Colombia player has spotted problem for Luis Diaz when he plays for the national team

Add as preferred source on Google

Luis Diaz is not the same player for Colombia as he is on a weekly basis for Liverpool.

Diaz has been struggling to find the back of the net of late, a struggle which continued on Tuesday night with a penalty miss against Ecuador.

That failure from 12 yards has reinforced a media narrative that the Reds winger is playing with ‘anxiety’ when turning out for his country.

After last night’s game, former Tottenham Hotspur defender Davinson Sanchez appeared to feed into that narrative. In quotes from Gol, Sanchez suggested that Diaz is not playing with the freedom he so often shows at Liverpool.

“There is no need to hide anything, Lucho has been doing very important things in England,” said the Galatasary centre-back. “I suffered a lot when I was at Tottenham, but in one way or another it is to take away that pressure that has indirectly been put on him.

“He is a decisive player for us, but we want him to be that Luis Diaz again with freedom, with the desire as he does there in Liverpool.

“The idea was that he could score and could take that pressure off a little bit. And, although unfortunately it didn’t come, we will continue to work so that he continues to be decisive”

Diaz under the spotlight

It’s a real shame to see, but it seems fairly clear that Diaz is feeling the pressure of being his country’s main man right now.

Sanchez is now the third Colombian voice to lend weight to this argument.

First, national team manager Nestor Lorezno claimed that the 26-year-old is simply trying too hard to be his team’s ‘saviour.’

Next, former Newcastle United forward Tino Asprilla claimed that Diaz is being ‘eaten up’ by anxiety with every appearance.

Perhaps it needs some words of encouragement from the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Mohamed Salah back at Liverpool.

As Sanchez mentions, Diaz is still doing well for the Reds, despite a slightly barren run in-front of goal. Klopp will be key to that. Salah meanwhile has dealt with the pressure of being Egypt’s superstar for years on end.

With Saturday’s big game against Everton now not too far away, Liverpool need to get Diaz’s head back in the right space. Without Cody Gakpo, the Reds are going to need him. Chin up, Lucho.