Rhys Williams lauds Liverpool star for ‘finally’ listening to training advice
Rhys Williams says that he is glad Liverpool colleague Thiago Alcantara had the confidence to shoot from range against Southampton on Saturday.
The Spanish midfielder notched his first Reds goal in the 2-0 win over the Saints at Anfield. After Roberto Firmino’s clever flick, the midfielder found himself in space on the edge of the area. However, rather than finding a pass – as he has done in previous matches – he decided to try his luck.
The result was a fantastic curled finish into the right-hand corner which sealed a crucial victory for Jurgen Klopp‘s men.
Indeed, the three points have given Liverpool more hope of finishing in the top four and qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Thiago has a penchant for passing and has therefore shown a reluctance to shoot for the Reds this term.
However, centre-back Williams has revealed that the 30-year-old was encouraged to put his good training performances to use with an effort of his own.
“Well, we’ve been telling him to shoot more!” Williams told Liverpool’s official website.
“His shooting in training is top. I think Gini [Wijnaldum] shouted ‘Shoot!’ and he must have heard him because he’s whipped it round and finally got one for us.”
The win moved Liverpool back up to sixth ahead of Tottenham, who lost to Leeds United on Saturday.
More luck went the Reds’ way this weekend, with Leicester losing to Newcastle on Friday night. The Foxes now look like the likeliest of the top-four hopefuls to drop out. They have matches against Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham to come.
In any case, Williams insisted that he and his colleagues are only focusing on their own matches.
Liverpool must focus in top-four race
“We’ve just got to take it one game at a time and keep putting pressure on the teams above us – which we have done tonight – because we know we could get a chance and we have to capitalise,” the 20-year-old added.
“We can only win every game and see what happens.”
Liverpool return to action on Thursday for the rearranged visit to Old Trafford to face United.
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