Daniel Sturridge claimed Liverpool are missing Luis Diaz after the Reds suffered their third consecutive defeat on Saturday night. Just hours earlier, the Colombian showed his old side he’s far from past it.
Arne Slot splashed out more than £400million on new recruits in the summer – Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike to name a few – but the Dutchman’s second season at Anfield has been anything but an improvement on his first.
Estevao’s last-minute winner on Saturday night for Chelsea made it three losses in a row for the Reds, first at Crystal Palace last week, then at Galatasaray in midweek and finally at Stamford Bridge.
It’s a run of form not many predicted when Liverpool finally sealed a deal for Isak on Deadline Day. On the contrary, the most popular view of fans was that Slot’s side would go on to ‘walk’ the Premier League. How wrong they were.
The Merseyside giants’ new front-line just hasn’t gelled. Isak is without a Premier League goal, Wirtz – dropped to the bench for the trip to Chelsea – is yet to register a goal or assist and Ekitike, the most in-form of the three new recruits, has been relegated to the bench since the £125m man’s arrival.
With Mo Salah also not yet at the races, Liverpool’s new attack looks a far cry from that of last season consisting of Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and the Egyptian.
Liverpool slumped to a 2-1 loss at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night, their third defeat in as many games
Arne Slot spent more than £400m on new recruits in the summer, much of which was splashed out on a new front-line
But his additions, namely Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, are yet to get up to speed
Diaz is of course the only of the three to depart, joining Bayern Munich in a deal worth some £60m.
He’s enjoyed a flying start to life in the Bundesliga, scoring six goals in 10 games. One of which incredibly came after just 14 seconds of Bayern’s clash with Frankfurt on Saturday afternoon.
After a long ball from Manuel Neuer, Serge Gnabry latched on to a Harry Kane flick-on before teeing up Diaz to fire home. But his work wasn’t done there, as the Colombian registered an assist for Munich’s second before adding another to his tally for the third in a 3-0 away win.
And for Daniel Sturridge, an ex-Liverpool forward himself, Diaz is exactly what Liverpool are missing right now.
He said on Sky Sports: ‘Luis Diaz is a massive miss for me. When you look at Liverpool last year and how they used to press, I think arguably he was the one who would set the press in the front three. Szoboszlai would do it in the midfield with that power and dynamism that he has.
‘For me, Luis Diaz, how tenacious he is on the ball and how hungry he is to get it back for his team. He brought something to Liverpool that they are now missing. I think Ekitike and Isak and Wirtz work hard, I’m not saying they don’t. We can’t question their work rate or their quality.
‘But what I will say is that they’re attack-minded players. I think with Diaz would sacrifice himself defensively. That’s what they’ve got to figure out now, who in that attack is going to give themselves up a little bit. In a front three there always has to be one guy who goes, “I’m not stats hungry”.
‘You see Gakpo this year scoring more goals, Salah scoring less, the new strikers want to hit the ground running. So I think, Jamie questioned the balance in the midfield, but I also think it’s in the front three.
Luis Diaz bagged a goal after just 14 seconds for Bayern Munich on Saturday
Liverpool let the Colombian go for a fee of around £60m to the German champions this summer
But for former Liverpool star Daniel Sturridge, Diaz is exactly what Liverpool are missing right now
‘It’s important to understand which one of three is going to be the workhorse, who’s going to be the one who does what he wants and who’s going to be a hybrid of both. Right now, I’m not sure the manager knows what he’s going to do.’
Diaz is however seemingly loving life in Bavaria.
Speaking to German publication BILD this week, he was full of praise for his new team-mates. Bayern currently sit top of the Bundesliga after winning all six of their fixtures this season.
‘We have a lot of great players, especially up front, who don’t just think about scoring goals themselves, but also help their teammates,’ Diaz said.
‘That gives me a lot of security and confidence. It’s incredible to play attacking games with them. They have so much quality! I will give my all to score a lot of goals and assists. How many I get is in God’s hands. But above all, I want to win every competition with the team.
‘I’m really very, very happy and I’m feeling better and more comfortable all the time. The whole team is helping me. The dressing room is cohesive, pleasantly calm, and down-to-earth. It’s very family-like.
‘That, and the trust the coach immediately gave me, were very important for my great start here in Munich.’
Back at his old club, it’s far too early to say that Arne Slot is under pressure. Just months ago he was lifting the Premier League trophy.
But the Dutchman no-doubt needs to work out his preferred attack during the international break.
Liverpool return with a mouth-watering tie against Manchester United at Anfield in two weeks time which, if the Reds do not improve on their current performance, will be far from the easy fixture many will again predict.
