Well, there goes the FA Cup. Heavy-rotated Liverpool were deservedly beaten by Plymouth Argyle, bottom of the Championship, to close up premature murmurings of the quadruple.
Such talk was only ever going to be a hindrance and Liverpool will now have a less congested run through the business months of the campaign, but these are feeble excuses that scarcely detract from a dreadful display.
Arne Slot will be dismayed that his attempts at reshuffling – after the Champions League tie against PSV Eindhoven – have ended in defeat once again, this time resulting in the first competition exit of the campaign.
Ten changes were made and Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez were the only recognised senior players among the substitutes. It was a wretched 1-0 defeat, but not quite so unexplainable as the surface would suggest.
How Liverpool were beaten by Plymouth
Slot’s decision to enforce wholesale changes was always going to knock the finely crafted cohesion out of kilter. Signs of this were showcased in Holland, but Slot, so rarely ruffled in the face of adversity, got this one wrong.
Even though Liverpool shuffled the pack, there’s no excusing the performances of the prized members on the field. The caveat was that Liverpool’s leader still fielded a frontline with abundant talent. Diogo Jota was flanked by Federico Chiesa and Luis Diaz, and Harvey Elliott was tasked with applying creative support from behind.
Those forwards managed to hit the target just once between them, as per Sofascore, Plymouth goalkeeper Conor Hazard coming up trumps with a fine save from Jota before spectacularly parrying substitute Darwin Nunez’s header.
All flattered to deceive, none will be confident over their starting berths heading into the crunch months of the term. It was a match that has turned a glaring spotlight on Diaz, whose long-term future at Anfield has already been subject to speculation.
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Luis Diaz's performance in numbers vs Plymouth
Notable omissions: Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah. Of course, the dearth of Liverpool first-team regulars at Home Park was far greater but the absence of these two in-form forwards was keenly felt against The Pilgrims.
Ryan Hardie returned a salute to the euphoric host crowd as he calmly dispatched a second-half penalty to clinch the game. The only goal of the game was a by-product of Elliott’s leap inside the box, attempting to block a hoofed connection but meeting the ball with a flailing arm.
Elliott’s chances to impress under Slot’s wing have been limited, fracturing his foot in September to ruin his chances of building on a productive finish to the Jurgen Klopp era and since scraping for chances.
But the 21-year-old playmaker did himself few favours against the second tier’s bottom-placed side, criticised by Liverpool writer Leanne Prescott, who said that the midfielder had “had a shocker” against Plymouth.
Luckily for him though, he’s got many years ahead of him to put things right. The same perspective candidly doesn’t stand for Diaz, who was branded with a lowly 4/10 match rating by The Liverpool Echo’s Ian Doyle, lamented for his ‘inconsistent involvement’ and failure to overcome the home side’s physicality.
Diaz’s electric pace and mazy dribbling skills have made him an effective centre-forward for Slot over the past several months of the game, enabling Gakpo and Salah to seek out hordes of goals. We’ve seen such an attacking system at Liverpool before.
But you have to wonder whether he is producing the goods at the level that his skill set demands. Diaz is not Roberto Firmino, and neither is he Liverpool’s first-choice left winger any more, with the 25-year-old Gakpo striking at a prolific rate.
As per Sofascore, the Colombian saw plenty of the ball – taking 61 touches – but failed to make much of his chances, firing just one shot all game, which was blocked, creating one key pass, winning just four of nine duels and losing possession 14 times, having also failed to chip in with any recorded defensive contributions (tackles, interceptions, clearances).
One Liverpool content creator even remarked that Diaz “again looked useless” for the Premier League leaders, struggling to prove that he can take matches by the scruff of the neck on his own accord.
Looking at the larger picture, Diaz ranks among the bottom 28% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for assists and only the top 26% for progressive carries and successful take-ons per 90, as per FBref. He could be doing more with the tools at his disposal, for sure.
A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent’s goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.
Given that Diaz is about to enter the penultimate year of his Liverpool contract having also turned 28 last month, questions are going to be made regarding his future in the Liverpool squad, with Barcelona known to have a long-standing interest in the Spanish-speaking star.
24/25
33
12
3
23/24
51
13
5
22/23
21
5
3
21/22
26
6
5
Moreover, Liverpool were at least intrigued by the possibility of signing Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon last summer before mulling over a winter move for Khvicha Kvatakskhelia before the Georgian sensation transferred from Napoli to Paris Saint-Germain.
This all points toward Diaz leaving. He’s popped up with some big moments this season and has scored 12 goals against all competitions, but the £55k-per-week ace has also blanked across 17 of the 22 Premier League fixtures he’s played in this term and has indeed seen his left-wing spot swiped from him by Gakpo, a robust talent who doesn’t look likely to fade into obscurity any time soon.
Ultimately, Slot made his priorities clear by enforcing so many alterations in the FA Cup. Remember, the Reds have just reached the Carabao Cup final with an emphatic win over Tottenham and could extend the gap at the top of the Premier League to nine points with victory in next Wednesday’s Merseyside derby.
But this one stings all the same and serves as a stark reality to the calibre of some of Slot’s more peripheral members.
Diaz is not a player on the Liverpool fringes, however, and is beginning to change the narrative around his place in the squad. It might be worth cashing in while FSG still can, and then directing the bucks toward a new, Slot-picked replacement.
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