Luis Diaz’s hat-trick as a Liverpool No 9 – and what it reveals about Slot’s coaching skills

By
James BAOUCH
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Luis Diaz left Anfield holding the player of the game trophy and with the match ball, signed by his team-mates as is the tradition in football when somebody scores a hat-trick, safely tucked under his arm.

What a night for the Colombian forward. It was the first hat-trick of his professional career and the first by a Liverpool player at home in Europe since Philippe Coutinho’s three-goal night against Spartak Moscow, also in the Champions League, in December 2017.

Diaz stole the show on Liverpool old boy Xabi Alonso’s return to Merseyside as Bayer Leverkusen manager. He was the chief destroyer during a remarkable second-half demolition of last season’s German double winners (a feat they achieved without losing a single game) and Europa League runners-up (the final against Atalanta was their only defeat in 53 matches).

New head coach Arne Slot’s decision to play Diaz through the middle proved inspired. He’d operated there at times during matches before but never started as the No 9 since his arrival from Portugal’s Porto for £50million ($64.3m at the current exchange rate) in January 2022.

“I really enjoyed playing in that position,” Diaz told Amazon Prime, which broadcast the game in the UK. “The manager makes it very clear exactly what he wants from us. It wasn’t easy for him to come in and fill Jurgen Klopp’s shoes, but things have gone so well with the new manager. We have to keep it going.”

Slot’s track record of developing and improving players at Feyenoord, his previous club in the Netherlands, was key to Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes deciding he was the ideal candidate to take over at Anfield when Klopp stepped down after almost nine years as manager at the end of last season.

The Dutchman has certainly unleashed some untapped potential where Diaz is concerned. Through regular video analysis meetings and time spent on the training field, Slot and his staff have worked closely with the 27-year-old to ensure he is getting on the ball more centrally and in more advanced areas where he can hurt opponents.

The results are there for all to see.

With 13 goals in all competitions last season, Diaz netted once every 278 minutes. This season, he has scored nine times already — one every 96 minutes.

His heroics against Leverkusen showcased his greater composure and clinical edge, but each of his three goals last night also spoke volumes about why Slot’s Liverpool are top of both the Premier League after 10 games and the Champions League’s new 36-team table halfway through their eight fixtures in the initial league phase.

Diaz’s first goal

The dinked finish over Lukas Hradecky to put Liverpool 1-0 up just after the hour mark was delightful — but the opening to score the goal was created by the vision and precision of Curtis Jones.

Recalled at the expense of Dominik Szoboszlai, Jones more than repaid the faith Slot showed in him. The academy graduate belongs at this level and that advanced midfield role suits his skill set. How intelligently he dropped off into space here to receive possession from Trent Alexander-Arnold before turning, getting his head up and playing in Diaz with the kind of perfectly weighted pass Alonso would have been proud of in his prime two decades ago.

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It was another crucial contribution from the 23-year-old, who scored the winner against Chelsea last month and provided the assist for Mohamed Salah to secure victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend.

“So comfortable on the ball, you can trust Curtis closer to your defence. But like we saw against Chelsea and I saw again tonight, he is also able to penetrate inside the 18-yard box and give the last pass,” Slot said. “He’s really made a step up after pre-season and that’s why he gets his chances now, because if players do well — and I have quite a lot of them at the moment — they will get their chances.”

It was also a goal which illustrated Slot’s attention to detail. Talking about the decision to play Diaz through the middle, he explained that while it was partly down to wanting to rest Darwin Nunez, he also felt that Leverkusen central defender Jonathan Tah “maybe likes to play more against a target man”. He wanted someone more elusive to ask Tah some different questions and it worked a treat. Certainly for this opening goal.

Diaz’s second goal

A lot has been made of Liverpool’s more measured approach this season.

The first half last night was something of a non-event as the hosts tried to get to grips with a game plan which surprised Slot.

“We’ve seen a lot of games from Leverkusen but I’ve never seen (striker Victor) Boniface playing from the left. They played without a No 9 and overloaded the midfield a lot,” he said.

“It was quite difficult to press them high. But the good thing was that we hardly conceded any chances. Normally, they defend more in a 5-2-3; here they defended in a 4-4-2. In the second half, we could adjust, take a bit more risks, and we were better with the ball as well.”

Diaz’s second goal was the perfect example of how Slot’s Liverpool have it in their armoury to crank up the tempo to breathtaking effect when required. There were just 19 seconds between goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher catching a deflected shot and Diaz putting the ball in the net at the other end of the pitch.

Salah could hardly be doing much more to convince the Anfield hierarchy that his services must be retained beyond this season. Yes, he will turn 33 two weeks before the day his current deal expires next June but there’s no sign of his powers waning.

In 16 appearances (14 starts) this season, Salah now has nine goals and nine assists. That creative side to his game does not get the wider recognition it deserves. He’s so much more than a prolific finisher, and Slot has re-energised him after such a difficult end to last season.

Salah’s right-footed cross for Cody Gakpo to head home Liverpool’s second at the far post was a beauty and then the Egyptian delivered with his left foot for Diaz, who had the simple task of slotting home from similar range to make it 3-0.

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For context, Salah’s best season of his career for assists was 16 in 2022-23. He’s on course to shatter that.

Diaz’s third goal

A fourth successive Champions League win had long since been secured. Slot’s name echoed around Anfield in the closing stages before the Kop turned their attention to serenading Alonso.

Yet at 3-0 up in the 92nd minute, Liverpool were not ready to just settle for what they had.

When substitute Andy Robertson snapped into a tackle just outside his own penalty box, they flew forward like they were chasing a late equaliser. After their resilience came to the fore in the recent fightbacks against Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion, here they were ruthless and relentless.

As Alexis Mac Allister fed substitute Nunez, suddenly it was four against two as Diaz, Robertson and Salah burst forward in support of the Uruguayan.

When his shot was blocked, the ball dropped kindly for Diaz to complete his hat-trick. Having sprinted 90 yards to get there, he nonchalantly stuck it away with a no-look finish — once the party piece of his former Liverpool team-mate Roberto Firmino.

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“What I like until now is that we are able to keep producing this energy — and even go a gear higher,” Slot said. “Some teams we’ve faced have had some difficulties with that intensity.”

It was the final instalment of a chastening experience for Alonso. The Spaniard had warned his players about the power of Anfield on big European nights but could not prevent them from folding in the second half as the decibel levels were cranked up.

“I can explain many things, but I cannot control this atmosphere that is created,” he said. “I know the feeling of the Liverpool players; they feel it. That’s an extra boost that they feel, ‘OK, now is the moment, now they are behind us and now we go’. To defend in those moments, it’s not easy.”

Diaz deservedly took the plaudits after the final whistle and it was a night he will never forget. But this was a collective triumph masterminded by a head coach who appears to have the Midas touch when it comes to tactical tweaks and changes in personnel.

The fruits of Slot’s labour were there for all to see.

(Top photo: Nikki Dyer – LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)



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