Thiago Alcantara is pure gold.Watching the Liverpool star glide around a football pitch is truly a sight to behold, strutting his stuff with intangible ease that's only apparent in icons such as Paul Scholes and Andrea Pirlo.It's not necessarily something that you could describe or even illustrate in statistics, but it's a certain footballing essence that reminds us all why the sport is called: the beautiful game.

Thiago shines in FA Cup final

Now, while that might just sound like flowery nonsense to some, the simple fact of the matter is that Thiago has been absolutely extraordinary across Liverpool's hunt for the quadruple.

No doubt the man himself would be the first person to admit that his debut season at Anfield fell short of expectations, but there's no denying that he's gotten into the swing of things now.

And the majestic Spaniard managed to get his hands on a second piece of silverware with the Reds when he helped them on their way to FA Cup glory against Chelsea on Saturday night.

Having shimmered in the semi-final win over Manchester City, Thiago was up to his usual tricks under the Wembley arch as he easily stood out as one of the best performers on the day.

And although that wasn't enough to help Liverpool win in either regulation time or an extra half-hour, Kopites could rest assured that his quality would carry over into the resulting penalty shootout.

Thiago's ice-cold penalty

In fact, amongst all the celebrations surrounding Liverpool's FA Cup triumph, we wanted to rewind a little bit and remember just how ice-cold Thiago's spot-kick proved to be on the way to victory.

Though, to be fair, perhaps we shouldn't have been surprised that his effort from 12 yards was quite so classy when you consider that this is a man who's taken a no-look penalty before.

And just because Thiago was actually looking at the goal this time around, that doesn't make his effortless sweep of the ball in off the post as he sent Edouard Mendy the wrong way any less impudent.

So, be sure to join all the other fans who haven't been able to get Thiago's penalty off their minds by reliving the moment that he took the standout spot-kick of the set down below:

Easy as you like. Pure filth.

Fan reaction

A typically classy Thiago moment

It might not be up there with Virgil van Dijk calling Kepa Arrizabalaga's bluff in the Carabao Cup final, but the ex-Bayern Munich midfielder could hardly have placed his strike better if he tried.

No doubt even a cool customer like himself must have taken a sharp intake of breath as the ball flew towards the post, but you can rest assured that said bottom corner was his intended target.

And when it comes to penalty shootouts, every little helps, particularly when you consider that Thiago hitting the post flush in the face could have meant that Sadio Mane's subsequent miss would have given Chelsea the trophy.

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 14: Thiago Alcantara of Liverpool scores their team's second penalty in the penalty shoot out during The FA Cup Final match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on May 14, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Then again, even if Thiago's spot-kick merely serves as a 'easter egg' amongst all the joy of Liverpool's win, then so be it, because it's the umpteenth-thousandth time that he's made us fall in love with football all over again.