Liverpool legend Ian Rush has likened Thiago Alcantara to Steven Gerrard following his performance against Porto.
Thiago produced a stunning goal against the Portuguese side, capping off his impressive performance at Anfield on Wednesday.
The Spain international started back-to-back games for the first time this season, having returned to Liverpool ’s starting line-up for last weekend’s 4-0 win over Arsenal.
Having recovered from the calf injury that he suffered in September, Rush believes the midfielder could be a 'massive boost' to Jurgen Klopp ’s side, if he can maintain his fitness.
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“Champions League football seems to bring out the best in Thiago Alcantara and what a joy it was to see that strike fly in on Wednesday night, it reminded me of Steven Gerrard and I think even he would have been proud of that one,” he told Gambling.com .
“Thiago comes alive in this competition but we’ve now seen two really impressive performances back-to-back from him in the Premier League and Champions League so Liverpool fans will hope that he can kick on from here, stay fit and get some consistency going.
“We have been here before where he strings a couple of performances together and then picks up a knock which kills his momentum.
“So the most important thing for him now is to stay free from injury because he’s playing really well and that goal just shows you how confident he is at the moment.
“If he can get a run of five to 10 games on the spin and can maintain the form he’s shown in these past two games, that would be a massive boost for Liverpool over the crucial Christmas period.”
Rush, the Reds’ all-time top goalscorer, added that Thiago 'finally seems to be enjoying his football for Liverpool' and dismissed recent rumours suggesting the 30-year-old could re-join Barcelona.
Thiago’s return has helped bolster Klopp’s midfield options, having been without Naby Keita, Curtis Jones, James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Harvey Elliott in recent weeks.
However, Rush has also backed Tyler Morton to go from 'strength to strength; after the 19-year-old's recent introduction into the first-team fold.
“It’s difficult to say if he’ll now be a proper fringe player or not, but Jurgen Klopp hasn’t played him in the last two games for nothing,” he said.
“What I like about Klopp is that if he thinks someone is good enough having seen what they can do in training, then he’ll play them no matter what age they are.
“There’s a few young players in and around the first team squad but they’re all there for a reason – it’s because Klopp feels they’re good enough to contribute and competition for places is important for any team to thrive.”
