89% pass rate, 9/9 long balls: £18M star was simply untouchable against Ajax - more important than van Dijk and Salah?

Thiago proved once again why he is the most important player in this team with a stellar performance against Ajax last night.

There was a marked improvement from top to bottom last night as Joel Matip's late header secured a vital victory for the Reds to see them bounce back from their highly disappointing 4-1 loss in Naples last week.

Fans expected a response and they got one as Jurgen Klopp's men found a way to get back to winning ways and re-ignite that good feeling around Anfield.

One player stood out more than most, and whilst Matip was given the official man of the match, Thiago Alcantara was truly the maestro behind Liverpool's win last night, and he may just be their most important player right now.

Thiago's performance

Liverpool's £18M midfield maestro proved why he is one of the best around with his controlled, clever and highly influential performance as he helped to patch together a previously struggling midfield three.

Returning from injury last week in the loss to Napoli, he showed great signs off the bench but last night was vintage Thiago.

His stats illustrate a classy performance: 89% pass success rate, 9/9 long balls, 1 key pass, 2 tackles, 1 interception and 6/13 duels won.

It's no surprise that there's a correlation between Liverpool getting key players back and their level of performance rising - and Thiago is key to that. Being the heartbeat of the team is a responsibility that perhaps only he can shoulder.

Thiago's importance

There's no doubt his impact has changed Liverpool; once upon a time, the onus was on a hard-working midfield three whose sole job was to recycle and win the ball back for the more creative players to thrive. That has now changed somewhat.

The system went through Roberto Firmino as the false nine - now there's more of an onus in controlled possession, with Thiago at the heart of it.

The main issue is that Thiago has a poor injury record and has always struggled to play regular football across a whole season. Also, at 31, that will become more apparent.

His deal runs out in the summer of 2024 and the Reds will have to scout a replacement eventually, but how do you replace a one-of-a-kind player like Thiago?