Luis Diaz stunning strike earns Liverpool result against Crystal Palace
The Colombian striker had to bail out fellow South American Darwin Nunez, after the Uruguayan was sent off on his Anfield debut.
Luis Diaz was Liverpool's hero on Monday night, after his absolutely sublime goal earned Jurgen Klopp's side a draw against Crystal Palace.
Diaz hit the ground running in the second half of last season, after moving from Porto at the beginning of the year, scoring four goals in 13 Premier League games.
His impressive start to life in England had already left one pundit predicting that he could end up winning the Player of the Year award at the end of this campaign.
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And on Monday night he proved why that sentiment might not end up sounding too crazy come next May, with a much needed wonder goal.
Liverpool found themselves a goal and a man down against Palace, thanks to Wilfried Zaha's lovely finish in the first half and Darwin Nunez's moment of madness in the second.
With the Reds needing something to get anything out of the game, Diaz was passed the ball on the left, slalomed through several Palace defenders as he cut inside, and then let fly from the edge of the area to score a quite wonderous goal.
It was a much needed goal for Jurgen Klopp's side, after they went behind despite their dominance in the first 45 minutes, unable to convert from 17 shots.
The Champions League and Premier League runners up had already slipped up on the opening weekend of the season when they drew with Fulham.
After Manchester City's back-to-back wins to open their latest campaign, the last thing their closest rivals needed was a loss in their first home game.
Zaha's goal and Nunez's sending off, on his first league start for his new club, certainly made that a possibility before Diaz's strike.
The two draws mean that Klopp's side are already four points behind their rivals in the title race and they next face Manchester United.
Erik ten Hag's side may have been utter rubbish so far this season, and that's being unfair to rubbish, but a win for them at Old Trafford next week would actually take them above their rivals.
Liverpool will be without Nunez after his sending off, and he'll miss at least three games.
Topics: Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Premier League, Luis Diaz
Ryan Sidle