Stat of the Match: Luis Díaz Special

Liverpool beat Everton 1-0 thanks to a Diogo Jota goal assisted by Luis Díaz. The Colombian offered so much more besides.

Liverpool battled their way to three points in the latest edition of the Merseyside derby earlier this week. It was a war, as such games frequently are.

If Diogo Jota ending his goal drought was correctly predicted by this stopped clock, Curtis Jones putting in a fine performance as the fourth choice right-back was less anticipated. The player of the match was not really up for debate, though. It was Luis Díaz.

Rather than run through various statistics about the match as a whole as is normal procedure around here, it feels appropriate to give the Colombian some serious love. He did everything, everywhere, all at once.

The great Michael Reid did an excellent job of highlighting the peaks Díaz scaled in terms of box touches, chances created and dribbles. The Reds’ ineffectual crossing was highlighted by Micah Richards on Match of the Day, yet Liverpool’s number seven used one to create his side’s only Opta-defined big chance of the game.

Díaz also topped the standings for accurate final third passes, falling just shy of matching Everton’s tally. For completed efforts ending in the opposition penalty box, it was six apiece.

In discussing the derby on the latest episode of the Distance Covered podcast, I highlighted a couple of other statistics which emphasised how important Díaz was to Liverpool’s ball progression. Digging a little deeper after the recording only made the findings even more impressive.