Luis Diaz at odds with Arne Slot over his EXPLOSIVE Liverpool form | OneFootball

Arne Slot hasn’t exactly hidden his tactical structures this season, but there has clearly been a change in the way Liverpool play.

This has been reflected critically in the performance of some key players - none more than Luis Diaz, who has started the season in electric form. The Colombian winger has five goals in five games this season, racing towards his Premier League-high total of eight.

In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports ahead of this weekend’s trip to Wolves, Diaz has opened up about his scintillating start and the way in which new manager Slot has aided this.

Read more: Luis Diaz vs. Cody Gakpo: The ANSWER to Arne Slot's biggest headache

What does Slot want?

"Primarily, the coach wants his wide players in wide positions.” Diaz said, “The wingers are always out wide. Mo is maybe a little more narrow - sometimes, not always - whereas I'm always holding the width.

"But when the ball arrives with Mo or Trent [Alexander-Arnold] on the other side, I have to run inside and be there as a central attacker, to be in a good position in relation to the goal."

This hasn’t been more evident than his headed opener on way to a 3-0 win at Old Trafford earlier in the season. It also was apparent with Trent finding the Colombian for his second against Bournemouth last weekend.

On what he wants to do in front of goal, Diaz answered: "I always try to find the diagonal run, to get one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Those runs and one-v-ones are my specialities… The coach asks that of all of us. What I have, in terms of my characteristics, is what he wants from his wingers.”

This tendency to make diagonal runs was clearly seen for his opener against Bournemouth, when centre-back Ibrahima Konaté launched a long ball that caught out goalkeeper Kepa, with Diaz cutting across him to fire into an empty net.

Talking about what Slot does in training, Diaz answered, "He also tries to instil a lot of tactical details in us. He works hard in that sense. He asks us to always run back to defend, to form a good defensive block, and then to go on the attack as well. If you defend better, obviously you are going to attack better too.

"So, he wants us to think about that defensive side of things, but also while enjoying ourselves because it's always important to have that enjoyment, even knowing you have a job to do."

But Diaz does admit that Slot is working in detail with him. "I think the training sessions are helping a lot," Diaz says.

"The coach always tries to correct the movements you need to make in order to be well-positioned, to arrive in front of the goal better and score more goals. So, that really helps a lot.”

"Also, the confidence the coach and the team give you when everyone is playing well and things are going well.”

"I think confidence is really important. But then there is also the hard work I am doing every day on my finishing and my movements.” When quizzed about his work with Diaz in this week’s pre-match press conference, Slot was deferential, saying that Diaz always had it in him and that it’s a return to his standard level. This is a stark example of Diaz’s comments regarding the confidence that Slot is giving him. Instead of taking any real credit, he throws the admiration back onto the player himself. Whilst admitting that they do positional work - as Diaz mentions above - he only mentions it in passing.

It’s clear that Slot is managing to get a different performance from certain players than his predecessor. This would never be a swipe at Jurgen Klopp - far from it - but it’s always fascinating to find the players who respond to the specific communication styles of the different managers they play under. It’s been evident that Diaz has always been talented, but under Liverpool’s new Dutchman at the helm, it seems like the sky’s the limit.

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