Diaz fitting in nicely at Reds, raves his boss

LONDON • Luis Diaz was just Liverpool's second signing in as many transfer windows and after two appearances for the Reds, already looks like a real asset.

The Colombia winger joined on deadline day for £37.5 million (S$68.5 million) from Portuguese side Porto and made his debut off the bench in the FA Cup fourth-round win over Cardiff City.

That lively cameo was enough for manager Jurgen Klopp to hand him his first start against Leicester City in the Premier League on Thursday. Diaz, 25, caused all kinds of problems as the Merseyside club ran out 2-0 winners at Anfield.

Klopp has been measured in terms of spending in recent years, opting to splash out only if he is sure any new additions can significantly strengthen his side.

Diaz was supposed to be his No. 1 target in the summer but Klopp decided to act last month in the light of growing interest from rival clubs like Tottenham Hotspur.

"When we saw him playing for Porto, we thought, 'Yes, that's exactly what we want him to do as well'," Klopp said. "On top of that, he seems to be a really smart footballer and has obviously watched Liverpool quite a lot.

"We don't overload new players with information in the first week and tell them everything what we want them to do, we just have a look and when we looked at him in training, he already looked like a Liverpool player."

A goal in each half from Diogo Jota - his 12 league goals this season is second only to leading scorer and teammate Mohamed Salah (16) - helped the hosts close the gap to leaders Manchester City to nine points.

Klopp's men still have a game in hand on Pep Guardiola's side and while the champions remain comfortably ahead, the German vowed his players will give it their all till the end of the season.

"I'm not sure we are in a position to get them (City) on their toes, to be honest," he added. "But it's not important at the moment. I don't think we have much chance to catch them.

"Would that mean we shall not try to have the best possible season? First and foremost, we have to win our football games.

"It was really important for us tonight to win because there's not only Man City to catch, there's a lot of teams behind us (that) want to get closer."

Leicester, fifth in both the past two campaigns, continued to disappoint this term. The defeat leaves them down in 12th, but manager Brendan Rodgers said the visitors had "restored the pride" after the Foxes surrendered the FA Cup in a meek exit to Nottingham Forest.

In Thursday's other game, Arsenal moved up to fifth spot, ahead of Manchester United on goal difference, following their 1-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers - their first victory in six matches in all competitions.

Gabriel Magalhaes poked home the winner after a corner was half-cleared by the hosts, although the Gunners had to battle hard for the three points after Gabriel Martinelli was bizarrely sent off with 21 minutes remaining for two offences in a matter of seconds.

The Brazilian's red card, Arsenal's fourth this year, came about after he shoved Daniel Podence and then fouled Chiquinho moments later.

REUTERS