Ian Wright believes it is no surprise Liverpool are struggling to hit their usual heights with Thiago Alcantara still stuck on the sidelines.
The Spanish midfielder added to his unfortunate injury record on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, having been forced off against Fulham and now facing a minimum of four weeks out of the team. Jurgen Klopp's side found it challenging to dictate play a fortnight ago and suffered a similar issue yesterday evening at Anfield.
Fabinho's slow start to the season certainly hasn't helped matters in this department, though Harvey Elliott's first start of the campaign should offer Klopp encouragement that he has a big role to play for the first-team this term.
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What's clear is that the Reds were off the pace regardless and could not unlock a stubborn Crystal Palace backline despite piling on the pressure in both halves. Often known for his ability to play defence-splitting passes, Thiago's creativity was a big miss and his return to action cannot come soon enough.
Of the view that the former Bayern Munich man is a player Liverpool simply cannot operate to their full potential without, Wright told Premier League Productions: “Getting the ball through midfield, I think they’re struggling with that. Harvey Elliott didn’t have any space to really move in. To try and move the ball into areas where they can commit players in the middle and force their way in.
“Everything of Liverpool has to go out wide. Without Thiago, we see when Thiago’s not playing they’re not as potent. And they need that midfielder to get the ball into areas where they commit players. That’s what they missed tonight.”
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