Liverpool coach Arne Slot admits he was surprised with how well Luis Diaz played as a centre forward in the Champions League.
The Colombia international scored his first hat-trick for the club in 4-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen after starting the game through the middle.
Darwin Nunez is Liverpool’s only fit central striker as Diogo Jota is out with an injury to his upper body, and with summer signing Federico Chiesa also sidelined it means Slot has had to be more creative with his formation.
“Lucho [Diaz] did really well and if was, even for me, maybe a bit of a surprise to see how well he did,” Slot said.
“I played him there for a reason, I expected him to do good but that he played so well that was even a surprise for me.
“When we had Darwin and Diogo available we always played one of those two.
Diogo Jota is expected to return from injury soon after the November international break 🗓️
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 8, 2024
“Lucho is also a very good left winger. At this moment we have four attackers available for three positions so we could come up with another idea again but if Diogo comes back and Darwin is back then we have two numbers nines available again.”
Father Jones impressing
Another player thriving under Slot is academy graduate Curtis Jones, who has been included in the England squad for this month’s Nations League matches.
The 23-year-old became a father for the first time last month and Slot has noticed a change in the player.
“You never know if that plays a part or not,” he said ahead of the visit of Aston Villa.
“He already did this in the first few weeks that we worked together in pre-season – I was like ‘phwoar, quality player’ but then his performances dropped.
“But since the moment he became a father he was outstanding again and I think it might have to do a bit with that but in general I think it has to do with how the team plays because every player who comes in has a good performance.”
Liverpool’s eight wins, a draw and one defeat has them top of the table heading into the weekend but Slot is not getting carried away.
“I am not trying to manage expectations within the squad because we don’t talk about them. The only expectation I have is for them to put the same effort in every day,” said the head coach.
“I’m not asking them to win every game but I’m asking them to put effort in on a daily basis.”
