It was the moment that excitable supporters were all talking about in the pubs around Anfield after Liverpool's vital 2-0 win against Everton on Sunday evening.
Having entered a high pressure sporting theatre as a second-half substitute with seemingly everything at stake for both sides, Luis Diaz did what he has quickly become renowned and valued for in equal measure. Entertained.
With confidence and swagger of a time-served winner, the Colombian took the opportunity to demonstrate how willing he is to express himself with the ball in his orbit. Accepting a cross-field pass fired in his direction by Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diaz chose to take the moment to demonstrate his outrageous ability by controlling the long-range delivery in mid-air with his right foot wrapped behind his left, killing it stone dead.
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp gives Roberto Firmino injury update after Liverpool absence
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp confirms what will 'never happen' against Villarreal
While the congregation gasped, Liverpool's January signing spent no time admiring his own work and instead lifted the ball past Seamus Coleman before setting off on a blistering sprint that almost brought Liverpool a goal, forcing a save out of Jordan Pickford. "Whoah! What was that?" exclaimed Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports' live commentary.
He wasn't to be denied his telling contribution however. With the Reds a goal to the good, an overhead kick was smashed into the turf by Diaz before Divock Origi headed home from close range, wrapping up the three points for the red half of Merseyside and sending home Kopites full of glee.
Until his introduction, Liverpool had struggled to cause their well-drilled opponents - who had a clear game plan - many problems. But Diaz is an unpredictable conundrum of tricks. With lightening pace he is a nightmare to mark. Footballing pragmatists could argue that his ridiculous control was unnecessary, much like his succession of no-look passes in the League Cup final, but this is the entertainment business and right now Diaz is serving up the headline act.
Such is the positive impact of the 24-year-old, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Jurgen Klopp to keep him out of his regular starting XI. When Diaz arrived at Anfield he was initially seen as direct competition for Sadio Mane, with Diogo Jota making the central striker position his own. But with Mane accepting a change of position back down the middle - and thriving in it - it has become impossible to read Klopp's preferred front three, such is the competition for places. And with at least one, but possibly two, cup finals on the horizon, you can expect no let-up from Diaz or his peers in the pursuit of a valued starting berth.
This is good news for Klopp and even better news for supporters. The signing of Diaz was only accelerated at the start of the year to fend off the apparent interest of Tottenham Hotspur. If his early arrival was somewhat of a happy accident then it was one that the Reds have benefitted from massively in the second part of a remarkable season.
Not since the introduction of Luis Suarez has a player captured the imagination of fans with awe-inspiring performances quite like Diaz. And it turns out that the exciting forward made a similar impact at his previous club. Diaz hit the ground running from a very early stage in Portuguese football with FC Porto, which consequently started to be highlighted in the national and international press.
He was viewed by the Portuguese press as an unusual player in their league, who could perfectly succeed at a European giant, which led to speculative links with clubs like Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham and Roma. For FC Porto he played more than 100 games and won several player of the month awards in the Portuguese Primeira Liga. His international stock was given a boost when he was joint top-scorer alongside Lionel Messi at the 2021 Copa America, with Colombia reaching the semi-finals as a consequence. His efforts also saw him voted the 'revelation player' of the tournament and included in the 'best XI' for the competition.
With a season split between Portugal and England, Diaz is enjoying his most industrious top flight campaign in front of goal. In 2019/20 he scored a goal every 212 minutes. In 2020/21, a goal every 236 minutes. This season he is already scoring a goal every 166 minutes. Of the 24 goals he has to his name this season for both club and country, only four have come in a red shirt so far, but this is a player that has made light of moving to a new country and the top league in European football, causing problems for whoever he is up against.
Diaz's regular involvement since his arrival illustrates Klopp's trust in his latest recruit. Established first-team players such as Andy Robertson, Fabinho and Naby Keita had to bide their time before making it into Liverpool's first team plans on a regular basis, but there has been no holding back Diaz, who has set been setting stadiums alight from the word go.
With a League Cup-winners medal already in the bag and the prospect of further achievements on the horizon, Liverpool supporters could be in for a treat from Diaz as the season reaches it's eventual conclusion. And with the historic goal-scoring numbers to back up his astonishing ability, it will likely not just be mid-air ball control that leaves supporters open-mouthed in the pursuit of glory.
