JURGEN KLOPP believes there is still a “lot of space for improvement” for Luis Diaz despite an impressive start to his Liverpool career following his January move from Porto for a reported fee of €45 million, plus €15 million in add ons.
Diaz opened the scoring at the AMEX Stadium on Saturday as the Reds moved three points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City with a 2-0 win at Brighton.
The Colombian received a heavy blow in the process from Seagulls goalkeeper Robert Sanchez but was cleared to continue, and Mohamed Salah’s penalty put the result beyond doubt just after the hour mark.
“He’s a very good player, let me say it like this,” Klopp said when asked about Diaz’s impact.
“We don’t have groups in our team but we have a few guys who speak Spanish and Portuguese and that helps Luis a lot and they take him under their wings, experienced players like Thiago (Alcantara), Fab (Fabinho), Bobby (Roberto Firmino) – they’re all really close to him, and Diogo (Jota), and it helps.
“But he’s in general a really nice kid. I’m not sure exactly how Harvey Elliott and Luis, how they talk, but they are quite a lot together.
“So that means the boy has settled as quick as the player.
“It’s not so easy to bring in a player in the winter, without any kind of pre-season.”
Diaz’s goal on Saturday was his second since arriving from Porto and he has earned praise for his overall performances too, but Klopp reckons there is plenty more to come from the 25-year-old.
“With Luis it was interesting, because the way that he played at Porto is exactly the same as what we wanted him to play here, so he didn’t have to change really,” Klopp said.
“He still has to adapt in moments, especially defensively, but he has speed and is pretty good.
“He can carry the ball pretty quick and his dribbling is not bad, I don’t think we saw already his full range of shooting skills, but we saw a couple of really nice ones.
“There’s a lot of space for improvement, but yes he is a good player.”
Brighton manager Graham Potter wants his side to move on after they slipped to their fifth straight loss, finding the net just once during those defeats.
“We want to win football matches and we’re suffering but a lot of the people that I meet that are Brighton supporters understand the challenges we have, understand the progress we’re making and understand a lot of the good things we do,” he said.
“So for us, we just need to keep going and keep trying to move the club forward.”
The difference in play between MON days and Micks Second game in charge is frightening… O Neill must have had no confidence in the players at all…. Im enjoying an Irish game for the firs time in years
@Mark: A pleasant surprise
@Paul Furey: not so much a surprise. Micks teams always try and play good football.
@Paul Furey: 2nd half shocking !
Well this is better!
@Thomas O’ Donnell: indeed
@Paul Furey: is Hendrick playing ?
@Thomas O’ Donnell: we tend to oddly match the quality or lack of in front of us.
@Nightowl: He played well enough I thought
@MitchConnor: I totally get you Mitch! It’d make quite the graph if you measured it
Ireland actually playing some decent attacking football for the first time in 10 years!
Oh my god, these guys can actually play.
Love RTE complaining about the tennis ball protest upsetting Irish players, then genuinely immediately afterwards, Ireland scoring. It’s almost like karma. Two fingers to the establishment.
@Cal Mooney: I’m sure RTE are raging we scored
@Cal Mooney: In fairness they picked an awful time to do it, why didn’t they do it when Georgia had a free kick up the other end before that?
@Stephen Lyons: it didn’t bother Hourahane. And the fans are still behind the lads!!
@Stephen Lyons: it was arranged for the 33rd minute, in relation to John Delaneys suggestion that we be the 33rd country at the world cup finals after the thierry henry incident
@Stephen Lyons: eh they scored directly afterwards?
That’s why hourihane should be on frees instead of Brady..
Taught Glenn Whelan retired what next Robbie Keane making the bench???
@James McNamara: thought
@James McNamara: Would we be any worse with Robbie back? He’s still the best finisher in the country.
@shellakybooky: you taught him
@James McNamara: robbie is on the bench
@James McNamara: i taught i taw a putty cat
@Windom Earle: ahem..second best ;)
I know it was mentioned the other day as well. But the passion of the players for the national anthem is shocking, Compared to the rugby or gaa. Most don’t even sing it!
@Yorkie1892: possibly because they don’t know it
@Yorkie1892: So what?
Really enjoying this performance, work rate is excellent, great goal, nice football and I hate to say it but Glen Whelan looks excellent, realky steady and controlling the middle, fair play to him.
@Martin McKenna: I was just going to say the same thing… They have been great, go In with the lead and come out the second and play the same…
@Martin McKenna: I think Whelan has not got the credit he deserves over the years and I’ve been critical of him myself. But he’s a good, solid holding and blocking midfielder. Great performance overall, I’m delighted for Mick McCarthy, great management in the changes he’s made since Saturday. Problems that were identified by him were sorted.
Not too bad at all at all
Georgia!
@James Reidy: Aherne?
@Paul Furey: Salpa
@James Reidy: on my mind?
For the love of Jaysus, stop letting Brady take direct free kicks! They never clear the wall!!!
@Conor Mc Lysaght: Yeah, and Hourihane has actually scored a few free kicks in recent memory. Brady’s barely kicked a ball this season. Good start though.
@No: Hourihane has repaid our faith in him! He’s now our dead ball specialist
Mc Clean 4/10 performance guarnteed
@Dill Funk: hows that working out for you? He’s having a stormer, always gives everything for the jersey
@Pixie McMullen: he most certainly did not have a stormer. One of the few Irish players to underperform tonight.
@James Wallace: still I’d give him a 5
thought we were going in the right direction when Whelan retired. no such luck
@G: Doing alright so far
@G: he dorsnt deserve the bad press. Jes not a great player but he’s solid. Better than some of the alternatives, good move by Mick mc to bring him back
@James Wallace: doesn’t
Every faith in Mick coybig!
Playing like an actual team tonight and decent on the ball. It just shows us how utterly awful the MON/Keane era was. Two absolute B-ends. Amazing they are still working.
Best football Ireland have played in long time around the middle. Should be 1 up, incredibly selfish from hourihane
Actually playing quite well…but how is brady still considered our set piece specialist???
Bit of pride lads. Best first half performance in a long long time. Brilliant to see coybig!!
@aidan mccormack: 70 mins in should be 3 up
Awesome free
Deserved lead And great to honestly mean that!
This is Ireland. This is confidence in your players abilities,no matter the opposition. We have good players. Not the greatest but not the worst. MON sent these guys out thinking they were sub-standard. Mick will get them playing like winners and with no fear.
Thats an ace of a free kick by hourihane
Wake me up, soon as Georgia score, tks.
@Virgil Van Rock: you’re going to be asleep for a few months.
What does james McLean do besides giving away free kicks?
@Niall Dillon: yet McGoldrick is taken off leaving us with no striker- at home to Georgia!
McGoldrick has been immense tonight so composed
We’re winning on the anthems anyway.
Martin O’Knob
Tennis anyone
Whelan is a liability. Passes sideways at best and lacks confidence on the ball. Hillarious how he is constantly pointing to other players like he is some sort of midfield general. He is really bad. Watch him! I implore you!
We need more tennis balls!
@jamesdecay: Gets us goals :)
@Paul Furey: were actually playing well. C’mon lads
To all the Glen Whelan haters. Go ….. yourselves. Our most important player.
The Swiss just threw away a 3 goal lead with 6 minutes left….
Ireland are top of the group.
David mcgoldrick the Irish zlatan
We’re now hearing the praise from scraping a 1-0 victory over the mighty Georgia at home. We are ranked by fifa no. 34 they are no. 92?A free kick winner. Glad n Whelan back? I would suggest he’d be overrun by any day decent midfielder. I don’t blame mick but the panel to choose from is hopeless. I’m afraid I don’t hold out a lot of hope for qualifiying
Come on Georgia teach jd a good old lesson that he can still get away with it coybig
Stupid rte 2 keeps freezing! Can’t watch the game >:/
@Chonky Racoon: rteplayer? It’s brutal
@andyearley: yeah I’m using rte player atm
@Chonky Racoon: try mobdro man
@Chonky Racoon: this will probably get deleted but go onto footybite . com… All the top and verified streamers are their,excellent streams and more reliable than the actual official ones ;)
@andyearley: forget that, unreliable at the best of times,and not good when casting and stuff…. Try buff stream and footybite.. You won’t go back, most streams are HD also
@stephen mc galey: cheers thanks man
@stephen mc galey: never had too much bother with mobdro though I don’t use it much.
Good performance by Whelan his best game in an ireland shirt .Stevens and Coleman were solid too mcgoldrick deserved man of the match
Hendrick should be off he’s knackered