Thiago has Liverpool dancing to a different beat

Liverpool's fast and furious football under Jurgen Klopp had already delivered a Champions League and Premier League title by the time Thiago Alcantara arrived at Anfield to much fanfare two years ago.

Few players in the history of the game can match the Spaniard's medal haul that includes 11 league titles and Champions League glory with both Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

However, Thiago was not an obvious fit for Klopp's energy-sapping demands of his midfielders.

Initial scepticism was borne out during a difficult first year in England for the 31-year-old. Thiago was just one of Klopp's key men to miss a large portion of the season due to injury.

Yet, even when he was fit, there was criticism that the man whose ability to put his foot on the ball and control the tempo of the game moved too slowly for Liverpool's swashbuckling style.

"Thank God these people don't make decisions," said Klopp on the critics.

"He was unlucky with injuries and stuff like this at the start, but when he is fit he can give the game a real rhythm.

"He's got an eye for that, he calms the game down in the right moments, he has a sensational overview of the game."

That vision has come to the fore as Liverpool approach immortality by winning an unprecedented quadruple.

The League Cup is already back in the Anfield trophy room and Klopp's men will face Chelsea in the FA Cup final later this month.

Liverpool still need a slip-up by Manchester City in the final four games of the Premier League campaign if they are to win the title, but the two sides are on course to meet for a fourth time this season in the Champions League final.

Thiago was man-of-the-match as the Reds beat Villarreal 2-0 in the first leg of their semi-final to put one foot in the final.

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