After returning from a calf injury, Jurgen Klopp handed a second start on the trot to Thiago across all competitions on Wednesday as he helped Liverpool send back Porto emptyhanded with a 2-0 win at Anfield.
The Spaniard drilled in a sensational strike from outside the box to give Liverpool the lead against the Portuguese giants, catching the eye with back-to-back performances following a strong display against Arsenal at the weekend in the Premier League.
Liverpool legend Rush is impressed with Thiago’s strike and suggested that former Reds skipper Gerrard, who is known for scoring long-range screamers, would have been proud if he had scored such a goal.
Thiago has been hampered by injury issues since he arrived at Anfield in the summer of 2020 and Rush stressed that the important thing for Liverpool is to keep him fit as he is a brilliant player when he is on the pitch.
“Champions League football seems to bring out the best in Thiago Alcantara and what a joy it was to see that strike fly in on Wednesday night, it reminded me of Steven Gerrard and I think even he would have been proud of that one”, Rush told Gambling,com.
“Thiago comes alive in this competition but we’ve now seen two really impressive performances back-to-back from him in the Premier League and Champions League so Liverpool fans will hope that he can kick on from here, stay fit and get some consistency going.
“We have been here before where he strings a couple of performances together and then picks up a knock which kills his momentum.
“So, the most important thing for him now is to stay free from injury because he’s playing really well and that goal just shows you how confident he is at the moment.”
Liverpool are set to welcome Southampton to Anfield at the weekend and it remains to be seen whether Thiago will retain his starting spot against the Saints.
