Luis Diaz: Liverpool is gradually becoming untouchable in EPL and Europe this season

Luis Diaz has started the season brilliantly for Liverpool after a difficult spell with injuries Of all the problems that circled Liverpool last season, the absence of Luis Diaz was one of the most prominent.

The Colombia international was one of few in the Reds’ squad whose level didn’t dip during the early weeks of the 2022/23 campaign as the team struggled to shake off the cobwebs of the 63-game season previous.

Diaz was one of the rare bright spots for Jurgen Klopp 12 months ago as his side lurched their way through the early going. That was until a knee injury suffered in a challenge with Arsenal’s Thomas Partey wrecked his campaign.

Initially pulling up in a 3-2 defeat to the Gunners on October 9, Diaz was on the cusp of a comeback in December when he broke down once more on the club’s mid-season trip to Dubai during the World Cup.

That setback required surgery and involved an immediate flight back to Merseyside to go under the knife before he was made to wait until April for his eventual return.

“It was a difficult and complicated time for me,” he admits, in a chat with club’s official match-day programme. “Not being able to be there at every game with the team is very frustrating.

“To see all your team-mates playing and you cannot be there alongside them is just so tough to take. That period was really hard for me, but I tried hard not to overthink things or pay much attention to negative things so my head wouldn’t be swimming with all these thoughts.

“It was all about work, work and more work so I could be fully fit and recovered; so once I was 100% again, I’d be ready to try and help the team.”

After eventually stepping on to the pitch once more when he arrived as a second-half substitute in a 6-1 demolition of Leeds United on April 17 before he scored in a pulsating victory over Tottenham at the end of that month.

There was little pressure on Diaz upon his comeback though, with it being generally accepted that the former Porto might not be at his blistering best until this season having felt the benefit of a full pre-season free of injury.

And with two goals already this term, against Chelsea and Bournemouth, the £37m signing is starting to finally feel more like the player that convinced Klopp to bring him to Anfield from Porto in January 2022.

“I’m feeling more and more confident as each day goes by and with every training session,” he adds. “Scoring nice goals has a lot to do with having worked so hard to make sure I was in the right shape and, to be honest, I feel great – at 100% and convinced that this season I’m going to do lots to make the fans very happy.