“What a f***g player” – Jose Enrique applauds Liverpool star for his display against Man City in Community Shield win
Former Liverpool player Jose Enrique has hailed Luis Diaz for his performance in the Merseyside outfit's win over Manchester City in the Community Shield. The Reds beat the Cityzens 3-1 at the King Power Stadium on July 30.
The Colombian didn't score or assist, but showed exceptional workrate, running all across the pitch with incredible energy, pace and directness.
Diaz completed 89% of his passes, two long balls and laid one key pass as he posed a huge threat to the Premier League champions.
Luis Díaz is literally everywhere on the pitch. His workrate is incredible.
Enrique certainly couldn't contain his excitement at watching the 25-year-old play, and took to Twitter to express his admiration for him. He wrote:
"Luis Diaz what a f*cking player [4 clapping hands emojis]."
Diaz was relentless in his off-the-ball pressing and gave Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker a hard time. He linked up nicely with Andrew Robertson down the left flank.
However, all that was missing from his game today was the end product. His finishing was poor and he could've added a goal or two himself otherwise.
Luis Diaz what a fucking player 👏👏👏👏👏
The former Porto forward had a relatively quiet pre-season too, failing to score in any of his appearances.
With Sadio Mane leaving for Bayern Munich this summer, Diaz is now the main choice in the left wing position. He must recapture his mojo sooner rather than later.
He registered six goals and five assists in 26 matches for Liverpool last season.
Liverpool end 16-year hoodoo to lift Community Shield
Liverpool hadn't won the Community Shield since 2006, while losing out in both their recent appearances in the cup. This includes one against Manchester City in 2019 while the other loss came against Arsenal in 2020.
The Reds, however, looked sharp on Saturday, playing with intent and creating better chances as the Sky Blues were on the backfoot for most of the game.
Trent Alexander-Arnold broke the deadlock with a sublime finish in the first half before Julian Alvarez restored parity in the 70th minute.
FT
@LFC 3
@ManCity 1
Late goals from @MoSalah & @Darwinn99 fires Liverpool to their first #CommunityShield win since 2006 🔴
#LIVMCI
Liverpool then won a penalty soon after the match entered its final 10 minutes. Darwin Nunez's header hit Ruben Dias' hand and Mohamed Salah coolly converted from 12 yards to make it 2-1.
Nunez then put the final nail in City's coffin by heading home from close range in extra-time. Erling Haaland then missed an absolute sitter in the 97th minute, hitting the crossbar from close range.
The Sky Blues seemed off from the start, lacking urgency and their usual attacking fluidity, which could be because they didn't play much in the pre-season.
Liverpool, meanwhile, celebrated their third title of the calendar year and now look forward to the 2022-23 Premier League season next weekend.