Thiago Alcantara admits it is taking time for him to adapt after a “tough start” at Liverpool, but “loves” the opportunity to evolve his game.
The Spaniard has struggled to make an impact on Merseyside having moved from Bayern Munich for £20million in September.
He started 12 games in a row earlier this season after initially stuggling for fitness, but has found himself on the bench for four of their last seven, including the two Champions League legs against Real Madrid.
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And Thiago has explained why it is taking him time to adapt under Klopp.
“I would say it’s a much faster style of football than in other leagues so a lot of it has been about finding the rhythm,” he said in an interview for the official Liverpool FC matchday programme.
“But in terms of quality, tactics and strategy it’s the same as the others.
“It’s more a question of adapting to your new life outside of football rather than professionally.
“I’d come off the back of a successful season with Bayern, and so I arrived here in good form and feeling fit and was warmly welcomed with the good wishes of my team-mates and all the fans too.
“Unfortunately, in the first week I got COVID, and then as soon as I’d got over that, I sustained the injury in my first game back against Everton.
“So you could say it was a tough start for me, and now I’m continuing to adapt and settle in. But the club have given me every possible means for that process to happen as quickly as possible.
“Moving between countries is something I’ve done a lot throughout my life,” he said. “We would move frequently when we were young because of my father’s career.
“At the same time, you arrive in a new country that you’re unfamiliar with and now with the COVID-19 situation you don’t really get to know your new home.
“Our lives are 100% football at the moment – home, training, home, training – so you could be anywhere in the world.
“Football is football and so in that sense I don’t think it matters whether you are playing in England, Spain, Germany or China.
“At the same time, from the very first day I’ve been adapting to the club’s style of play. I’m still doing that right now and it’s something that I love to do.
“We always have to evolve as players and leave behind stuff from the past – not forget about it entirely but put it to good use for the things we need to do in the present.
“It’s being able to see what kind of football the team wants me to play and what football my team-mates play so that I can get used to that style very quickly too.”
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