Jurgen Klopp has hailed the long-range shooting ability of Liverpool forward Luis Diaz.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Klopp claimed that the Colombian has a ‘special’ knack for firing off accurate long shots.
“He’s (Diaz) a really good player. We knew it before and when you’re really good it’s easier to settle in. He has this special thing: He can score from outside the box, which for a striker is really important. He’s very, very important for us,” said the the Liverpool manager.
Diaz scored a belter against Crystal Palace on Monday night. If his shooting is as good as Klopp says it is, we might see a few more of those this season.
Liverpool learning to shoot more often
Klopp is right here, it is important for Liverpool to have a good long-range shooter in their arsenal. For too long, The Reds have been reticent to pull the trigger from far out.
What makes that a little frustrating is that it isn’t like they don’t have players with that ability in the squad.
Fabinho comes to mind as a player who has a couple of smashing long-rangers for The Reds. Trent Alexander-Arnold is another as well.
Mohamed Salah’s goal against Chelsea a few years back shows he’s got that in his locker too. Meanwhile, Jordan Henderson has perfected the whipped finish from the right-hand edge of the box.
Even Virgil Van Dijk has superb technique from range, which is something we don’t really see him utilise.
Of course that’s all part of the game-plan. The Liverpool coaches would likely point out that if you’re scoring a lot from long-range, it’s probably because you don’t have other ways to score. It isn’t as though The Reds are struggling for goals either.
It’s just that in certain games, like the Palace game on Monday, you just need someone to put their foot through it.
Diaz did that, and it brought Liverpool back into the game. It isn’t something we’ve seen him do loads in a Liverpool shirt. By the sound of it though, Klopp has given him a license to have a go if he deems it necessary. Something to look forward to from Diaz.
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