Thiago Alcantara didn’t make it beyond the warm-up the last time Liverpool were at Wembley.
Less than two months ago, the Spaniard was left in tears after suffering an injury that meant he missed out on a scheduled starting role in the League Cup final against Chelsea.
Yes, he was all smiles afterwards after the Reds’ triumph. But it was clear how much missing out on the showpiece meant to Thiago. And, from the very first whistle in this enthralling FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City back at the national stadium, he was keen to make amends.
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Thiago had been Liverpool’s best midfield performer during the 2-2 Premier League draw at the Etihad last Sunday, one of the few visiting players willing to put his foot on the ball and allow his team pause for breath during a frantic, frenetic encounter.
Big occasions need big players and the vast collection of winners’ medals in his cabinet is evidence of how Thiago so often responds to such a challenge.
And here he didn’t disappoint, the Spaniard acting as Liverpool’s conductor, demanding the ball whenever possible and going after it himself when it wasn’t.
With Thiago influential – he boasted an astonishing pass completion rate of 92% amid the hurly-burly of the engine room – rarely can this outstanding City side have been quite as outplayed in midfield as they were during a first half that laid the foundations for the Reds reaching a first FA Cup final in a decade and keeping alive hopes of an unprecedented quadruple.
Fitting, then, that it was the Spaniard who provided the clever chipped pass to set up Sadio Mane for what ultimately proved the winner moments before the interval.
Naby Keita, who was thrust into Wembley action at the last minute due to Thiago’s injury, was this time much better prepared, and swiftly became the leader of the press, hemming City into areas of the pitch they didn’t want to be. The rest of the Liverpool team followed.
The job became slightly different in the second half as Pep Guardiola's side inevitably fought back, albeit aided by some slightly wayward Liverpool defending. The midfield had to dig in.
There was late drama – this is City v Liverpool after all – but it would have been a travesty if the Reds had not triumphed. Now Thiago has another Wembley date circled in his calendar. This is exactly why Liverpool bought him.
