Timing, they say, can be everything in football, so Luis Diaz picked the ideal moment for his first goal of Liverpool's season on Monday night.
With the Reds toiling against a well-organised Crystal Palace side, whose smart counter-attacking approach saw them leading 1-0 through Wilfried Zaha's excellent finish, the sending off of Darwin Nunez just before the hour mark only worsened the home team's plight at Anfield.
Within four minutes of his new team-mate ending his own full Premier League debut by becoming the first player of Jurgen Klopp's tenure to be sent off for violent conduct, however, Diaz was attempting to wrestle the headlines away from his fellow South American.
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Cutting inside from the left, the Colombian international rode a couple of challenges before crashing one into the bottom corner past Vicente Guaita from just outside the box. It was the ideal way to shake off what had been an otherwise lethargic hour or so from the former Porto man.
Perhaps emboldened by the additional responsibility following Nunez's red card, Diaz started to carry the fight to Palace's backline more aggressively as Liverpool searched, ultimately in vain, for a winner.
In truth, there is little Diaz needs to change from his electric showing in the second half of the campaign following his arrival from Porto. The left-sided attacker caught the eye with some outstanding performances for the Reds from February onwards, with his tigerish yet classy style earning, at times, hushed comparisons with a certain Luis Suarez.
It's far too early to be likening him to the peerless Uruguayan just yet but Diaz is cut from that same street-fighter cloth it seems and, crucially, he has the quality to match that fearless attitude.
If there was one thing Klopp has been looking for an improvement in from Diaz for this season, however, it will be his contributions in front of goal. With six strikes to his name in Liverpool colours last term, he eventually finished his split campaign across Portugal and England with 22 in all competitions, a figure that is impressive for any wide frontman.
At times, though, the feeling lingered that Diaz could improve on that return significantly. The Los Cafeteros international often went close last season only to see opportunities saved, flash wide or strike the woodwork. That trend continued at Fulham on the opening day when he rattled the frame of the goal with a left-footed effort minutes after seeing an excellent finish ruled out for an offside on Andy Robertson.
It's these specific areas that will take Diaz to the next level of Premier League stardom, so Monday night's rasping finish was an excellent start.
"We don't say to him 'the other two scored and you didn't, come here, we'll show you'. It's unnecessary," said Klopp in his Friday press conference. "It's not a problem, it's just like it is at the moment, but of course we [train] finishing and it helps him like the others.
"He scored last week (offside). I think about it when Sadio left, everyone said 'how can you play without Sadio?' and in November and December everyone thought when would he score his next goal? He's stating all the time and these kinds of things but just let it go.
"You see the chances he's having, it's just unlucky. He's had these blocked moments a couple of times, but he's in really good shape actually. It's more important that he is in these situations and it is not that I tell him after the game that he should have scored here or there. The boys know that in the moment when it happens, so it's a normal process."
With Nunez set for a spell on the sidelines following his red card against Palace, the need for Diaz to contribute in front of goal has only increased, particularly at a time when Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino are struggling with respective injuries of their own.
Klopp added: "Of course has has improved when understanding these kind of things that we are doing but then that leads to strange situations as well because we want to be flexible on the wings but that means he has to be slightly more inside but then you realise for him he's quite good if he stays out wide for longer, so we get used to that.
"Unfortunately it's always like this, a learning process never goes overnight. The next thing is, it's his first pre-season with us. I am not sure 'suffer' is the right word, but they all feel it and when he arrived he came from a full season, but he will benefit from pre-season, obviously, because he was not on international duty in the summer. So he was here since the first day with us and could do all the sessions since then. That is the most important thing and all the rest will come.
"The problem is we sit here and talk about two games or whatever when he didn't score, but in the long term it's not a problem at all. It's just about being prepared and fighting through these moments like that. The first game and now the second game is home, it will not be easy, - I cannot wait by the way! - and Monday night, great, all things are positive and we have to go. If you can train and he has the quality and the potential, which he obviously has, if he can then put miles in your legs in pre-season, it will help long term. But we are not in the long term now, that's why of course it is just about one goal and bop, we go from there."
Firmino is potentially back for the Reds when they visit Manchester United on Monday night, but Jota is almost certain not to be involved as his recovery from a hamstring setback goes on. Given the Portugal international has had no pre-season either, it could be some time before he is back in the sort of form that saw him register 21 times last term.
Diaz was always expected to share more of the burden in front goal following the sale of Sadio Mane, but he may just be about to take on his most sizable portion of responsibility to date at Liverpool.
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