Diaz on target for Liverpool but same questions remain

For Arne Slot, the landmark came in a first, for a couple of his new charges, in centuries.

- RICHARD JOLLY

As Slot marked his maiden competitive game at Anfield with a win, Virgil van Dijk brought up 100 league appearances for Liverpool at home. Only two have ended in defeat and 82 in victory. "Whatever happens in the future, Anfield is a special place in my heart," said the defender, whose contract expires in the summer.

For Luis Diaz, the milestone came in the form of a 100th game anywhere for Liverpool. It was reached in style: a goal rifled in from a devastating counterattack, a deft pass releasing Mohamed Salah to score the second, a man-of-the-match display. The Colombian was electric; it feels he has been for many of those 100 matches.

The goal was his 25th, a ratio of one every four games. Or roughly one every three starts, as he has begun 77 of those appearances.

Whichever way it is assessed, it feels respectable rather than remarkable for a Liverpool winger. It comes in the context of his predecessor’s rather more prolific return. Sadio Mane scored 120 goals in 269 games, an average of almost one every two; as he ended up finishing second in the Ballon d’Or vote, it is tough ask to emulate Mane. If his own century – of goals – reflected the tactics of Jurgen Klopp, where the wingers were more advanced than the striker, that shifted after Darwin Nunez’s signing and, at this embryonic stage of Slot’s reign, it remains to be seen precisely what should be expected of his left winger.