For Luis Diaz, the past week has been defined by penalties. The Colombian missed a penalty kick in extra time midweek that would have given his nation a thrilling World Cup qualification victory in Ecuador.
Less than four days later, however, the winger’s tenacity meant that Michael Keane handled his cross for what VAR ultimately determined to be a foul infringement after the winger had just seen pleas for a penalty disallowed when challenged by Everton defender Nathan Patterson.
Liverpool defeated the rivals 2-0 in the 243rd Merseyside derby thanks to a goal from Mohamed Salah from the penalty spot, continuing their impressive start to the season and avoiding a defeat after the international break.
Before that, Diaz had played a key role in ensuring that the momentum remained firmly in Jurgen Klopp’s side when, after earlier receiving a booking from Ashley Young, the same player stopped Diaz’s strong run towards the penalty area just before halftime, leading to the 29th sending-off in derby history.
The impact of the Colombian was obvious by the time he was replaced in the 81st minute. However, neither of those two pivotal plays appears in the statistics that are now frequently used to gauge a player’s impact, and an attacker in particular.
Since he returned from injury in April, Diaz hasn’t had a direct assist in the Premier League. In comparison, Salah has nine, Darwin Nunez has three, Cody Gakpo has two, and Diogo Jota has one for his teammates forwards.
Diaz scored once in the final weeks of the previous season and hasn’t scored in the Premier League since his goals against Chelsea and Bournemouth in the first two games of this one. Once more, it is insignificant in relation to the same periods for Salah (13), Jota (nine), Gakpo (five), and Nunez (four). Naturally, Diaz would have scored another goal had it not been for the disastrous VAR error at Tottenham Hotspur last month.
Diaz, however, is a real winger. For Liverpool this season in the Premier League, only Salah on the other wing has more progressive carries and gets more progressive passes to assist the Reds advance up the pitch. Only Dominik Szoboszlai and Salah have given their teammates more opportunities to score than any other Liverpool player, and neither has dribbled past an opponent more frequently.
The 26-year-old excels in this area, which may help to explain why he has started seven of the nine Premier League games this season, second only behind Salah in terms of the forward line. Due to his pushing, Diaz ranks among Liverpool’s top four tackle winners, has accrued the most fouls, and ranks among the top 10 foul-committers overall in the Premier League.
And Diaz can yet become better at finishing. Again, only Salah has taken more shots, but only four of Diaz’s 20 shots have been on goal. Additionally, some studies claim that Diaz has the lowest anticipated goals difference of any Liverpool forward, which is the difference between the goals he should be scoring and the goals he actually scores.
It’s simple to forget that Diaz, who was out for more than six months with a knee ailment he later aggravated before making his initial projected comeback, is still somewhat regaining his top form and sharpness.
His playing time is still being controlled, and the 2-2 draw at Brighton earlier this month marked the first time in more than a year that he completed the entire 90 minutes of a Premier League game. Contrarily, Diaz’s significance to his nation is such that he played in each and every second of Colombia’s most recent World Cup qualifying matches against Uruguay and Ecuador.
Additionally, Andy Robertson’s extended absence at left-back forces Diaz to establish a new connection on the left side, whether it be with Kostas Tsimikas or Joe Gomez. Curtis Jones’ impending return from suspension on the left side of the midfield trio will be beneficial.