Arne Slot's second genius Liverpool position change sums up difference from Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool's flying start under Arne Slot continued at home to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, with another positional change from the manager reaping rewards
by David Anderson · The MirrorIs there no end to the magic dust Arne Slot can sprinkle on his players?
First he pulled off a masterstroke by playing Ryan Gravenberch in the No 6 role when Jurgen Klopp only used him as a squad player last season. And last night Slot succeeded in a different trick when he deployed Luis Diaz as his No 9 to devastating effect.
Diaz scored his first Liverpool hat-trick to take his tally of goals for the season to nine and he is level with Mohamed Salah as the Reds’ top scorer.
Slot moved Diaz into the middle partly because of Darwin Nunez’s inconsistent form for the Reds and the Uruguayan has been more cold than hot.
Diaz was bright as he buzzed about the Bayer Leverkusen defence and he fed Cody Gakpo, whose shot was blocked. He skinned Edmond Tapsoba on the left with a deft turn and released Salah on the right, who passed inside to Curtis Jones to have a drive blocked.
Liverpool ramped up the pressure after a tepid first half and it came as no surprise that Diaz should apply the killer touch.
Jones played him in with a defence-splitting pass and he expertly dinked the ball over Lukas Hradecky in the Leverkusen goal.
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Playing Diaz through the middle, also allowed Slot to deploy Gakpo on the left and he justified his inclusion by heading home his fourth goal in his last three games to put Liverpool 2-0 up.
Leverkusen were gone and if this were a boxing match, the referee would have stopped it. Instead Diaz piled on the agony for them and Alonso as he added his second at the back post.
The South American showed Leverkusen no mercy and in stoppage time, he slotted home his third after Nunez’s shot was saved following a four on two Liverpool break.
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