Thiago Alcantara has often found himself the scapegoat for Liverpool's capitulating title defence this season. 

The midfielder was supposed to improve one of the Reds' weakest positions when he joined the club from Bayern Munich in the summer. 

However, the likes of John Barnes and Dietmar Hamann have weighed in with suggestions that the Spanish international has actually slowed the champions down. 

A plethora of defensive injuries and a misfiring attack are also to blame, of course, but Jamie Carragher believes there is some truth in the criticism of Thiago. 

Writing in the Telegraph, Carragher explained: 

"Thiago Alcantara has seemed like the luxury Liverpool cannot afford...

"At times, such as the poor final 12 minutes at the King Power Stadium, Thiago has been a defensive liability. He lost the ball and then sloppily conceded the free-kick in the build-up Leicester’s equaliser.

"He made another clumsy tackle within 60 seconds against RB Leipzig in midweek, another occasion when he looked certain to be booked.

"He settled after that, and all the reports from the win in Budapest argued Thiago was much better.

"I agree Thiago played well. Where I disagree is that he was more impressive than usual because there have been many games where he has been excellent and Liverpool still lost.

"A scoreline can camouflage the reality of an individual’s contribution."

Carragher is right, of course. It is hard to judge Thiago in the immediate aftermath of defeats, but the stats are certainly interesting when Liverpool are compared with and without him. 

Without him, in the Premier League Liverpool have 64.5% average possession - that's compared to 62.4% with him. 

They also create fewer passes - 565 to 571 - with him. On the other hand, they do create more chances (10.8 to 8.9 per game). 

The jury is still out on the 29-year-old.