These days, the analytics staff have ripped aparts hours upon hours of game tape for their players to determine the threats and how best to deal with them. whether the goalies have shooting patterns for PK’s taped to their water bottles or the fullbacks are sat through footage of who they will be facing this week to see what to expect for movement and what their tendencies are to attack.
Diaz hasn’t changed up his style much, but the FB’s he face these days are more wise to his playing style
I tend to believe that there are few players who can continually “have their way” with an opposing team. Players like Suarez who were just that unpredictable… they’re sooo rare.
I’m not overly concerned about Diaz. He hasn’t quite electrified the way he did before the injury but I look at someone like van Dijk and how its taken them the better part of 12 months to get back into full swing.
Even on a personal level, I wasn’t injured but I hadn’t played football in years before March of this year and its only in the last few weeks that I’m really starting to feel like I’m back to playing well again.
I think given time Diaz will get back to his best.
Mane was in serious form then, plus a proven and complete Liverpool forward. Worked both ways, pressed, played back to goal if needed (and we need it a lot from our central guy), could score with either foot. Diaz has his strengths and still to prove he can be a high provider for longer periods in this team. Wasn’t helped by that injury and recent off the pitch issues, but now with his new contract, soon to be 27, he needs to prove he can peak here.
Cody Gakpo has never even come on in that area I believe.
Gakpo can play two positions, centre forward or behind the centre forward. Jota is ok but not great on that side. Nunez is a potential but hasn’t shown his skills there.
As for Diaz unlike Mane he’s actually never played there to my knowledge, Mane went centrally because he had lost his pace a bit and it suited. Diaz to me is a trickster which the ball can stick to, get back to that and his form returns.
I felt before the scenario with his parents he looked fine.
Gakpo still competes for 2-3 positions I believe. We don’t switch to 4-4-2 that often. He can still be an option as a false #9, left wide forward and second striker/#10 (even played a bit as the highest of the 3 midfielders).
We’re pretty good when it comes to options on the left, no moaning about that. No automatic starter for me. Maybe our ideal idea is to have an attack of Salah, Diaz and Nunez firing on all cylinders. We’ll see if they get there. In the mean time, I like to see the other two getting their chances and staying in the team if they merit on form or style against a certain opponent.
Looks a little bit lost right now, playing a very predictable, non-effective and little end product game.
1v1 isn’t dangerous enough, opponents nick the ball of him before he even sets himself for a dribble move.
He is good when we have to come out of our own half, can protect the ball very well and start counter attacking moves.
Even when he was at his best so far, he was better working out wide and getting to the by-line. Less so when he had to occupy a more inside position and threaten the goal.
Noticed another thing in his first 6 months with us, but I don’t like it when he just goes on these crazy runs with the ball, head down and ends up in bloody #8 and #6 areas.
It’s not even that he decides that, but the opponent forces him to abandon dangerous areas. Good thing is that at least he’s good at keeping the ball and running with it, twisting and turning. At least we manage to keep possession more often that not when he does it. But it’s very predictable.
Opponents must love seeing him run away from them and just go back, deeper, or where we already have other players. Attacking players need to go against that tide and find holes, create holes, penetrate, take risks.
He had a tough period and I wouldn’t start him in so many (important) games.
So far in his Liverpool career, I feel he’s been more loved than the overall quality showed so far.
I’ve seen players whose form has fallen off a cliff but I can’t remember a Liverpool player whose decline was so sharp (not even Riise’s, in my opinion). His and Nunez’ form are so concerning to me and probably the biggest reason why I doubt our credentials in the title race.