Burley tears into Thiago Alcantara after Liverpool draw with Wolves

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Craig Burley has torn into Thiago Alcantara following Liverpool’s FA Cup draw with Wolves on Saturday, telling ESPN that the Spaniard is a bugbear of his.

The Reds will be in the hat for the fourth round of the competition. However, they certainly rode their luck against their Premier League rivals.

Alisson had a nightmare in goal. And Wolves had a goal controversially ruled out for offside in the final minutes at Anfield.

Burley criticises Thiago after Liverpool draw

But the goalkeeper was not the only player to struggle. In fact, Burley seemed to have a big problem with Thiago’s performance against Julen Lopetegui’s side.

The 31-year-old has come in for a lot of unfair criticism during his time on Merseyside. And he has largely been able to silence his critics. However, Burley clearly does not feel that he brings enough to the side.

“He’s a bugbear of mine, Thiago,” he told ESPN. “I get it, he’s had some great success in his career. He’s a fantastic technician. But sometimes, just sometimes, that little fancy drop of the shoulder stuff and no-look passes and all that, it gets a bit boring after a while. You need to roll the sleeves up, particularly in the middle of the park.”

There is one statistic which suggests Burley has been extremely unfair on Thiago following his performance against Wolves.

According to Whoscored, only one player on either side managed to win more than three tackles during the tie. And that was Thiago.

Remarkably, the former Bayern Munich man managed to win six challenges. And he only failed to win one he went in for during the contest. Fabinho meanwhile, won one out of three during his time on the pitch.

Thiago is not blameless during Liverpool’s struggles. But he is surely not the biggest culprit in midfield. Neither Jordan Henderson or Fabinho have been anywhere near their best this season.

It says a lot that 29-year-old Fabinho was the youngest in that midfield three against Wolves. That simply highlights how an overhaul is required sooner rather than later.

Perhaps Burley feels that Thiago is simply getting away with sub-par performances while Fabinho’s form is coming under real scrutiny. But his comments certainly seem a little unfair after a game in which no one was more combative.