Luis Diaz has been praised for his “mesmeric” performance in Liverpool ’s win over Villarreal in the Champions League semi-final on Tuesday night.
Diaz came off the substitutes’ bench at half-time with the score at 2-0 to the hosts and helped turn things around for Jurgen Klopp’s side, who won 3-2 to progress 5-2 on aggregate. Liverpool came into the second leg with a two-goal advantage but saw that wiped out by Boulaye Dia’s tap-in after three minutes and Francis Coquelin header before the break.
Liverpool had struggled in the first half but looked like a different team in the second half. Fabinho smashed a shot through Geronimo Rulli’s legs to restore their lead on aggregate before Diaz headed in Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross to make it 4-2 and Sadio Mane made the game safe with a calm finish after some dreadful goalkeeping from Rulli.
Diaz made a huge difference when he replaced Diogo Jota off the bench and BT Sport’s pundits were full of praise for the Colombian winger. “Diaz was the difference maker, the ability to go one-on-one, this guy came on and was mesmeric,” Rio Ferdinand said.
The 25-year-old only joined Liverpool from Porto for an initial £37.5million in January but has already settled into the team. His header against Villarreal means Diaz has five goals and three assists in 21 appearances for Klopp’s side so far.
"I’ve never seen a player come in and hit the ground running like he has,” former Liverpool striker Michael Owen said. “Playing in a foreign country, doesn’t speak the language, but to pick up the way Liverpool play like he has straight away is incredible.
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“He’s a starter now, no question about it. Out of possession, he’s just Liverpool. If he gets fouled he doesn’t start rolling, he gets up and sprints and chases the ball back. You can’t buy that, that initial reaction to losing the ball, he wants to go and get it back again."
Liverpool have real competition for places in attack, with Diaz up against Mane, Jota, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino for a place in the side. But his performance in shredding Villarreal right-back Juan Foyth has convinced Peter Crouch that Diaz deserves a place in the starting XI against Real Madrid or Manchester City in the Champions League final in Paris on May 28.
"In the final, he starts,” Crouch said. “The timing of the signing, Liverpool were winning games but going through a bit of a lull. He’s come in and invigorated the whole dressing room. I spoke to Jurgen Klopp about him and he said ‘I’ve never seen anyone enjoy football so much.’ He’s come in and loves every training session and it shows."
Next up Liverpool face Tottenham on Saturday and Aston Villa on Tuesday in the Premier League before the FA Cup final against Chelsea on May 14. They have six games left altogether, with fixtures against Southampton and Wolves concluding their league campaign before the Champions League final.
