Arne Slot has 'no clue' why Liverpool star has better numbers this year in honest 'team' admission

Arne Slot refused to give out any secrets as to how Luis Diaz has improved his form this season for Liverpool.

His hat-trick on Tuesday against Bayer Leverkusen thrust him into the limelight as he shone on a significant night in the Champions League. With nine goals and two assists in 15 - and a goal conversion rate that has risen from 9% to 29% in the league - there has clearly been improvements made since the arrival of Slot.

Whether it is the Dutchman’s careful attention to detail or Diaz simply maturing into a player he always wanted to be - that’s up for debate. However, speaking ahead of their Premier League clash with Aston Villa, he was quizzed by LiverpoolWorld at his press conference about Diaz and whether he had done any specific work to improve the Colombian’s ability to be more clinical.

“He has better numbers than last year, no clue why that is. The only answer I have is team are providing better chances. Cody also scores from left wing, Diogo scores, Darwin scores, that shows the team are creating chances for these players.”

Under Jurgen Klopp, Diaz had moments of real quality but often came up short in the moments where it mattered. A stunning individual performance against Manchester City was harshened by the missing of a few big chances that could have won the game.

Slot did explain following the Leverkusen win that he had worked to ensure Diaz and Cody Gakpo were more fluid and rotated to ensure that neither were in direct contact with Jonathan Tah - who Slot claimed would ‘kill him’ in the tackle. “Tah is a well known & respected centre back. If I play with a number 9, Tah is just gonna kill him! So let's try to get Lucho to drop into midfield or make runs in behind. That's why we played Lucho in that position instead of a target man like Darwin.”

His ability to move into positions like a number nine and arriving from deeper and always being on the move was a masterstroke and it has given Slot a new tactic that may mean Gakpo and Diaz can co-exist in the same team.