‘Turned jogging into an art form’ - Liverpool’s midfielder given damning verdict by BBC pundit

Thiago Alcantara has been slammed by BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks following Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Brighton.

The Reds were dealt a shock blow early on at Anfield as a Leandro Trossard brace gave the visitors a comfortable lead inside 17 minutes.

Despite a stellar performance from Roberto Firmino that saw him add two goals to his tally, their poor defending let them down as the Brighton forward completed his hat-trick and claimed a point on the road.

Firmino appeared to be the only player that could walk away with some credit at the weekend, with the Brazilian included in Crooks’ Team of the Week.

Crooks heaped praise on the man ‘to get your team back on track’, but was quick to criticise the performance of Thiago.

Crooks wrote: “Liverpool fans keep telling me that Thiago Alcantara (when he’s fit) is their main man.

“He might be if he could run. The Spaniard has turned jogging into an art form. He can’t get up the park and doesn’t have the finishing instincts of Firmino.

“Thiago certainly has his moments but if we are going to compare their contributions and the importance each player provides the team, then Firmino is in a different class.”

Thiago has only featured twice in the Premier League this season after suffering a hamstring injury that left him sidelined for a month.

The 31-year-old is one a number of players that have been rotated into Liverpool’s midfield due to their injury list, though it was hoped that his return to full fitness would give Jurgen Klopp’s side a much-needed boost.

Despite a majority of Liverpool stars recovering following the international break, it looked to only be Firmino that had managed to improve on recent form.

The forward now has five goals and three assists in six league matches this season.