Arne Slot reveals key tactical reason why Luis Diaz played as Liverpool striker - 'maybe the best in Germany'

Arne Slot has explained why he deployed Luis Diaz as a makeshift striker in Liverpool’s victory over Bayer Leverkusen.

Diaz fired his maiden Reds hat-trick in the 4-0 Champions League win at Anfield. The Colombia international is a winger and primarily been deployed on the left flank since his arrival from Porto in January 2022.

But for the visit of Bundesliga champions Leverkusen, he took up a central role. With Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa injured, Darwin Nunez was handed a rest. And while Cody Gakpo has operated as a number nine for Liverpool in the past, Diaz was instead handed the remit.

The decision paid off emphatically, with Diaz firing three goals to move Liverpool top of the Champions League standings as they maintained their perfect record in this season’s competition. Slot, speaking at his post-match press conference, revealed that he felt Diaz’s movement could cause Leverkusen and Germany international Jonathan Tah problems.

The Liverpool head coach said: “I only have four attackers available at the moment with the injuries of Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa, and Darwin didn't play that much in the beginning and then he started to play a bit more.

“With this fixture list, it's almost impossible to play them all, especially if you haven't played that many games before. So, that in combination with the fact that I think Tah – who is a real good defender and is one of the best defenders in Germany, maybe the best defender in Germany – maybe likes to play more against a target man, someone who's there in the middle. We chose to play Lucho more from the left or the midfield and then maybe surprise him afterwards with runs in behind – not only him but in general. If you look at the first goal, that played out – what a pass from Curtis Jones.”