Liverpool continued their impressive pre-season under Arne Slot by recording a fourth win on the bounce with a thumping 4-1 victory over Spanish side Sevilla at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
Luis Diaz scored twice on his first outing under new head coach Slot, after a sublime weak-footed volley from Diogo Jota and a tidy finish from 17-year-old breakout star of the summer Trey Nyoni.
It was the first of two friendlies on the same day for Slot’s men, with the Reds set to play fellow Spaniards Las Palmas in a teatime kick-off behind closed doors.
Mail Sport’s Lewis Steele was in place for the first match, and here are his main takeaways.
Can Diaz discover a ruthless streak in front of goal?
There has been a strong feeling among the fanbase that the prolific nature of Sadio Mane was never replaced after the Senegal star departed for Bayern Munich. Diaz and Cody Gakpo have played on the left but never replicated Mane’s goal-scoring prowess.
Luis Diaz is going into the start of the Premier League season in red-hot form for Liverpool
The Colombian forward scored two goals in the host’s triumphant showing against Sevilla
Fans will hope that the player finally comes good as a consistent replacement for Sadio Mane
While Mane scored 120 goals in 269 games for the Reds, a strike every 2.24 games on average, Diaz has managed 24 in 98, a rate of roughly one every 4.08 matches. Numbers are not everything but the Colombian’s end-product is certainly in the ‘can improve’ category.
It would be an overreaction to make any sweeping statements based on Diaz’s first 62 minutes of pre-season but his two goals here have given plenty of reasons for optimism ahead of his third full campaign at Anfield having joined from Porto in January 2022.
Diaz, 27, started last season in decent fashion but, through no fault of his own, lost his guaranteed spot in the XI after his father was kidnapped in Colombia and he had a period of absence.
The forward showed glimpses without ever really setting the world alight. But Slot and his backroom staff have been putting on individual sessions to work on forwards’ movement off the ball and Diaz will surely be one to benefit from that added coaching.
He was sharp throughout and the first goal was exactly what Liverpool fans have been crying out for: decisiveness. Diaz cut in from the left and, without hesitation, blasted the ball into the top corner across goal. His second was a tap-in but he was in the right place at the right time.
Which fringe players are pushing for starts at Ipswich?
If you have read any of Mail Sport’s musings this summer, especially from the three-leg tour of the United States, one will recall many occasions of waxing lyrical about the young defender Jarell Quansah.
This time last year, the 21-year-old was yet to make his Liverpool first-team debut. But after forcing his way into the first-team reckoning with 33 appearances last term – and a call-up to the England senior squad – Quansah is now pushing to be the No 2 centre back at Anfield.
Jarell Quansah has been a constant standout on Liverpool’s pre-season tour this summer
Ryan Gravenberch would also do well to seize the new opportunities available for him under Arne Slot
It goes without saying that captain Virgil van Dijk is still the main man but Quansah is now making a convincing case to be the regular starting defender alongside the Dutchman, his idol, after another impressive outing.
Ibrahima Konate was set to play in the second friendly of the day but Quansah is pushing hard to be on the team-sheet against Ipswich in the Premier League opener next Saturday. He had a couple of shaky moments here but it was another pleasing afternoon overall.
Elsewhere, Kostas Tsimikas has been a mainstay this pre-season after his international team Greece did not qualify for the European Championship. That ensured he was in the door to get in front of Slot from day one of his reign.
With Andy Robertson not fully fit – he has been nursing an injury picked up in spring and did not feature on the United States tour, though he has returned to full training – Tsimikas might be given a chance to start at Ipswich.
Another man hoping to force his way into the reckoning on a regular basis is Ryan Gravenberch, the Dutch midfielder. He had a slow first season at Anfield but is playing in a deeper role under compatriot Slot and put in another impressive display here.
Salah is still the main man
There was a time in the latter half of last season that pundits thought Mohamed Salah’s best days were behind him. Although pre-season is not the best barometer, if you could say one thing for certain based on the early weeks of Slot it would be that Salah is still the main man.
Mohamed Salah had a fiery end to the season in a clash with then-manager Jurgen Klopp
But the Egyptian talisman looked at his reliable best on Sunday afternoon against Sevilla
Arne Slot will be delighted with his team’s final preparations ahead of their first competitive tie
After pulling out of the Africa Cup of Nations halfway through the tournament with an injury, Salah never really achieved peak physique in the final months of the season. It was probably one of the main reasons why Liverpool’s title challenge fell flat.
There was also a public spat with Jurgen Klopp when the former manager clashed with his Egyptian attacker in an away match at West Ham, which Salah had started as a substitute. ‘If I speak today there will be fire,’ were the words from Salah as he left the London Stadium.
But Salah, who turned 32 this summer, has dedicated his last few months to getting fully fit again – turning down the invitation to play at the Olympics for Egypt – and he looks as sharp as ever, despite the fact he is not getting any younger.
Throughout Liverpool’s pre-season tour and win over Sevilla on Sunday, Salah has been making incisive runs off the ball in behind defenders. He was perhaps unlucky not to score in this rout of the Spanish side, with several attempts being saved or just going wide.
