Luis Diaz hits the ground running for Arne Slot in bid to finally answer Liverpool question

For Arne Slot, the landmark came in a first, for a couple of his new charges, in centuries. As Slot marked his maiden competitive game at Anfield with a win, Virgil van Dijk brought up 100 league appearances for Liverpool at home. Only two have ended in defeat and 82 in victory. “Whatever happens in the future, Anfield is a special place in my heart,” said the defender, whose contract expires in the summer.

For Luis Diaz, the milestone came in the form of a 100th game anywhere for Liverpool. It was reached in style: a goal rifled in from a devastating counter-attack, a deft pass releasing Mohamed Salah to score the second, a man-of-the-match display. The Colombian was electric; it feels he has been for many of those 100 matches.

The goal was his 25th, a ratio of one every four games. Or roughly one every three starts, as he has begun 77 of those appearances.

Whichever way it is assessed, it feels respectable rather than remarkable for a Liverpool winger. It comes in the context of his predecessor’s rather more prolific return. Sadio Mane scored 120 goals in 269 games, an average of almost one every two; as he ended up finishing second in the Ballon d’Or vote, it is tough ask to emulate Mane. If his own century – of goals – reflected the tactics of Jurgen Klopp, where the wingers were more advanced than the striker, that shifted after Darwin Nunez’s signing and, at this embryonic stage of Slot’s reign, it remains to be seen precisely what should be expected of his left winger.

But Diaz scored against Brentford and had struck twice in an unofficial appearance at Anfield, the pre-season win over Sevilla. Is it a sign he will be more potent under Slot? One interpretation is that this is just an annual swift start: he has scored Liverpool’s opening goal at Anfield in three consecutive campaigns.

And for much of that time, it feels as though Liverpool have been waiting for Diaz to become a real goalscorer. “He knows as a striker, a winger, he needs to score and assist,” said Alexis Mac Allister, serving as Diaz’s interpreter in a post-match interview. There are questions if he has been ruthless enough. “It’s about making sure these players like Lucho, Mo, Cody [Gakpo], Darwin, Diogo [Jota], all the attackers, we bring them as much as we can in good positions and then they can show their quality,” said Slot. Over his Liverpool career, Diaz averages fewer shots per 90 minutes than Nunez and Salah, though they are shotaholics, but more than many a forward. But his chance conversion rate – 10.3 per cent in the Premier League – is underwhelming.

At times, Diaz has provided everything but the goal. After his arrival in January 2022, the Colombian’s initial impact was so startling that Mane ended his Liverpool career as a centre-forward. Yet there was something symbolic in one of his best early games: Diaz was man of the match in the 2022 FA Cup final but it finished 0-0.

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When he began the 2022-23 season in scintillating form, it came with the sense he was about to become more prolific. He scored four goals in his opening eight games. After injury intervened, however, his eventual return was five in 21. Last season, there was a more traumatic interruption when his father was kidnapped. His overall tally, though, was 13 in 51 games, a less impressive eight in 37 in the Premier League.

And there seemed the possibility that he would not bring up the century; or that if he did, it would be when demoted to a substitute. Liverpool’s summer interest in Anthony Gordon was both intriguing and instructive. There were suggestions Barcelona may beckon for Diaz; yet Barcelona covet many a player they cannot afford so it scarcely suggested a windfall for Liverpool’s savvy traders. Gordon is a Liverpudlian, a Liverpool fan and younger. Yet would he have been an upgrade? Despite his excellent season for Newcastle last year, that felt dubious, given Diaz’s performance level over his time at Anfield.

Meanwhile, Cody Gakpo’s excellent Euro 2024 prompted suggestions he would be Slot’s preferred left winger, one with the potential to offer more goals. For now, Diaz’s form would suggest he has a clear advantage. It may suit him that the rest of Liverpool’s front three are Jota, their best finisher, and Salah, invariably their top scorer. It means there is less reliance on the left winger to score.

But his ratio of a goal every four games is almost identical to those of Luis Garcia, a scorer of great goals but not a great goalscorer, and Dirk Kuyt, a self-sacrificial paragon of selfless work. In a forward who could electrify Anfield and another who could run all day, there are common denominators. But, brilliant as Diaz can be in other respects, Liverpool may want to see a little more of Mane in him.