As manager Arne Slot marked his first official match at Anfield with a win, Virgil van Dijk has made 100 appearances for Liverpool at home. Only 2 of those matches were failures and 82 ended in wins. "Regardless of what happens in the future, Anfield is a special place in my heart," said the Dutch midfielder.
For Luis Diaz, 100 is also his number of appearances for The Kop in all competitions. To mark this milestone, the Colombian striker contributed a goal and an assist in Liverpool's 2-0 victory over Brentford.
With a total of 25 goals, Diaz has scored an average of 1 goal in every 4 matches for Liverpool. Or it could be 1 goal after 3 starts, with 77 starts.
Regardless of the assessment, Diaz's number still raises more questions than answers. Sadio Mane has scored 120 goals in 269 appearances for Liverpool, an average of nearly 1 goal in 2 matches. The Senegalese winger even finished second in the 2022 Ballon d'Or vote.
If Mane's impressive goals reflect Jurgen Klopp's tactics - wingers given the scoring responsibility - that has changed since Darwin Nunez arrived. And now, in the first phase at Anfield, Slot still doesn't know exactly what he needs to do with the wingers.
However, Diaz scored against Brentford and a brace in a friendly against Sevilla. Is that a sign that the player will be stronger under Slot? Of course, Diaz has always been Liverpool's first scorer at Anfield in the last 3 campaigns.
And for most of that time, it felt like Liverpool were waiting for Diaz to become a real goalscorer. "He knows that as a striker, a winger, he needs to score and assist," Alexis Mac Allister, who translated for Diaz in a post-match interview, said.
Meanwhile, many questions have been raised about Diaz's necessary "ness" in seizing the opportunity. "It's about getting our strikers Diaz, Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Nunez and Diogo Jota in the best possible positions. And then they will show their qualities," Slot said.
It felt like Diaz had given Liverpool everything, except goals. After arriving in January 2022, the Colombian's initial impact was extremely surprising. Diaz even made Mane end his Liverpool career as a centre-forward. However, in Diaz's best matches, the "Red Brigade" often did not get good results.
Starting the 2022-2023 season, Diaz has scored 4 goals in the opening 8 matches. However, when he returned from injury, he scored only 5 goals in 21 matches. Last season, the kidnapping of his father greatly affected Diaz's psychology and performance.
In short, although Diaz can be excellent in other aspects, Liverpool still want to see some more of Mane's qualities in the Colombian player.
