Luis Diaz says Arne Slot is directly behind electric Liverpool performances
Luis Diaz said Arne Slot's training sessions at Liverpool are partly to thank for his electric start to the season in front of goal.
The Colombian has scored five times in five Premier League appearances heading into Saturday's clash with Wolves - a game that will see the Reds rise to the top of the table if they win, after Manchester City drew with Newcastle to kick-start the weekend of football.
One of the main criticisms levelled at Diaz throughout his Liverpool career has been that he has not scored enough goals for the Reds. Prior to this season he had scored just 24 times in 98 appearances, but with five goals in six games in all competitions at the start of this season, Diaz has been one of the standout stars of the team's excellent start.
"I think the training sessions are helping a lot," Diaz told Sky Sports. "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.
"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. I think that's mostly what it's about, being in the right positions, getting closer to goal and obviously working on your finishing."
Arne Slot spoke about Diaz's goals during his press conference on Friday as he previewed the trip to Wolves, and the Dutchman backed the winger to keep up his scoring form in the coming weeks and months - despite history suggesting he is not a prolific wide man.
“It’s difficult for me to judge because I wasn’t here last season,” said Slot as he was asked how much credit he could take for the Colombian's uptick in front of goal. "It’s still a small sample size we are talking about and I said before when it comes to us winning quite a lot of games until now, almost all the teams we have faced have been in the bottom half of the table.
“He scored eight league goals last season. For me he was someone who could score a goal and eight is, for his quality, not of his standard. Then I think he comes back to his normal situation. Maybe he was a bit unlucky last season but a player of his quality will always score a lot of goals every season.
“We train on a daily basis trying to get them as close as we can in certain situations and help in the best possible way where to position themselves and what to do in certain situations. But it is mainly in the last third of the pitch the quality of the player and the finishing he has and I think he always had this.”