One Liverpool player starred as injured Thiago in a superb all-round individual performance as the Reds won 1-0 over Fulham.
With Thiago out for the rest of the season, Curtis Jones continued the best start of his career for Liverpool against Fulham on Wednesday night.
Jones made some mistakes in the second half of the game, but overall it was another relatively good performance from the 22-year-old, perhaps enough to secure his spot in the typical team for the trip. of Brentford on Saturday night.
But while playing in the 8 on the left wing that Thiago usually fills when fit, he doesn't really take on the task of the world-class Spaniard.
Instead, that responsibility, while Thiago was not in the squad, fell to the converted right-back, Trent Alexander-Arnold. This was most evident when Liverpool built the game from behind. Usually, when Alisson has the ball and is looking to get out of an attack, whether from an open position or a goal kick, you'll see Thiago jump up to provide an escape.
But now Alexander-Arnold, who together with the Spaniard is the team's best distributor, takes over the function. Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola once asked for 'Thiago or nothing', but pioneering the use of reverse full-backs may have given Liverpool a way to cope and thrive without a midfielder This.
Against Fulham on Wednesday, and throughout that midfield experience, you saw the Englishman look like a third centre-back at the start of the line, sitting between Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté. He's usually the passer that keeps Liverpool moving.
Trent Alexander-Arnold did everything for Liverpool against Fulham
There were moments without Thiago, including the 4-1 win over Manchester City, as the Red Devils struggled to beat the initial press. But Alexander-Arnold has both the vision and the execution to solve this problem.
That said all the 24-year-old could envision was the first and last pass in a Liverpool goal. It really does everything in this new system. Defensively, he is aggressive, topping Liverpool's charts for tackles (three, equal to Jones) and interceptions (two, equal to Kostas Tsimikas). There was a time when Willian beat him on the left wing of Fulham and all he could do was pull him back, but he made up for it with some big clearances as the Cottagers pressed on.
Alexander-Arnold also showed a willingness to confront his man, attempting four dribbles and completing two, while again mimicking Thiago by completing five long, stacked passes. he is first among the best players of the Reds.
He also nearly found the net, firing a shot wide from the edge of the box in the first half.
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There's no helping hand here to continue his five-match streak, but his impact on the game nonetheless is huge.
Now that he's in midfield and often works deeper, people seem to appreciate passes that don't lead to goals. It really exudes class and creates outstanding reel in a game that many gamers love.
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