Liverpool’s dramatic decline in form this season has raised a number of concerns, from Arne Slot’s tenure as manager, to Mohamed Salah’s future with the club. Club legends have wondered how the club allowed the departure of the player on the other side of Liverpool’s attack – Luis Diaz – given Salah’s performances so far this season.
The Egyptian has been uncharacteristically off the mark with his numbers in front of goal but his struggles are just one part of a much bigger picture.
Despite spending more than £300 million on new attackers during their record-breaking summer transfer window, the Reds have been far from the fluid threat going forwards that many expected them to be. With British record signing Alexander Isak over the line, plus Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike, fans and professionals had backed Liverpool early on to defend their Premier League title. The departures from the club my be more to blame for their loss of form.
However, Liverpool endured a dismal three-game run in November that raised serious concerns over their attacking abilities. After consecutive 3-0 Premier League defeats to Manchester City and Nottingham Forest, Slot’s side lost 4-1 to PSV in the Champions League.
In that time, the Reds registered 47 shots but only 11 hit the target and just one attempt transpired into a goal from Dominik Szoboszlai. To say Diaz has been a miss going forward and tracking back is a huge understatement.
It seems like given the chance many of Liverpool’s rivals would have jumped at signing the ex Porto man. The likes of Man City, Newcastle United, Spurs and Aston Villa would love to have such a talented goal-scoring, team player of a forward in their side.
No surprise therefore Liverpool only sanctioned a sale to a non PL rival in Bayern Munich where Diaz has linked up with the likes of Harry Kane and Michael Olise to great effect as his 7 goals in 13 games reflects.
Liverpool missing the impact of Luis Diaz
In his final season with Liverpool, Diaz contributed 17 goals and eight assists in all competitions. He played a key role in the Reds lifting the Premier League trophy and enjoyed an impressive run involving eight goalscoring contributions in 10 games from February through to April.
Diaz was the usual first choice on the left wing during his time at Anfield but he also excelled when deployed at centre-forward. He was a tricky player to deal with and was a key figure to push Liverpool’s attack forwards, often serving as a main outlet for goals and assists.
Where Liverpool have drawn blanks this season or struggled to produce an end product in front of goal, the mind can’t help but look at Diaz’s form in Germany and wonder if his presence would have turned many frustrating results around.
Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler is still surprised his former club sanctioned the departure of Diaz.
Weighing in on the Reds’ spectacular recent nose-dive in form, Fowler stressed how much he feels the club are missing the influence of the Colombian winger.
“He was probably one of Liverpool’s standout players last year. So I’m actually genuinely surprised that not more has been made of how much Liverpool are missing him,” Fowler told the Metro. “Because when you look at Liverpool and certainly the tough start they’ve had, they maybe struggled to break teams down when teams have sat and kept that low block. Luis Diaz is one of those players who can unlock defences. So I think they have genuinely missed him.”
Luis Diaz on fire with Bayern Munich
Diaz made an immediate impact with Bayern, contributing a goal and two assists on his Bundesliga debut against RB Leipzig. He has since taken his count up to 13 goalscoring goal contributions in as many league fixtures — boasting an overall debut tally of 12 goals and seven assists in all competitions so far.
Diaz has quickly established himself as a key part of Vincent Kompany’s team, who are powering towards another Bundesliga title. The manager recently praised his Colombian winger, lauding the ‘chaotic creativity’ he brings to the team.
“He can always do something in chaos. As a defender, I always found it uncomfortable to play against such players because you never know whether you have the ball under control or he has it,” Kompany said in a recent post-match press conference (via Get German Football News).
Sadly for Liverpool fans, this is a move Diaz wanted to pursue and the club did bag themselves a good deal for his departure at the time. Had the Reds continued their perfect start to the season, would they still be watching the Colombian’s form in Germany with envy?