Liverpool barely made it into the Carabao Cup final with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Fulham last night.
Luis Diaz ultimately proved to be Liverpool’s hero. Diaz eventually won the contest for the Reds after sneaking a relatively tame effort past Bernd Leno in the 11th minute.
It was the start of a decent display for the Colombian, who posed a persistent threat throughout the game. Jurgen Klopp, speaking to Sky Sports after the game, hinted at his anger with Diaz’s failure to contribute to the team’s second goal.
“He got man of the match obviously and I told him already that man of the match should have scored two goals and must have one assist and then we are half way home already,” said the Liverpool manager with a smirk.
“They were all exceptional, and they worked extremely hard.” This was not a night to shine or play some fancy football; it was a night to go to the final.”
Diaz has improved for Liverpool recently, following a difficult period. The 27-year-old is not a prolific goal scorer, but he has two goals in his last four games.
Although Klopp is right to be striving for more, Lucho’s statistics are encouraging.
Having saying that, we support Jurgen. Diaz continues to squander far too many great Liverpool attacking opportunities.
There was a moment in the second half that summed up what we’ve seen from the £50 million man in the attacking third lately.
When the Reds broke on Fulham, they sent men over. Diaz was given the ball in a terrific position in the box and may have even fired the shot.
But the former Porto man hesitated and hesitated as Cottagers defenders got back. In the end, Liverpool’s No.7 put his foot on the ball and played an errant ball back across the box to nobody.
There were two Reds players arriving into the penalty area, but somehow Diaz managed to miss them both. It was a hugely frustrating moment and was likely on Klopp’s mind as he spoke to the press here. Last night, that didn’t cost Liverpool. But there will be another time when it does.
He played well overall tonight and most likely deserved his man of the match award. Diaz, on the other hand, must begin to demonstrate greater ruthlessness in front of the goal. His recent performances have been encouraging, but more work is needed.
