Jurgen Klopp praised new signing Luis Diaz after the Colombian impressed on his Premier League debut in Liverpool's 2-0 win over Leicester City on Thursday, with the Reds coach saying the dazzling winger already looks at home in Merseyside.
Diaz joined Liverpool on last week's January deadline day from Portuguese side Porto, and made his debut off the bench in the weekend's FA Cup win over Cardiff City. Klopp was sufficiently impressed to give Diaz a start against Leicester.
"When we saw him playing for Porto, we thought, ‘Yes, that's exactly what we want him to do as well’," Klopp said. "On top of that, he seems to be a really smart footballer and has obviously watched Liverpool a lot.
"We don't overload new players with information in the first week and tell them everything we want them to do. We have a look, and when we looked at him in training he already looked like a Liverpool player."
A goal in each half from Diogo Jota was enough for Liverpool to get the better of Leicester with the victory helping Klopp's side close the gap behind leaders Manchester City to nine points.
"I'm not sure we are in a position to get them [City] on their toes, to be honest. But it's not important at the moment. I don't think we have much chance to catch them.
"Would that mean we will not try to have the best possible season? First and foremost, we have to win our football games and this football club is huge.
"It was important for us tonight [Thursday] to win, because there's not only Man City to catch, there's a lot of teams behind us who want to get closer."
Leicester, who finished fifth in the past two Premier League seasons, continued to disappoint this term, with the defeat leaving them 12th in the standings. Coach Brendan Rodgers, however, believed his side had improved markedly from their FA Cup humbling at the hands of second-tier Nottingham Forest at the weekend.
"We've restored the pride in our performance. The weekend was nowhere near the level we need to be, so it was a tough couple of days.
"Then coming here against a top opponent was going to be a real challenge. But we showed that resilience is in this team."
Reuters
'He already looks like a Liverpool player' — Klopp praises debutant Diaz
Image: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Jurgen Klopp praised new signing Luis Diaz after the Colombian impressed on his Premier League debut in Liverpool's 2-0 win over Leicester City on Thursday, with the Reds coach saying the dazzling winger already looks at home in Merseyside.
Diaz joined Liverpool on last week's January deadline day from Portuguese side Porto, and made his debut off the bench in the weekend's FA Cup win over Cardiff City. Klopp was sufficiently impressed to give Diaz a start against Leicester.
"When we saw him playing for Porto, we thought, ‘Yes, that's exactly what we want him to do as well’," Klopp said. "On top of that, he seems to be a really smart footballer and has obviously watched Liverpool a lot.
"We don't overload new players with information in the first week and tell them everything we want them to do. We have a look, and when we looked at him in training he already looked like a Liverpool player."
A goal in each half from Diogo Jota was enough for Liverpool to get the better of Leicester with the victory helping Klopp's side close the gap behind leaders Manchester City to nine points.
"I'm not sure we are in a position to get them [City] on their toes, to be honest. But it's not important at the moment. I don't think we have much chance to catch them.
"Would that mean we will not try to have the best possible season? First and foremost, we have to win our football games and this football club is huge.
"It was important for us tonight [Thursday] to win, because there's not only Man City to catch, there's a lot of teams behind us who want to get closer."
Leicester, who finished fifth in the past two Premier League seasons, continued to disappoint this term, with the defeat leaving them 12th in the standings. Coach Brendan Rodgers, however, believed his side had improved markedly from their FA Cup humbling at the hands of second-tier Nottingham Forest at the weekend.
"We've restored the pride in our performance. The weekend was nowhere near the level we need to be, so it was a tough couple of days.
"Then coming here against a top opponent was going to be a real challenge. But we showed that resilience is in this team."
Reuters
READ MORE
Mngqithi: Sundowns let Liverpool signing Diaz and Real star Vinícius slip away
Klopp hails battle-scarred Diaz, 'fearless' Elliott after Cup win over Cardiff
Reds Mane and Salah face off in Afcon final
Liverpool Covid-19 outbreak included lots of false positives, says coach Klopp
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most read
Latest Videos