Villarreal 2 Liverpool 3
Luis Diaz illuminates El Madrigal as the Reds march on to the city of lights.
Luis Diaz illuminates El Madrigal as the Reds march on to the city of lights.
I’ve been writing about Liverpool FC a lot in recent times, and not just out of a contractual obligation for my publishers at Sports Unillustrated. My Editor indulges my wanton and flagrant misuse of our precious language, allowing me to trademark my “PlayStation Football” mantra, my love for Spanish ball playing midfielder Thiago Alcantara but talking frankly, I’m worth every penny of that 8 figure salary my employers bestow upon your humble narrator every year.
And so is Luis Diaz. I have no idea as to how many digital digits flow into his salaried bank account but the kid was extra special (again) tonight, and the 25 year old Colombian only played 45 minutes, but in a singular, game changing performance, that Reds will remember in the same bracket as Howard Gayle in Munich in 1981. Differing performances in very different European Cup (Champions League) semi-finals, but game defining ones and both which both dragged their teams through an arduous semi-final and into the glory of a final in the city of lights.
Until Diaz’s introduction at half-time, the “Yellow Submarines” of Villarreal had bullied, and brilliantly and legitimately so, their Red dressed visitors from Liverpool and never allowed them to get started in the match at all. They were far more physical and quick to loose balls or receptive for the errant passes from a Liverpool team mis-firing spectacularly, and on the next to biggest stage of them all. Held together by their magnificent captain Raul Albiol and Etienne Capoue at the very centre of their best pressing and attacking work, Villarreal could even afford the luxury of a limping, half fit Gerard Moreno up front as their overall team play hustled, pushed and probed errors from a Liverpool team badly out of step and in arguably their worst half of football all season long. Etienne Capoue had a hand in both goals, the firecracker that lit this occasion on just 3 minutes and via the boot of Boulaye Dia, as well as the cross glanced home from the head of ex Arsenal defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin. Both goals were defensively horrendous from a Liverpool perspective, and personally down to errors and sloppiness from their otherwise otherworldly and dependable wing backs Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold. The mis-firing sloppiness was symptomatic of a half of football in which Liverpool simply didn’t compete, weren’t physical enough and they’d seen their 2–0 first leg aggregate lead dissolve into an overall score of 2–2.
It was now simply a 45 minute final in itself.
Enter Luis Diaz.
Diaz was everywhere, dancing through the light covering of rain as well as the heavier puddles in one corner of the El Madrigal pitch. I demanded captain Jordan Henderson replace a dreadful Naby Keita at half-time. Jurgen Klopp replaced an ineffective and out of sorts Diogo Jota with the energy and childlike enthusiasm of Luis Diaz. Where I wanted more physicality. Jurgen wanted more football. And the kid wanted and demanded that football. He tried a bicycle kick, he played swan lake football through the corner flag puddles, he demanded the ball. Time and time again. He gave the Reds a permanently moving and world class target for their passes and whereas it took Liverpool 25 minutes into the first half to have their defensive line high on the halfway line (and they soon retreated under pressure), now it took the Reds 5 minutes to establish a permanently high defensive line that Gerard Moreno wasn’t going to go limping through any time soon, and then they played. And gloriously so.
Whereas in the first half they mustered just one scruffy attempt on goal and one chance from Thiago that would have been disallowed due to an offside flag, from the 50th minute onward the real Liverpool finally arrived to play. 3 goals in 12 minutes speaks volumes, with Luis Diaz’s deserved headed goal sandwiched by a nerve settling drive from the Brazilian midfielder Fabinho and the crazy antics of Villarreal goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli that led to Sadio Mane’s confirmation of a place in the 2022 Champions League Final in Paris.
But it was Diaz’s show, the dazzling smile to match the tears captured at the final whistle for a young kid who’s only been at Liverpool since January, speaks very little English but has the infectious nature of his Manager and a man who cannot speak highly enough of the young Colombian who’s stealing every Red heart imaginable.
Good on yer kid!
When Liverpool play either their light blue shirted rivals from just 20 miles away in Manchester or Los Blancos of Real Madrid, their European Cup Final conquerors in Kiev 4 years ago, it will be the final fixture of a historic and unprecedented season in which they will have fulfilled every possible fixture in their calendar at the start in a long ago August.
One trophy is safely secured and immortalised on their “Champions Wall” of their Anfield home.
Three more are still possible in the final 25 days of this incredible season.
Thanks for reading. There are oodles of articles on the Reds within my archives and I’ve attached the three most recently published below:
Newcastle United 0 Liverpool 1
Utterly forgettable, but an utterly priceless 3 pointsmedium.com
Liverpool 2 Villarreal 0
90 minutes from a European Cup Final as the Reds break down the Yellow Submarines Yellow Brick Wall.medium.com
Liverpool 2 Everton 0
Divock Origi to the rescue as the Reds continue to relentlessly chase Manchester City for the League Titlemedium.com