Paul Scholes made his admiration for Thiago clear for those around him to see as the Liverpool midfielder was substituted off after masterful display against Manchester United.
The Spaniard, 31, was replaced by Naby Keita for the final 10 minutes of Tuesday night's North-West derby with the Reds three goals to the good at Anfield. He continued his rich vein of form - having produced a fine assist in Saturday's FA Cup victory over Manchester City - with a commanding performance against United which reaffirmed his status as one of the finest Premier League technicians.
Thiago's brilliance was recognised with a standing ovation from the adoring home fans and Scholes was among those to show his appreciation for his showing. The Old Trafford hero - widely regarded as one of England's greatest ever midfielders - was seen applauding the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich star, as reported by the Liverpool Echo.
Over in the Sky Sports commentary box, Jamie Carragher was equally struck by Thiago and declared: "That's the best game he's ever had an Anfield, I'm sure of it." Scholes' former teammate Gary Neville added: "Absolutely sensational, this pass, a joy to watch."
Thiago also received lavish praise from his manager, Jurgen Klopp, who proclaimed it was "the perfect night" for Liverpool in front of their own supporters. "Yes, Thiago played a good game," the German said. "That's his quality. With quality obviously comes responsibility, so if you are good you better play good as well.
"That's what he did tonight really, again. From a football point of view, really nothing to moan about. It was the perfect night for us, we don't take these kind of things for granted." Thiago has started each of Liverpool's last four league games and has made a total of 30 appearances in all competitions this season.
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During that time, he has scored twice and laid on three assists, with the pick of his goals his breathtaking strike against Porto in the Champions League group stage. Thiago is going from strength to strength during his second season on Merseyside having struggled to find his feet during an injury-ravaged debut campaign.
The Italy-born player missed a substantial chunk of the season with a knee injury sustained after a red-card challenge from Richarlison in a controversial Merseyside derby.
But he is now showing shades of the form which helped Bayern clinch the continental treble in 2020 - just in time to help fire Liverpool's charge towards an unprecedented quadruple.
