Liverpool breathed new life into their Premier League title challenge following a 3-1 victory over Norwich City.
Having come from behind to earn all three points against their battling visitors, their endeavour was rewarded two-fold when Manchester City were beaten by Tottenham.
Despite enjoying a lions share of possession, the heavily-rotated Reds were stung after the break when Milot Rashica’s deflected shot left Alisson helpless.
Jurgen Klopp’s men eventually kicked into gear and the new-look front three of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz took the game away from Norwich.
But, it was 25-year-old new arrival Diaz who caught the eye as the Colombian winger’s statistics outlined a magnificent performance.
Luis Díaz’s game by numbers vs. Norwich:
59 touches
13 touches in opp. box
6 ball recoveries
5 chances created
5 duels won
4 shots
3 fouls won
1 tackle
1 shot on target
1 goalOff and running in a Liverpool shirt. ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/59tMDwqQYU
— Squawka (@Squawka) February 19, 2022
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday, former Premier League midfielder Tim Sherwood also hailed the forward’s display.
Luis Diaz, what a player this kid is. I mean, absolutely fantastic. Luis Diaz has been the best player on the pitch. Out of possession he gets it back as quick as possible, in possession he’s absolutely magnificent. Absolutely fantastic.
Here’s how we rated the other Liverpool stars…
READ LIVERPOOL VERDICT
XI: Alisson 7, Joe Gomez 6, Joel Matip 6, Virgil van Dijk 7, Kostas Tsimikas 6; Jordan Henderson 7, Naby Keita 6, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 5; Mohamed Salah 7.5, Luis Diaz 8, Sadio Mane 7.
Subs: Thiago 7, Divock Origi 6, Takumi Minamino NA.
Whilst it took the introduction of Thiago and subsequent change of formation to park the Reds’ into action, Diaz was the main instigator throughout despite struggling to find the cutting edge for the most part.
After the match, Klopp confirmed Roberto Firmino would likely be absent for a ‘while, but the prognosis on Diogo Jota is a positive one.
With Leeds United in midweek before the Carabao Cup final, the German may have another attacking selection headache.
Elsewhere, as City stuttered, Jamie Carragher declared that the Premier League ‘could have a title race’ once more as Micah Richards stated the cards are ‘in Liverpool’s favour now’ despite the gap.
