Jurgen Klopp has boosted his attack since Sadio Mane’s departure. After achieving success with the trio of Mo Salah, Firmino, and Mane, it was time to bring some change to the Liverpool side. Diogo Jota was the first player to come in. He was followed by an impactful winger from Porto. Luis Diaz entered the scene and won the hearts of many. A player with a positive mindset and an eye for a goal.
Luis Diaz has been a threat in Liveprool’s attack and always tries to be the differential in the team. With Liverpool looking to end their trophy-less run, here is a look at what this Colombian winger can contribute to the attack.
An impactful winger
Luis Diaz has the pace and skills to get past the opposition defenders. He likes to take on the opposition players and often creates scoring chances. The Colombian forward plays on the left wing for Liverpool and is supported by Andy Robertson.
Injuries have restricted his game time, and the player only spent 1,375 minutes on the field last season combined in the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. With a decent dribble success rate of 55.3%, the player tried to penetrate the opposition penalty box with his skills. One interesting thing that can be noticed is that Diaz has a decent dribble success rate whenever he is inside the opposition penalty box.
The 26-year-old scored five goals in these two competitions. He averaged one goal in every third game played. The player likes to take shots by cutting inside and aiming for the far corner. Diaz has been clinical with such kind of finish and has often found the bottom corner. His accuracy rate last season was 32.4%.
Another quality that the winger has is the ability to create goals. He managed two assists in the 2022–23 season. The above viz shows the shot assist provided by Diaz in the previous and current seasons. Some of these shot assists have been in the form of low crosses, while others have been short passes attempted from the edge of the penalty box.
Bright start to the 2023-24 season
Luis Diaz started the current campaign with a goal each in the first couple of matches. He has taken 12 attempts and only missed the target thrice. The rest of the shots were blocked by the defenders.
One of the interesting facts about Diaz’s game is his ability to run at defenders. His mindset is to create and score goals. By looking at the progressive runs made by the player, we can observe that most of these runs are penetrating the penalty box. Diaz has attempted 10 dribbles and has an 80% success rate. This shows why he is one of the most creative threats on the team.
Jurgen Klopp and his men will play in the UEFA Europa League. They have a chance to win the competition. In the league, Liverpool are one of the contenders for the title. The season is long, and Diaz will be eyeing more goals and assists.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
