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson will miss Monday Night’s visit of Arsenal.
Joel Matip has yet to return to training either, but the Premier League champions are boosted by Joe Gomez being involved again.
„I think Joe should be back today in training, that’s what everybody told me – and nobody told me something different since,“ said Klopp.
„Billy [Koumetio] is back in training. Joel not, pretty much. Hendo not yet, that was clear – this game is for sure too early. I think that’s it, pretty much.“
Klopp: Arteta ‘has changed the mood at Arsenal’
Liverpool are unbeaten in 60 home matches in the Premier League, but Klopp is aware his side face a difficult test against Arsenal, who have also won their opening two league matches.
Asked what Arteta has brought to Arsenal since his arrival in December, Klopp said: „He has shown in a short period of time that he seems to be an exceptional football manager.
„The structure of the team he sets up is exceptional – balance between offence and defence is really good. You can see good organisation and freedom for the players, using them in the right places. He has changed the whole mood in the whole club.
„I don’t think a lot of people thought at the end of the season he would finish by winning a competition and he did that by winning the FA Cup.“
Soccer Accumulator Bonus
Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.
This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.
The maximum bonus that you can receive is ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.
If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:
Bet Type Bonus
14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. Soccer Accumulator Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.
If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.
If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.
Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.
In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.
All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.
.
