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Liverpool fans took to Twitter to laud Thiago Alcantara's performance against Villarreal after the Spaniard produced another masterclass in the middle of the park.
The Reds took a huge step towards reaching the Champions League final following a convincing first leg victory against Villarreal at Anfield on Wednesday, April 27. Following a frustrating first half, the Reds opened the scoring in the 53rd minute through a Pervis Estupinan own goal. Sadio Mane doubled the lead two minutes later.
The floodgates then threatened to open up, with Klopp's men taking 19 shots compared to the visitors one. However, the Spanish side stood firm and will be thankful for taking back only a two-goal deficit into the second leg at the Estadio de la Cerámica on May 3.
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One Liverpool player who once again impressed for the Premier League outfit was Alcantara. The Spaniard did a fine job of controlling the game from the center of the park and was named 'Man of the Match.'
The 31-year-old had 118 touches of the ball on the night, while also achieving a 100% success rate with his tackling. He also gave nine accurate long balls from nine attempts and made four interceptions. Having suffered an injury-riddled start to life at Anfield following his move from Bayern Munich in 2020, the Spain international has become a key member of Klopp's midfield three. He has started and played the majority of the quadruple-chasing side's six previous games.
Liverpool fans praised the Spanish playmaker's impact after the full-time whistle on social media.
Here are a few highlights of their reactions:
Thiago insists Liverpool's job isn't complete
The dynamic midfielder has been in majestic form in recent weeks, and has emerged as a major factor during his team's incredible run of form.
However, Thiago has warned against complacency in the second-leg. The Yellow Submarine, who currently lie seventh in La Liga, have already knocked out Juventus and Bayern Munich in this season's competition.
Following the game, Thaigo told BT Sport, as per BBC Sport:
"We have to recognise that we are playing a semi-final of the Champions League against a tough team like Villarreal and have to have the space to be ourselves, that's the key."
"I really enjoyed the team performance, that for me is the best thing, because we put our level as high as possible and we delivered today."
When asked about next week's return leg, Thiago stated:
"It will be hard there, I know this stadium before because of my time at Barcelona but we don't have time to think about the game there we have to think about our game at the weekend so that's all for us."
