Jurgen Klopp has admitted that Luis Diaz’s brilliant cross to set up Sadio Mane for Liverpool last night took him by surprise.
Speaking to BBC Sport after the game, the Liverpool boss claimed that Mane was the only person in the stadium expecting the cross.
“The whole situation was top class,” said Klopp. “Luis, crossing at a moment when nobody expected a cross – apart from Sadio maybe, as it’s a situation where you can make a step and shoot yourself.”
It was a brilliant goal and exactly what The Reds needed with the game ticking into the last quarter. Crucially, it avoided a situation like against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday where Liverpool snatched at shooting opportunities when a better pass was on. Klopp was thankful for that.
“We did that (shooting) too often against Tottenham,” said the 54-year-old. “We didn’t have time to train to work on it, but we had time to talk about it and I’m really happy that in this moment we pretended to shoot and cross. It was a really good moment and what a finish.”
Diaz the difference again
Once again, it was Luis Diaz who found the crucial breakthrough for Liverpool. Against Spurs he scored to bag The Reds an important point. Although he never really looked like scoring at Villa Park, it was he who again created the games pivotal moment.
Should Manchester City slip up in the final three games and Liverpool take the title, those two contributions alone will have been vital.
But Diaz provides so much more besides. Last night was the first time we’ve really seen him operating for any length of time outside his favoured left-sided role.
Playing instead from the right, the Colombian was slightly less influential than in recent games. Regardless, he was still his lively self and the fear he strikes into defenders is palpable.
His willingness to keep going and run the channels was what led to Liverpool winning the game.
Liverpool have had a number of transformative signings during the Klopp era. If Diaz can keep on the way he’s going, he’ll put himself right up there with the best of them.
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