It might be a fortnightly occurrence in 2024 but the scene is a stunned Old Trafford last month. Luis Diaz had just scored two goals in seven minutes to put Liverpool firmly in control of Arne Slot’s first trip to bitter rivals Manchester United, leaving home fans speechless again.
Up in the away corner, those who made the short jaunt to Manchester from Merseyside were beginning a journey through the full repertoire of chants from the Kop songbook. No anthem was belted out with more ferocity than their ode to Diaz.
‘His name is Lucho, he came from Porto,’ it goes, to the tune of Bella Ciao, the folk song dedicated to the partisans of the Italian resistance. ‘He came to score, came to score… came to score, score, score. He’s Luis Diaz, he’s from Barrancas… and he plays for Liverpool.’
It is the sort of catchy, toe-tapping chant that will stick in fans’ heads for the rest of the day, the sort you find yourself accidentally singing along to under your breath when walking around the house.
And how Liverpool supporters have reason to sing about their boy from Barrancas so far this season. With five goals in six Premier League games under Arne Slot, the Colombian forward is just three away from matching last term’s tally – with 32 matches to spare.
Luis Diaz stunned Old Trafford last month with a first-half brace to put Liverpool in control against their bitter rivals
Reds fans regularly serenade the 27-year-old Colombian with a catchy song to the tune of Bella Ciao
Diaz is only three goals away from matching his tally in the 2023-24 Premier league campaign
It is still very early days this season – Liverpool will play 41 more matches at least – so let us not jump the gun too early, especially noting that Diaz has shown these glimpses of form before. But this time feels different and the 27-year-old looks on the hottest streak of his Anfield career.
New head coach Arne Slot is a humble man and rarely singles out players for praise in public but the Dutchman will be delighted with the early signs from Diaz, who was one of the players he earmarked for improvement when taking the job from Jurgen Klopp.
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Aside from Liverpool’s A-listers – Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson and, arguably, Alexis Mac Allister – many big-money stars were only showing their very best level on an inconsistent basis in the last two seasons.
One of the main things on Slot’s CV was his ability and track record to bring out these levels and Diaz was clearly one who could benefit, alongside Ibrahima Konate, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch. All have been revelations in the early weeks of the campaign.
Although it sounds simplistic, one of the main things Slot and his trusted lieutenants have introduced is an extreme attention to detail. Every day is a school day on the training ground, with regular group and individual meetings.
Last year, Diaz was perhaps Liverpool’s most frustrating player – a clearly uber-talented winger who would often skip past defenders at will and put in a generally pleasing performance only to end up with nothing to show for it in terms of goals or assists.
He was weighed down by fans yearning for a Sadio Mane replacement. After the Senegal international departed in 2022, it felt like Liverpool had missed a prolific forward on the left to supplement Salah’s strikes from the right. Mane scored 120 Reds goals across six seasons.
Diaz has registered 41 goals or assists since his move from Porto – a huge 66 fewer than Salah in the same period. The Colombian has had injuries and off-the-pitch issues but he clearly had room for improvement with his end product.
Slot has shown an ability to improve players that he works with and he looks to be doing the same with Diaz and others
Fans fans often grew frustrated with Diaz, with somewhat unfair comparisons to Sadio Mane, who left the club in 2022
Six league games is not a big enough sample size to suggest Diaz has taken a magic potion to suddenly make him as lethal as Mane in front of goal, but he is clearly on an upward trajectory. His off-the-ball movement, decision-making and finishing have all markedly improved.
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‘He knows how important the numbers are,’ said team-mate and good friend Mac Allister on Tuesday. ‘I am very happy he is getting goals and assists, he has been amazing. And he can still improve. Consistency is key, hopefully he can show during the year how fantastic he is.’
One of Slot’s assistants, former Everton defender Johnny Heitinga, has been key to these individual sessions. It is believed the Dutchman speaks good Spanish – no doubt a factor in the decision to hire him – which helps in sessions with the likes of Diaz and his South American chums, though his English is sound despite rarely being confident enough to do interviews.
Slot spent a lot of time in pre-season working on his playbook of attacking moves and was very hands-on in terms of moving players around like chess pieces, working on how wingers must move off the ball to arrive in the right areas to create and convert chances.
Although Diaz missed the tour of the United States, he was in form as Colombia reached the Copa America final – beaten by Lionel Messi and Mac Allister’s Argentina – and continued in a similar fashion when back in England, scoring in his only pre-season outing.
Watching clips back from Slot’s games, it is clear Liverpool have been working on the angles at which wingers receive the ball. Instead of square passes from the full back – leaving them with work to do to beat their man – they are now receiving the ball side-on.
This allows Diaz and Co to attack central areas and touch-maps from his games – plus Cody Gakpo’s outings on the left wing – show they are higher up the pitch and not as wide when on the ball. When team-mates are in possession, Diaz is attacking central areas more often.
Slot’s system promotes a more steady, patient build-up which allows Diaz to get on the ball in more dangerous areas rather than receiving it deep or from diagonal passes. Goals against Brentford and Bournemouth have come from his devastating runs on the blindside of defenders.
Liverpool have been working to get Diaz the ball in more dangerous situations where he can use his pace and trickery to make meaningful contributions
Diaz’s strike against Brentford showed how devastating he can be when running off the ball
Trent Alexander-Arnold noted last week that Diaz looks ‘hungrier’ to score goals this season
Competition for places is now fierce with the arrival of Federico Chiesa meaning Liverpool have six top-quality forwards, with Gakpo putting in star performances in cup competitions this season when Diaz has been rested.
Vice-captain Alexander-Arnold agrees with this and said last week: ‘Luis looks hungrier to score goals. Maybe getting new players kind of lights a fire under you to make sure you’re working hard for your spot. He’s getting himself into the right areas and he’s making the right decisions.’
Before a ball was kicked, this season felt rather decisive for Diaz’s legacy at Anfield – could he kick on to be a prolific forward or would his up-and-down form continue to plague how he is viewed in the fanbase?
Not a week went by without the Spanish press reporting interest in Diaz from Barcelona, while Paris Saint-Germain were also cited to be keeping tabs on his situation. But the forward never expressed any desire to leave, nor did Liverpool want that to happen.
Even Manchester City were mentioned as a potential destination for Diaz this summer by one report. None of these stories had much – if any – substance, but it made one wonder if someone was playing a bit of skullduggery behind the scenes.
Diaz himself probably felt a strong dose of loyalty to Liverpool after the way they treated him when his father, Luis Manuel Diaz, was abducted by the National Liberation Army (ELN) and held hostage for 12 days in Colombia’s mountain range.
Liverpool were extremely supportive throughout and following that horrific ordeal – with club officials regularly checking in. They also invited and paid for Diaz’s close family to spend Christmas on Merseyside.
In hindsight, that tricky period perhaps understandably affected Diaz’s on-pitch form for an extended period last season – he scored just once in the 10 league games after his return from compassionate leave and also had a couple of minor injuries to halt his chances of form.
The winger dealt with considerable personal turmoil last season when he father was abducted by a terror group and held hostage for 12 days
But Diaz is only looking forward now. With 1.24 goal contributions per game this season compared to 0.44 last term, it feels like the Colombian – plus Gakpo kicking his heels in reserve – are finally filling the sizeable shoes left behind by prolific scorer Mane two years ago.
As for the Bella Ciao chant, for which Diaz personally thanked the local musician Andy Hodgson in a video call, the lyrics are starting to come true. ‘He came to score, came to score, came to score, score, score…’
