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Looking to bounce back from 1-0 down, New Zealand will need their middle order to shake off its rustiness against a Pakistan attack full of quality and variety

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando in Hamilton16-Jan-2016

Match facts

January 17, 2016
Start time 1900 local (0600 GMT)Colin Munro has made 106 runs off 41 balls across his last two T20 innings•Getty Images

Big Picture

Sri Lanka and Pakistan have become used to rubbing each others’ backs over the past few years, as their boards have buddied up and organised tours on an annual basis. In New Zealand, Sri Lanka have gone the extra mile to do Pakistan a favour: by scoring so few runs in the previous series that New Zealand did not need their middle order to defeat them. That middle order then turned up rusty against Pakistan, on Friday. Corey Anderson, Grant Elliott, Mitchell Santner and Luke Ronchi all fell for single figures, within 18 runs of each other. The hosts’ chase never recovered.It is the variety, quality and experience in Pakistan’s attack that appears the greatest threat to New Zealand this series. In Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul and Mohammad Amir, the visitors have three sharp quicks, each with his own particular mode of attack. Imad Wasim has delivered tight left-arm spin since his arrival at the top level last year, while Shahid Afridi’s legspin continues to prosper. They also have Shoaib Malik’s part-time offbreaks, should any of their frontline options falter.New Zealand were without their best bowler – Tim Southee – and most experienced batsman – Ross Taylor – for that first game, however, and Taylor’s likely return in Hamilton will bolster that middle order. The openers will be eager regain their tone-setting form as well. Kane Williamson was made to seem human in that first match, having dropped a catch, run his partner out, and made a stalling start to his own innings. Mistakes from him have been both rare and rarely repeated.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)


New Zealand: LWWWL
Pakistan: WLLLW

In the spotlight

In two Eden Park T20s, Colin Munro has struck 106 from 41 deliveries, sealing one game and keeping his team alive in the other. His clean striking has almost filled the firepower void left by Brendon McCullum’s absence. Munro has one foot in the World T20 squad. Another decent innings in either of the two coming matches will ensure he is on that flight to India.He may be approaching the end of his career, but Shahid Afridi is still the life of this Pakistan team’s party, cracking cameos from the middle order, striking star-man poses, and occasionally engaging teammates in animated on-field discussions. He hit a rapid 23, took two wickets and claimed three catches on Friday. Seddon Park is not quite as small as the ground in Auckland, but its dimensions will still suit Afridi’s manic hitting.

Team news

Taylor’s return after a one-match rest will probably force one of the frontline spinners out of the side. With New Zealand having seen plenty of Mitchell Santner over their summer, maybe they will give Todd Astle another run. Mitchell McClenaghan may also play, depending on whether he has recovered from the niggle that kept him out on Friday.New Zealand (probable): 1 Kane Williamson (capt.), 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Colin Munro 4 Corey Anderson, 5 Ross Taylor, 6 Grant Elliott, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Todd Astle, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Trent BoultPakistan will probably keep an unchanged XI.Pakistan (probable): 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Sohaib Maqsood , 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Shahid Afridi (capt), 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Mohammad Amir

Pitch and conditions

Limited-overs pitches in Hamilton have generally been conducive to high scores. The weather is expected to remain fine for the evening, with temperatures in the low 20-degrees Celsius range.

Stats and trivia

• Imad Wasim’s economy rate after six T20s is 4.77.
• New Zealand won the only other T20 these teams have played in Hamilton, in 2010.
• Kane Williamson has led New Zealand in 10 T20s, with his team having won exactly half.

Quotes

“We have a come across Afridi a few times in T20 and have a number of plans for him, but if you don’t execute then he is able to take you apart with the bat. That cameo gave them some impetus. With the ball, we were able to take to him early but he came back really well. He is a fine cricketer and he has been around a while so he is a pretty wily campaigner.”

Allrounder Marlon Samuels was voted West Indies’ Overall and ODI player of the year for 2012 at an awards function

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jul-2013Allrounder Marlon Samuels was voted West Indies’ Overall and ODI player of the year for 2012 at an awards function hosted by the WICB and the West Indies Players Association in Trinidad on Thursday. Shivnarine Chanderpaul was recognised as Test Player of the Year. Stefanie Taylor, 22, was adjudged Women’s Cricketer of the Year.During the event, WICB president Dave Cameron also presented commemorative gold rings to the 15 players and eight-member management that won the World T20 in Sri Lanka last October.After a Watson-blitz and rain helped Australia get the better of them, and a comprehensive nine-wicket loss to Sri Lanka, West Indies regrouped to steal a thrilling Super-Over victory against New Zealand to book their place in the final four. Chris Gayle powered West Indies past Australia in the semi-final and Marlon Samuels followed a vital half-century against Sri Lanka in the final, during which he clobbered Lasith Malinga for 39 runs in 11 balls, with a spell of 4-0-15-1 to lead West Indies to victory.”This is a truly special honour – one that all of us will cherish. On behalf of the team I want to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who came up with this idea and all those who made it possible,” said Darren Sammy, who captained West Indies to their first world title triumph since the Champions Trophy in 2004. “We played an amazing brand of cricket to win over in Sri Lanka; to win the trophy for our people. Now it feels really great to be honoured, in this way, here at home.”Spinner Sunil Narine bagged two awards, the T20 Player of the Year and Regional Limited-Overs Player of the Year. Kieran Powell, who has three centuries in 15 Tests, was voted Emerging Player of the Year. Jamaica won the First-Class Team of the Year award and one of their players, left-arm spinner Nikita Miller was the First-class Player of the Year. Barbados won the Under-19 Team of the Year and Jeremy Solozano of Trinidad & Tobago claimed the award for Under-19 Player of the Year. Left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie was named the Caribbean T20 Player of the year.Former West Indies wicketkeeper Jackie Hendriks, who also served as president of the Jamaica Cricket Association and director of the WICB, was given the inaugural WICB Lifetime Achievement Award, while the WIPA counterpart went to Winston Reid, who collected 205 wickets for Barbados in a career spanning 15 years.

Only eight overs of play were possible but that was enough for Keith Barker and Chris Wright to do further damage to the Sussex top order

28-Apr-2012
ScorecardBarely eight overs were possible at a wet and windy Hove but there was ample time for Warwickshire to emphasise their superiority as Sussex, resuming on 57 for 2, lost three wickets in the space of nine deliveries.Play got underway at 2.15pm and Luke Wells had not added to his overnight score of five when he was lbw to Keith Barker in the second over of the day. Moments later, England wicketkeeper Matt Prior had his off stump knocked back by Chris Wright. Prior, who failed to score, had been struck on the body by Wright’s previous delivery.Both Wright and Barker, who looks a yard faster than last season after having his action reconstructed, troubled the Sussex batsmen with their pace in difficult conditions. Barker kept Warwickshire’s momentum going when he had a hesitant Murray Goodwin lbw as he shuffled half-forward. He almost had a fourth wicket when Michael Yardy edged short of Rikki Clarke at second slip.Sussex’s suffering ended when players came off at 3pm as the umpires decided that the combination of gusting drizzle and floodlights was unsafe for the batsmen. Even the Warwickshire players looked happy enough to get out of the miserable conditions.Warwickshire ended the third day with a lead of 465 runs thanks to the efforts of Jonathan Trott, who made 178 on his first domestic appearance of the summer.Trott said: “It was a difficult situation with the ball seaming around so I was really happy with the innings. You are never quite sure what sort of nick you are in when you come back to England, having played on the sub-continent. It is always a little bit different, especially this time of year.”I always enjoy coming back and playing for Warwickshire. It was playing with these guys, and under Ashley Giles as coach, that was the start of something for me in terms of my career.”Trott habitually makes Sussex suffer. He scored 134 against Sussex on his county debut in 2003 and his highest Championship score of 210 was also against them.

USA Cricket Association board member Krish Prasad is unhappy over the way domestic tournaments are being handled and does not feel stakeholders are being given an honest appraisal of USACA’s current financial situation

Peter Della Penna27-May-2011USA Cricket Association (USACA) board member Krish Prasad is unhappy over the way domestic tournaments are being handled and does not feel stakeholders are being given an honest appraisal of USACA’s current financial situation. Prasad, who represents the New York Region and is also the USACA cricket committee chairman, feels that stakeholders are losing confidence in USACA’s leadership because of the organization’s inability to properly organize domestic tournaments.USACA general manager Manaf Mohamed sent out an events calendar at the start of the year detailing the dates and sites for tournaments in 2011. Already, the U-17 national tournament that was supposed to be held from May 27-30 in Orlando has been postponed while the inaugural Twenty20 national championship that is scheduled to be held June 17-19 was shifted this week from Dallas to New Jersey. USACA claims it was moved for budget reasons while local organizers in Dallas claim the switch was politically motivated.”My biggest concern is our financial embarrassment,” Prasad said. “We can’t tell regions, yes, you’ll definitely have this tournament. Go ahead and make the arrangements. Dallas wanted to make the arrangements and lock the hotels up. I mean you’re talking about a month before and we don’t have nothing locked up. We don’t have one thing locked up for a tournament that’s going to be held a month from now.”First the tournament was set in Dallas and this was done in January. All along we were planning to have this tournament in Dallas. Unfortunately it’s been pulled out of Dallas because the president said the hotels were too expensive. To be honest, I don’t know who is making the arrangements of where the games go because my say of where the games should go, it doesn’t seem like I have any say in the matter. Every time I speak to Manaf, he says well we have to get this approved. I guess all the approval is done by the president and the treasurer.”In Prasad’s opinion, the result of all of these changes is that stakeholders don’t have much confidence in the way USACA is operating. “Dallas is disappointed with us because we were supposed to have a tournament there. We didn’t have it. New York people feel the same way. They asked the question last night [at a town hall meeting]. Why are we not told what competitions we’re going to have, what New York region is going to host, or where and who is going to host these tournaments? Why can’t we have some time to prepare for it? If you don’t have that time, why should people be confident in what you’re doing?”One of the ladies spoke to me yesterday. She says, ‘Krish, I have asked you guys several times of your schedule. I have to go to a wedding in the Caribbean. I want to make arrangements to go and come back so I don’t miss anything.’ I can’t give her an answer.”Prasad feels that USACA still operates as if it is broke, in spite of the deal signed with several investors to form Cricket Holdings America and pump revenue into USACA. However, USACA Treasurer John Thickett wants to dispel any worries about USACA’s financial status. Thickett says that $1.1 million has come in so far as part of the deal and that $3.9 million more should come in over the course of 2011.”Part of my job is to make sure we have money to do stuff,” Thickett said. “The Twenty20 is a new tournament. We have funding in place right now to cover the Twenty20 going ahead. We’ve got the Under-19s we’re doing some camps for getting ready for Ireland.”Three million of that money was supposed to be delivered through what was labeled as a signing bonus, but that money may not come in until September or October at the earliest. It is contingent upon a stake in CHA membership being sold by one of the investors. An anonymous source is worried that this signing bonus money may never come, particularly as he feels the membership stake that is yet to be sold may depend on the results of USACA elections in October. Thickett denied this speculation in an interview earlier this month.”We’re hopeful to get it done by September or October,” Thickett said on May 2. “The elections will be over by October so whoever’s coming into power will be handling the money, but there’s no linkage between… I’m sure there are people who want to think that or speculate that.”USACA is also supposed to receive 31% of any profits generated through hosting matches between Full Members and selling television rights to matches. However, Thickett admitted on Thursday that profits are not realistic for 2011.”The LLC is a startup company. It’s got to put on events and get revenue,” Thickett said. “I don’t think we’re going to have an international between two Full Members this year. I think it’s more likely to happen next year along with the launch of the Twenty20 league. My prediction would be summer 2012. The state of the infrastructure, it’s going to take more time to put that infrastructure in. The issue of infrastructure around the country is a big issue.”Prasad hopes that there will not be any more snags with tournaments being staged this year, including the women’s national tournament that is supposed to be hosted by the New York Region from July 1-4, but he is not convinced by the messages he’s getting from other members of the USACA leadership.”I guess it’s the way we operate. The way we operate is poor governance,” Prasad said. “All of this is because we don’t have the finances in place. We are not making or putting great importance on these things. We have tournaments planned. The cricket committee puts things together in January. It’s there and it just falls by the wayside.”July 4th weekend, we don’t have a definite go ahead for the women’s tournament in New York.
We’ve been constantly going through this. Like our director said last night, this is embarrassing.
We can’t operate like this. This is nothing new to USACA. Maybe they don’t have any money.
It’s embarrassing.”

Salman Butt, the mainstay of Pakistan’s batting in the recently concluded World Twenty20, believed that his success during the event was based on understanding that the youngest format of the game was not about just slogging

Cricinfo staff25-May-2010Salman Butt, the mainstay of Pakistan’s batting in the recently concluded World Twenty20, believed that his success during the event was based on understanding that the youngest format of the game was not about just slogging.”Twenty-over cricket has a place for what I would term “proper stroke-makers” – batsmen who play their shots on the merit of each delivery,” Butt told . “Bowlers are fighting back when it comes to this form of the game and they are finding new ways to innovate and to restrict the batting side. As a batsman I think you have to play the high percentage shots, the shots that you know you can play, the shots that you feel you can score off effectively.””If you think about it, get four or five singles in an over and one boundary in the same over, and you have accumulated eight or nine runs in that over, which if you can maintain and you will end up with 160-plus. It’s not just about the fours and sixes”. Butt was the third highest run-getter in the tournament, with 223 runs at 44.60, and a strike-rate of 131.17. Interestingly, he hit only four sixes during the tournament, fewer than anyone else in the top fifteen.His top score came in the Super Eights match against New Zealand, which Pakistan contrived to lose by one run, when tail-ender Abdur Rehman spooned a catch into the deep off the last ball, with Butt stranded at the non-striker’s end on 73. Butt had run a bye off the penultimate ball to relinquish the strike, and he backed his decision in hindsight.”We needed 11 off the last over and then three off two deliveries after I managed to hit two boundaries. Rehman and I had a chat before the penultimate delivery and decided that we would go for a bye even if I did not connect with the ball. We scampered a bye and then had another chat before the final delivery. We decided that again we would run for anything and we were confident that if it went to the super over, in Mohammad Aamer we had a bowler who would see us to victory.Rehman had not batted previously in the tournament as of course it was his first match, so I said to him to at least look for a single. However when the ball was bowled by [Ian] Butler, Rehman’s eye’s lit up at the leg-stump half volley. He went for a boundary and connected really well. If the ball had been a few yards either side of the fielder it would have gone for a boundary. Thinking back I thought the planning was satisfactory and it was really painful when we did not at least score a single on that final delivery,” Butt said.Despite that loss, their second in two Super Eights games, Pakistan roared back into the tournament with a fine victory against South Africa to enter the final four. They dominated their semi-final match against Australia from the outset and looked on course for their third consecutive World Twenty20 final before running into a rampaging Michael Hussey, who stole 18 off the final over to put it past them. Butt admitted there was little his side could have done to deny Hussey in that kind of form.”Yes we can be satisfied with reaching the semi-finals, but the target is always to win trophies. We came back very well after the New Zealand defeat to beat the South Africans and I thought we were gaining enough momentum and on our way to the final.
“We made the highest score any team made in the tournament against Australia, but it was one of those occasions where you have to credit Mike Hussey for his batting. I would say that rather than Pakistan losing the semi-final, it was more a case of Hussey winning the match for Australia,” Butt said.Butt credited his coaches, Ijaz Ahmed and Waqar Younis, for his fine run of form in the West Indies. “They really backed me during the tournament and gave me a lot of self-belief and confidence. As a batsman once you receive the backing and you have the self confidence, then that is half the battle,” Butt said.Butt hopes to feature in Pakistan’s next assignment, the Asia Cup one-day tournament which will be held on the bowler-friendly wickets at Dambulla in Sri Lanka. “Hopefully I will get selected. The conditions in Dambulla are very tricky for top order batsmen as the ball seams around a lot in the first hour or so. Winning the toss could be pivotal in the result of the matches in Sri Lanka,” he said.After the Asia Cup, Pakistan embark on a tour of England where they will face the hosts and Australia in six Tests, and Butt is up for the potentially tough examination. “Facing the Australian and English bowling attacks will be a tough test. They are amongst the best bowling attacks in the world at the moment and they will thoroughly test me and the other Pakistani batsmen. However when you face tough opponents, it helps you to develop your game and to work harder at improvements in your game and technique,” Butt said.Butt’s name has done the rounds as a potential captain for Pakistan in Test matches, following the retirement of Mohammad Yousuf, but he has not dwelled much on the possibility. “I have read a few articles in the press and I know that a few ex-players have suggested that I should be given the opportunity. Of course it would be an honour to lead my country, but it is not something I have been thinking about. I would much rather concentrate on my batting in the upcoming Asia Cup and tour of England,” he said.

The members of the Pakistan squad were in Bhurban for a high-altitude camp and Alam said the exercise was a success

Cricinfo staff19-May-2009
Younis Khan is among the fittest players in the Pakistan team © AFP
Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam has said he was pleased with the results of the conditioning camp his players participated in as part of their preparations for the World Twenty20 in England in June.The members of the Pakistan squad were in Bhurban for a high-altitude camp supervised by the team’s fitness trainer David Dwyer and Alam said the exercise was a success. “The idea behind this camp was to help the players improve their speed, strength, agility and mental toughness and the test results on the players show that the exercise was a success,” Alam told the . “We really needed such a camp to get fully prepared for the England assignment.”The team’s assistant coach Aaqib Javed singled out four players for their exemplary fitness. “Quite a few of the players have proven to be very fit but there are four that have really stood out. Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Gul and Fawad Alam are the four fittest players in the camp,” Aaqib told . “They set the standard for the others to follow but everyone in the squad has worked really hard. We’ve also organised other fitness related activities like hiking to keep them focused and entertained.”The players will now assemble in Lahore to play practice Twenty20 games at the Gaddafi Stadium from May 20-22 after which they will compete in the National Twenty20 Cup which begins on May 25. Pakistan captain Younis Khan will captain the Patron’s XI in three games against a Chairman’s XI that will be led by Misbah-ul-Haq.”There will be two equally balanced teams selected from the 30 probables announced for the World Twenty20,” Aaqib said. Originally we were going to play six games over three days but due to the heat in Lahore this would be impractical and we don’t want to risk unnecessary injuries so it’s been reduced to 3 games over 3 days.”Pakistan are scheduled to depart for England on May 30, a day before their first practice game against South Africa on June 1. They will play India in another practice game on June 3 before the World Twenty20 begins on June 5.Patron’s XI: Salman Butt, Ahmed Shehzad, Younis Khan (capt), Shoaib Malik, Fawad Alam, Yasir Hameed, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Aamir, Sohail Tanvir, Yasir Shah, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Amin, Kamran Younis, Imran Ali.Chairman’s XI: Shahzaib Hasan, Nasir Jamshed, Kamran Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Wahab Riaz, Rao Iftikhar, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema, Zulfiqar Jan.

كشفت تقارير صحفية عن لقاء مفاجئ بين إدارة برشلونة وجيرارد بيكيه مدافع الفريق الكتالوني.

وفقًا لصحيفة “سبورت” الإسبانية، لابورتا ومسؤولي برشلونة بما في ذلك ماتيو أليماني ورافا يوستي وممثل بيكيه، كانوا سيجتمعون الليلة في مطعم في برشلونة ليطلبوا منه تخفيض راتبه مرة أخرى، للمساعدة في تسجيل التعاقدات الجديدة.

يُفهم طلب مجلس برشلونة في حالة عدم قبول رابطة الليجا لأرقام النادي الكتالوني مع تفعيل الروافع الأخيرة، وهناك حاجة إلى بذل جهد إضافي من الفريق بأكمله لتحقيق التوازن المالي بين الأرقام.

اقرأ أيضًا | تشيلسي يدرس التعاقد مع مهاجم برشلونة

مستقبل بيكيه الرياضي والدور الذي يمكن أن يلعبه في تشكيلة تشافي والوضع المالي للنادي هي قضايا أخرى كان من الممكن مناقشتها في العشاء.

بيكيه ليس الوحيد الذي التقى به النادي في الساعات القليلة الماضية، فقد شوهد سيرجيو بوسكيتس مع وكيله في مكاتب خوان جامبر.

Last season’s Carabao Cup finalists Tottenham Hotspur begin their quest to go one better this evening as they head to the Midlands to face Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.

Nuno Santo will be looking for a reaction upon his second return to his former hunting ground after his side endured a week of disappointing results, including back-to-back 3-0 defeats in the Premier League.

The Portuguese coach has plenty to ponder in terms of team selection, particularly with the north London derby on the horizon this weekend.

One player who has no business being part of his starting XI for the trip is Argentinian midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, who looked hugely underwhelming in the defeat to Chelsea, as explained by Football FanCast here.

He was recalled to the lineup for the first time since the international break, when he defied club orders and landed himself in hot water for his involvement in Argentina’s controversial clash with Brazil.

The £26m-rated playmaker has struggled to impress ever since his £55m move from Real Betis two years ago and there are no signs that it’s about to change anytime soon.

Across 70 appearances – the most at any team for which he’s played – Lo Celso has only managed to contribute seven goals and four assists at a rate of one every 359 minutes, or once every four games, via Transfermarkt.

That’s just not good enough for an attack-minded player who has previously been lauded as “technically gifted” and “phenomenal” by his current and former peers, Harry Winks and Jose Mourinho, respectively.

Spurs currently rank dead last in the Premier League for expected goals (xG) on the season, recording a total of just 4.42, whilst they have only created two big chances across their five league games, per The Athletic.

It’s evident that Lo Celso is just not the creative solution that Nuno needs if Tottenham are to put an end to their troubles.

Based on several months of evidence over the past two seasons – he has just one goal from 49 Premier League appearances – the 25-year-old midfielder has no place in the starting XI, especially if Spurs want to go one better than last year.

Nuno must be bold and ruthless by axing Lo Celso tonight.

AND in other news, Watch out Winks: Nuno has a rising star in unseen 19 y/o “fantastic talent” at Spurs…

Dara O’Shea’s injury is a massive blow, former West Brom midfielder Carlton Palmer has told The Transfer Tavern.

The Baggies defender sustained a fractured ankle while on international duty with the Republic of Ireland and could now miss up to six months of action, the club has confirmed.

O’Shea has been an important player for West Brom in this early part of the season. The 22-year-old has started the Midlands outfit’s first five games and currently has the highest WhoScored rating (7.73) in Valerien Ismael’s squad.

West Brom acted quickly by bringing in Kean Bryan on a free transfer, but Palmer feels O’Shea’s injury is still a huge setback, nevertheless.

“Devastating,” the ex-West Brom player said in response to the news about O’Shea’s injury. “He’s been very instrumental for West Brom.

“He’s obviously got the experience of being in international football. It’s a massive blow to them.”

Other than that and a few other injury problems they have, it has been a positive season for West Brom so far.

They are currently top of the Championship table with 14 points, yet to lose a game. Ismael will now be hoping for Bryan or whoever fills in for O’Shea to step up to help the team maintain this excellent start to the campaign.

Liverpool’s convincing 3-0 victory over Leeds United was marred by the shocking injury sustained by Harvey Elliott, but their midfield appears to be in safe hands.

Spain international Thiago put in a stellar performance on his first start of the season, and he was able to play with such courage and attacking freedom thanks to the brilliance of Fabinho.

After collecting three points at Elland Road, Liverpool have now won the last nine games that the duo have started together in midfield, highlighting their effectiveness when paired together.

It perhaps would have been the easier and safer option for Reds manager Jurgen Klopp if he’d kept the diminutive gem on the bench for one week longer, allowing him to match the frenetic, all-action style of Leeds in the engine room.

However, that wasn’t the case. The German manager opted for the alternative option and chose a midfield full of thinkers rather than hard-working sprinters.

“That Liverpool midfield wasn’t perhaps the most athletic or mobile,” said Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville on the Gary Neville Podcast after the game. “Klopp could have played Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Naby Keita to match Leeds up. But it was all about composure.

“Thiago reminded me of the way Paul Scholes played at Anfield. There would be a frantic spell in the game, and all of sudden, there would be a small guy in the middle of the pitch who would get his foot on the ball, and there would be calm and peace.”

And Klopp was rewarded for his tactically brave decision. During the 90 minutes, Fabinho made a whopping five interceptions, far more than anyone else on the pitch, as he constantly cut off Leeds’ attacks before they could really get going.

The South American provided the perfect platform for Thiago to showcase his true talent, and the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich ace duly obliged.

As per SofaScore, the 30-year-old made two key passes during his time on the pitch, created one big chance and capped off his fine afternoon’s work with an assist for Sadio Mane’s long-overdue strike in the final few minutes of action.

It felt like the game when the £27m-rated dynamo, who was once hailed as “extraordinary” by Barca and Spain legend Xavi, finally announced himself to English football after struggling with his fitness and underperforming teammates last season.

Injuries to key centre-backs robbed Thiago of the chance to build up a meaningful relationship with Fabinho in his maiden campaign on English shores, but it appears that the duo are about to make up for lost time in the months ahead.

One man who may suffer as a result is Keita, who failed to impress during his two top-flight starts of 2021/22, but Liverpool’s manager, fans and hierarchy alike are unlikely to care about that given the potential of their new formidable duo in the centre of the pitch.

And, in other news…LFC suffer potential blow in pursuit of “devastating” 24y/o gem, Klopp will be gutted