Liverpool were held to their second successive draw in the Premier League as they played out a stalemate with Newcastle United at St James' Park on Wednesday.

However, the return of Spanish midfielder Thiago is a huge boost for Jurgen Klopp's side, with the 29-year-old having been limited to just two appearances in the Premier League since his summer arrival from Bayern Munich before his substitute appearance against the Toon.

The former Barcelona man has spent two months on the sidelines with a knee injury following a horror tackle from Everton's Richarlison back in October but was still able to demonstrate his immense quality on his first appearance back against Steve Bruce's side.

Thiago replaced James Milner in the 73rd minute of the game and the Reds looked much more threatening with him on the pitch, with the quality of his long balls causing problems for the Newcastle defence.

As per SofaScore, the £43.2 million rated midfielder completed 21/23 of his passes during his time on the pitch, resulting in a superb pass accuracy rate of 91%.

The Spanish international was accurate in all six of his long balls, whilst he also impressively won all six of the duels he was involved in during his brief time on the pitch, emphasising that he is not one to shirk away from the physical nature of the Premier League.

Following his cameo, Michael Owen was full of praise for the midfielder on Twitter, saying:

"We’ve only been treated to snippets of play so far but I genuinely get excited when @Thiago6 steps onto the pitch. He’s so different to anything in the @premierleague. A proper baller."

Therefore, despite his lack of match fitness at the moment, Klopp should consider starting the Spaniard against Southampton in the Reds' next Premier League fixture on Monday, as their last two results emphasise the need for a creative midfielder to try and unlock stubborn defences.

With the Saints having kept seven clean sheets in the top-flight so far this season, it certainly won't be an easy task for Klopp's side at St Mary's, so Thiago should definitely be involved at some point next Monday.

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