ALDO'S VIEW Liverpool have an answer to neutralise Manchester United's match-winner Bruno Fernandes

Thiago Alcantara made his comeback after more than two months out with a knee injury (Peter Powell/PA)

January 04 2021 12:03 PM

Bruno Fernandes is threatening to fire Manchester United into being Premier League title contenders, but Liverpool may be about to unleash the perfect vaccine to neutralise the threat.

Thiago Alcantara was only on the field for 20 minutes in the 0-0 draw at Newcastle on Wednesday night, but we were given a wonderful reminder of what a class act he is.

If you like football, you have to enjoy watching Thiago, as he is a Rolls-Royce of a footballer.

His range of passing and intelligence is on a different level to everyone around him – and he can light the ignition switch in this Liverpool team in the coming months.

Manager Jurgen Klopp has suggested Thiago will be the equivalent of a multi-million-pound signing in this month’s transfer window and the snapshot of what we saw as he made his first appearance in over two months was so exciting.

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes scores his side's second goal of the game from the penalty spot during the Premier League match at Old Trafford, Manchester. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday January 1, 2021. See PA story SOCCER Man Utd. Photo credit should read: Carl Recine/PA Wire RESTRICTIONS: EDITORIAL USE ONLY No use with unauthorised audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications.

There was real excitement when Liverpool signed Thiago from Bayern Munich last summer and even though that disgraceful challenge from Richarlison in the Merseyside derby in October took him out of the game, he looks ready to bounce back at last.

Klopp will be hoping to get Thiago back into his starting line-up as soon as possible and if he is ready to return against Southampton on Monday, he could provide a huge boost to a Liverpool team that has misfired over the Christmas period.

The draws against West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle came amid disappointing performances from an attacking perspective – and it is not often we have said that in the last couple of years.

Mohamed Salah looked off the pace and lacking a bit of focus, Sadio Mane didn’t look at his best, with the injured Diogo Jota badly missed as an additional attacking option.

Now Klopp will be hoping Thiago can give his team a new look, with the playmaker’s ability to boss a game and set the tempo from the midfield offering the potential to kick-start a season that is increasingly hard to predict.

No team appears to be able to build momentum or find a level of consistency as games continue to be played in empty stadiums that are not conducive to competitive action.

We get the fake sound noise when we watch games on TV, but the players are hearing nothing but their own voices in the stadiums and it is tough to play without any crowd.

The strange results we are seeing every week are opening the door for teams like Manchester United to believe they can get in the title mix, even though I’m struggling to believe they are in the position they are in right now.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s position as United manager appeared to be under real threat a few weeks ago, but now they are talking up their hopes of winning the Premier League title.

Their lofty position in the table makes no sense when you look at some of United’s performances this season, but they have a forward line that can win matches and have found a way to keep goals out at the other end.

Marcus Rashford, Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial are a threat going forward and in Fernandes, they have a player who can crack a game open with a moment of magic.

Okay, so this lad gets a hell of a lot of penalties and a lot of big decisions seem to go United’s way, but Fernandes is a class act and he makes Solskjaer’s side tick.

9 - Since the start of February 2020, Bruno Fernandes has scored nine penalties in the Premier League - two more than any other player. Formality. pic.twitter.com/FF2pkA3iji
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 1, 2021

If he picked up an injury, United would certainly struggle to win matches at the rate they have been doing of late and I still don’t see them winning the title, given the weak spots in their team.

Yet in a season when nothing is predictable, anything is possible and that’s why Liverpool need to get their act together in those away matches.

Aside from the 7-0 win at Crystal Palace, Liverpool have won just one other game on the road in the Premier League so far and it’s noticeable that goals have been hard to come by.

Now they are preparing to face a big test against Southampton and, make no mistake, this will be tougher than the Newcastle game as they are coming up against a side that has real ambition and a good tactician running their ship in Ralph Hasenhuttl.

They have done so well to bounce back from their 9-0 drubbing against Leicester last year and if you look at their form since then, Southampton are comfortably in the top six with the points they have picked up.

So Liverpool will need to be at their best to get a result and from the evidence of what we have seen over the last couple of matches, they will require a big uplift in form.

I still believe any team that finishes ahead of Liverpool this season will end up as champions, but I’m also convinced Klopp’s team will not hang on to the title unless they sign a centre-back in this month’s window.

They are so short in that area of the pitch after the injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez that they simply have to try to find a solution in this month’s window.