Anton Ferdinand has shared a conversation he had with Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson about Luis Diaz’s impact at Anfield.
Ferdinand was appearing on his brother’s podcast Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE. Whilst analysing Liverpool’s FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester City on Saturday, Anton wanted to highlight what he loved about Diaz.
“We have to speak about the man Luis Diaz, he is an absolute joke,” said Ferdinand. “The way he’s come in and hit the ground running.”
The former defender, who played with Henderson at Sunderland, said he and the skipper had spoken about the Colombian’s qualities.
“Do you know what I like about him, I had this conversation with Jordan Henderson, I like the fact that he’s a flair player but he loves to graft, he loves the other side of the game,” said the 37-year-old.
“He doesn’t mind getting tackled, if he gets tackled he rolls his sleeves up and says “come on lets go.” He’s got that different South American mentality where it’s “ok, I’ve got the samba, I’ve got the skills, I’ve got this, I’ve got that but if adversity comes my way I’m going to face it up and deal with it and I’m going to show you my South American roots.” I love that about him.”
Us too, Anton, what a player!
The goals will come
Diaz was a standout performer once again for Liverpool on Saturday. Despite the fact that he didn’t directly contribute to any of The Reds’ three goals, he was a thorn in City’s side all afternoon.
As has often been the case with the 25-year-old in a Liverpool shirt so far, his efforts weren’t rewarded in-front of goal.
For all his explosive impact, it’s certain that he would have liked to have found the net more often. Three goals in the 16 games he has played since joining The Reds for £37.5m really doesn’t do him justice.
With Sadio Mane and Ibrahima Konate doing the business though, goals weren’t a problem for Liverpool on Saturday.
However that won’t always be the case. Jurgen Klopp will hope that as he becomes ever more familiar with his new club, Diaz can find the shooting boots that served him so well in Portugal earlier on in the campaign.
Not to worry though, Diaz’s influence on the pitch has so clearly had a positive effect on Liverpool’s season. If he keeps getting in the right areas and adds a little more finesse to his finishing, the goals will surely flow soon enough.
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