Jurgen Klopp showered Luis Diaz with praise ahead of Liverpool’s upcoming visit to Manchester, highlighting the Colombian’s ‘special’ ability to score from range.
It’s a trait that could prove extremely valuable to the Reds over the course of the campaign, particularly against outfits playing with five at the back as Patrick Vieira favoured in the 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace.
“He’s a really good player. We knew it before and when you’re really good it’s easier to settle in,” the German was quoted as saying by Sky Sports. “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.”
Indeed, for Manchester United, it’s a threat Erik ten Hag will want to be very wary of after watching how his team conceded Brentford’s first goal as Lisandro Martinez failed to quickly close the space to Josh Dasilva (as can be seen in the clip below), giving the latter plenty of time to fire a speculative effort past David de Gea.
Josh Dasilva receives the ball after Brentford win possession in Manchester United’s half. Lisandro Martinez can’t immediately press or risk leaving a huge space for Bryan Mbeumo to exploit en route to goal.
There’s a split-second decision Lisandro Martinez has to make to either press quickly or guard against the run of Bryan Mbeumo.
Lisandro Martinez decides to press a second too late, allowing Josh Dasilva enough space just outside the box to fire off a long-range attempt on goal.
It’s an effort the Spaniard admittedly should have handled far better, though he’ll be coming up against a potentially far more wicked strike from distance if Diaz’s equalising goal at Selhurst Park is any indication.
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Luis Diaz registered 33 goal contributions in 54 appearances across all competitions (for FC Porto and Liverpool) last term.
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Beyond our No.23’s shooting range, the Old Trafford-based outfit’s apparent struggles with handling a high press could also be their undoing next week if not appropriately addressed before the tie.
One report from Samuel Luckhurst at the Manchester Evening News has already suggested that Ten Hag is keen on taking the fight to us on Monday, though pushback from some of his squad could yet force a more pragmatic approach of the like taken by Vieira earlier in the week.
The effectiveness of pragmatism, however, may be hugely dependent on how lethal we are with our chances in front of goal as our prior draw more than indicated.
The post Man Utd must be wary of Luis Diaz’s ‘special’ attribute after Brentford horror show – opinion appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.
