Liverpool journalist James Pearce has claimed that one moment of Luis Diaz’s debut reminded him of one-time Anfield hero Luis Suarez.
The Colombian was certainly a wanted man during the January transfer window before he wound up at Liverpool.
There were reports suggesting that Tottenham Hotspur were set to make a big run at trying to sign him, but he eventually made the move to Anfield instead, and judging by his first game against Cardiff City in the FA Cup, he’s already making a big impression on the current side.
Speaking on the latest edition of The Red Agenda podcast, Pearce, as part of a discussion on the impact that he made on his debut, drew particular attention to the work he did in the build-up to Liverpool’s second goal on the day, which was eventually finished off by Takumi Minamino, and compared it to that of the Uruguayan forward during his time at Anfield.
He said: “I think that the most pleasing thing was the fact that he made such an impact out of possession, the fact that he had absolutely no right to nick that ball away in the build-up to the second goal. Then, the quick feet with absolutely no space to operate in whatsoever to set up the goal that was tucked away by Minamino and effectively killed off the tie.
“And I’m sure there’s a hell of a lot more to come from him. But I think it was the kind of little cameo from Diaz that just really whets your appetite.
“Yeah, it was Suarez-esque, wasn’t it, in terms of just thinking, ‘how on earth has he just done that?’ It was something out of nothing. And then suddenly it’s a goal, and you’re like, I need to see that again just to grasp exactly what has just happened.”
TIF Thoughts on James Pearce’s comments about Luis Diaz, Luis Suarez and Liverpool…
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A high work rate and winning the ball back against the odds is certainly something Suarez was known for during his time at the club, and perhaps best demonstrated with his effort against Tottenham Hotspur back in the 2013/14 season in how he refused to give up on any cause.
And given how big an impact Suarez had during his time at Anfield, especially when it came to the goals that he scored, for Pearce to be making comparisons to the Uruguayan at this early stage is certainly praise indeed.
You just have to hope that words like this don’t start to weigh down on him too much. Because it’s certainly a big name to live up to, and hopefully it doesn’t end up putting pressure on Diaz’s shoulders, or indeed raise the expectations of the fans too much based on his first performance.
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