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Arne Slot said he “loves” Luis Díaz just like fans in Liverpool and Colombia after the forward scored a Champions League hat trick in a 4-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield.
Liverpool moved clear at the top of the Champions League table with a fourth straight win in this season’s competition following Díaz’s hat trick and a Cody Gakpo header. But with Díaz being handed an unfamiliar central role by Slot, the Colombia international took advantage by scoring three times in 29 minutes against the German champions.
And Liverpool coach Slot said he has as much affection for Díaz as the fans after watching him net his hat trick.
“Not only do people in Colombia love ‘Lucho,’ the fans in Liverpool love him too,” Slot said. “I heard many times the fans singing his song and the manager likes him a lot as well. I don’t love him, but I like him a lot.”
“It’s not possible for every player to play every game. I only have four attackers available with the injuries we have and, with the fixture list it’s impossible to play them. But for me, ‘Lucho’ is a starter.”
Diaz has scored 9 goals in 15 games in all competitions for Liverpool this season and become a key figure for Slot. And he paid tribute to the former Feyenoord coach for quickly filling the void left by former manager Jurgen Klopp.
“Things have gone so well with the new manager, it wasn’t easy for him to come in and fill Jurgen Klopp’s shoes,” Diaz said. “Hopefully, we’ll have something to show for it at the end of the season.
“The most important thing is the three points in this edition of the Champions League so we can keep progressing in the competition.
“We have top-quality players all over the pitch and I really enjoyed playing in that position today. I’m just happy to be on the pitch.
“I need to go and find that ball now because I need to keep it somewhere special at home.”
Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso was coaching a team at Anfield for the first time, having played for Liverpool between 2004 and 2009 — a period in which he helped the club win the Champions League in 2005. He said the defeat against his former team was “painful.”
“The result is painful, the performance is more painful,” Alonso said. “It can happen that you come to Anfield and lose. To lose 4-0 is not nice.
“They are a top, top team and they punished us. It was a pity we couldn’t hold 1-0 for 15 to 20 minutes. They did it against Brighton, they did it against us.
“To be a top, top team, we need to go through those difficult moments — to suffer in moments that are not that nice, especially in the Champions League. That can happen in this competition.”
In addition to topping the Champions League, Liverpool are also leading the Premier League with 25 points from 10 games, two points ahead of second-placed Manchester City.