Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson has hailed the new signing of Luis Diaz and warned his rivals that he will improve.
Liverpool reached the UEFA Champions League Final after the thrilling second leg against Spanish side Villarreal. He led the yellow submarine with two goals to zero in the first half to equalize the total goals, but the entry of Colombian winger Luis Diaz turned the match upside down for Liverpool.
In a 12-minute spell aided largely by goalkeeper errors from Villarreal goalkeeper Jeronimo Rulli, Liverpool bounced back to score three goals to win the match 3-2 and take the aggregate score to 5-2.
Diaz was the man of the match despite not playing the full match and Robertson was full of the new red man.
“It was special,” Robertson said Wednesday. “We tried to help him as much as we could, all the players. We know how difficult it was to arrive in January. The coaches and everyone else helped him keep up, but he is a special and special player. The talent he has and the will to win – he suits us perfectly.
“It was tough to get Jota out, I think he’s been excellent this season, but Lewis came in and made a big, big difference. He played on the left, he started pushing them back, dribbling the ball and everything. Really a good half of it.
“He has been special since he came in and it has been a pleasure to play with him. I hope he will only improve. With a full pre-season under his belt, I think he will improve, which is scary, but what I have produced here and now is also very special.”
The Colombian joined Liverpool from Porto in January while qualifying for the World Cup with the Colombian national team. The Reds snatched his signature from Tottenham Hotspur much to the chagrin of Antonio Conte, but he has proven an inspiring decision ever since.
The winger completed his form from Porto, where he was the Dragons’ top scorer before the end of the year. He has yet to reach the same levels of proficiency with Liverpool, having scored just five goals from 21 appearances in all competitions.
However, his form translated into an extra bite into the Reds’ attack and that was evident against Villarreal, as he scored the equalizer on the night before Sadio Mane made it 3-2.
Diaz also won the Carabao Cup and is set to go down in history as one of the first teams to win the treble in English football since Manchester United in 1999, and also one of the first ever to win an unprecedented treble in English football.
