Jurgen Klopp says there is more to come from Thiago Alcantara after detailing the tactical tweak that helped Liverpool’s midfield get the better of Tottenham.

The Reds won 3-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as goals from Roberto Firmino, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Sadio Mane rendered Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s superb strike as a mere consolation.

Thiago made just his fifth Premier League start since joining from Bayern Munich in the summer and was named alongside Gini Wijnaldum and James Milner for the first time as a midfield trio.

Klopp said he deployed Milner and Wijnaldum at the base of his midfield to allow Thiago the room to operate further forward.

And while the Spaniard enjoyed an impressive second half before he was withdrawn for Curtis Jones, Klopp says there is a lot more for the £25million signing to show once he gets fully up to speed at Anfield.

“It was good,” Klopp said. “It was necessary as well. It was a good moment to show that we are still here.

“That is good to know. Now we go home and come back in a few hours for West Ham.

“We played today a slightly different position and it worked really well with Gini and Milly as a No.6.

“That was a proper, proper performance. I know Thiago can do much better than tonight but it was just an important step for all of us.

“The situation with Thiago was not easy. He came to Liverpool late then got ill, then was injured and was then playing immediately in a decisive position.

“So we thought that tonight, it might make sense to play it slightly higher on the pitch.”

Klopp added: “What clicked tonight? Obviously it was the decision in the last moments.

“We had a big, big chance very early on with a wonderful play and Sadio was in a really good position. Missed that chance and pretty much the next situation was pretty much the Tottenham goal and that was the moment where you go ‘ah, here we go again’.

“But then it was offside, didn’t count and then the boys just played a really good game.

“This situation in mind with the counter-attacks when Son scored, makes it really tricky to keep the ball and pass the ball because you have to increase the risk and we did that tonight.

“We made great runs, scored the [first] goal in a perfect moment, pretty much. It was a good goal to go into half time but we were quite aware of the struggle of Joel Matip with his ankle. No chance to play on.

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“We told the boys what we thought made sense to carry on and then they did. They made a proper, proper fight of it and I am really happy about that and we played football.

“So it was a good win.”

Klopp also praised his players’ bravery in north London against a Jose Mourinho side who have looked at their best when counter-attacking teams this season.

“It’s always a mix and the boys want to do well, that is clear,” Klopp said.

“We, as coaches, have to tell them what to do in specific moments and that is clear. I am completely happy with the performance. It is about the boys and they put a proper shift in.

“You saw it, it was a brave performance and in a game against a counter-attacking monster, what Spurs are, it makes it even more special, so tonight was really good.”