Cutting in off the left-hand side of Liverpool's attack, Luis Diaz's savvy drop of the shoulder earned him half a yard of space to pull the trigger.
And pull the trigger he did, leaving Alex Meret with no chance between the Napoli sticks as he scrambled across the width of his goal to try, but ultimately fail, to keep the Italian's four-goal advantage intact.
As Harvey Elliott raced to retrieve the ball from the back of Meret's goal, in the hope of Diaz's curling strike providing the Reds with the foundations to stage a remarkable comeback in south-west Italy, the 25-year-old's efforts subsequently were in vain as Liverpool sank to an embarrassing 4-1 thrashing in Naples. It was their third defeat in four visits to the region of Campania.
READ MORE: Tottenham boss Antonio Conte 'requests' transfer for midfielder linked with Liverpool
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp makes 'crazy' Liverpool admission as 'misjudgement' leads to changes
It was another evening to forget for Jurgen Klopp's side, who looked dead on their feet at times as Piotr Zielinski, Andre-Frank Anguissa and Giovanni Simeone caused uncontrollable havoc for Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold in defence.
However, there was a muted positive to take from a largely forgettable Champions League evening - with Diaz continuing his excellent form in the new campaign and silencing suggestions that Liverpool are missing Sadio Mane's output on the left-hand side of attack.
In truth, there have been minimal positives for Klopp to summon from the first seven games of the campaign, but the form and growth of Diaz - who continues to settle into life on Merseyside following his January switch from FC Porto - undoubtedly remains the leading one.
The winger's individual stunner in Naples was already his fourth goal in all competitions this season, ensuring he's on track to smash the total of six he netted between January and May following his frantic late switch from the Primeira Liga giants in January, for an initial £37.5m.
The Colombian's impact from the moment he stepped onto the Anfield turf for the first time back in February has been seismic and led to him playing an instrumental role in Klopp's men putting together an unlikely bid for an unprecedented quadruple, which culminated in a Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in May.
However, despite his electric start to life in L4, Diaz - much like his predecessor's early days - drew criticism for his output in the final third and his ability to contribute in decisive moments. But having fired 16 goals for Porto between August 2021 and January 2022, there was no doubting he has the ability to explode into one of the Reds' finest marksmen - like Mohamed Salah and Mane did following their moves to Anfield - once he had settled.
It was only following Liverpool's 2-2 draw against Fulham on the opening day of the Premier League season, a game in which Diaz saw one effort cannon off the post and another chalked off for offside, that Klopp demanded more of his left-sided attacker. As Darwin Nunez and Salah fired the Reds' goals in the capital that afternoon, Diaz's blank and consequential xG [expected goals] score of just 0.18 drew some forms of criticism.
"You see the situations he had, big chances, and he was just unlucky," said the Liverpool manager in defence of Diaz. "He is in a really good shape and that is more important. It’s not that I tell him after a game: ‘You should have scored here or there’. The boys know that in the moment. It happens. It’s a normal process. [He] definitely [has the potential to get 10-15], that is his quality. We need to see but of course that is his potential.
"He definitely improved with understanding what we are doing but that then leads to strange situations as well because we want to be flexible on the wings and that means he has to be slightly more inside but then you realise it’s good for him if he stays longer on the outside."
Klopp added: "We have to get used to that and that will help, but unfortunately a learning process never happens overnight. The next thing is it is his first pre-season with us and they all, I’m not sure 'suffer' is the right word, but they all feel it. He will benefit from a full pre-season because he was not on international duty."
And in the six games which have followed, despite Liverpool's continued slump, Klopp's verdict on Diaz's seems to have rung true with the former Atletico Junior star's output sky-rocketing since. As mentioned, the forward has already found the net four times this campaign - the most of any Liverpool player - which gives him an impressive 0.51 goals per-90 minutes metric, according to Fbref. That is higher than the 0.32 he averaged between February and May last campaign.
Interestingly, Diaz is averaging fewer shots this season (2.82 per-90, compared to 3.74) but that has increased his accuracy, with 45.5 per cent of this season's efforts landing on the target, compared to just 37.1 per cent last term.
Despite the season still being in its infancy, the former Porto man is taking up a wider starting position, with his goals against Crystal Palace and Napoli examples of Diaz at his unstoppable best while driving into space in the centre of the field. This represents Liverpool's change in attacking approach, with both wide forwards situated in more traditional positions, far closer to the touchline, this campaign.
After losing Mane to Bayern Munich this summer, following the Senegal international's six trophy-laden years at Anfield - and deciding to reinvent their attack with the addition of Nunez from Benfica - positional maps suggesting that Diaz has started closer to the touchline seem logical given the Liverpool attack has lost elements of fluidity since Mane's departure.
It's a tactical tweak that has seen the forward's average distance of shot lower, with Diaz now averaging shots just 13.4 yards away from goal, instead of the 16 yards he averaged during his first six months at Anfield.
As a result of shooting closer to the goal, and in less sporadic situations, Diaz has seen his number of shots on targets per-90 drop ever so slightly from 1.39 to 1.28. However, it's hardly a concerning drop-off given that the 35-time Colombia international is averaging 0.92 shots per-90 and is still finding the target as frequently, highlighting how well-calculated his decision-making in the final third has become during the off-season.
At the moment, it seems very much like a one-man band for Liverpool in the final third with Salah and Nunez struggling alongside Diaz so far this season, as they've managed fewer goals combined than Diaz has by himself in the opening weeks of the season.
But perhaps most reassuring for Klopp will be the fact that Diaz's output shows no signs of slowing down because he is operating at such a sustainable xG level. So far, Diaz has four goals from an xG of 2.3. That verifies the impressive efficiency levels he has operated at in the opening seven games, despite Liverpool's lack of creative edge, an improvement of the six goals he netted from a fairly routine xG score of 6.8 during the second half of the 2021/22 season.
It's a potential explosion of attacking output that Mane similarly enjoyed during his first full season at Anfield in 2016/17, as the coaching of Klopp saw the Senegal international become clearly more ruthless in the final third as he helped Liverpool go on to secure Premier League and Champions League glory during his time at the club.
It was always going to be a huge ask for Diaz to replicate Mane's outstanding output from his time on Merseyside, but as a result of the proactive work of Michael Edwards and Julian Ward, who pounced to get a deal wrapped up six months ahead of schedule, his transitioning period from February onwards ensured he has been able to fly out of the traps as the Reds' star performer so far this term.
But for Diaz, with Thiago Alcantara, undoubtedly Liverpool's most creative midfielder, making a return to action during the defeat to Napoli last week, the signs of the forward continuing his impressive early-season form make for very promising viewing as Klopp welcomes his creative nucleus back into the frame.
READ NEXT:
- Full Liverpool squad available to face Ajax as Fabio Carvalho returns but eight players sidelined
- 'I didn’t want to make a statement' - Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson lifts lid on infamous Diego Costa clash
- Why LeBron James is likely to see his influence with FSG and Liverpool grow further
- Ajax Champions League clash is perfect chance for Darwin Nunez to pay back Liverpool fans
- Jurgen Klopp explains Naby Keita situation and how long Liverpool will be without Andy Robertson
