‘So poor’ – James Pearce reacts to what he saw from 6/10 Liverpool star in first-half v Nottingham Forest
To Liverpool’s credit, they had started their tie against Nottingham Forest quite competently prior to Chris Wood’s first-half opener – further evidence of the latter’s potential title credentials.
Since that point, however, the Merseysiders were left frustrated by a very well-organised Nuno Espirito Santo side determined to make it a league double of wins over the visitors.
The Reds dominated possession (71%) at the time of writing with eight shots taken to the Tricky Trees’ three.
Liverpool will be hoping to showcase their traditionally significant second-half improvement under Arne Slot if they’re to build a nine-point gap to Arsenal in second.
Luis Diaz struggled to make an impact in first-half
Luis Diaz earned the tweet version of a slap on the wrist from The Athletic’s James Pearce during the first 45 at the City Ground.
The reporter tweeted his frustration at the Colombian international failing to find Cody Gakpo with a goalscoring opportunity.
So poor from Diaz. Had to play Gakpo in
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) January 14, 2025
To the former FC Porto winger’s credit, he’s generally been in phenomenal form this season, registering 15 goal contributions in his previous 26 games (across all competitions).
He’s hardly the only Liverpool star having a tough time of it in Nottinghamshire, with the hosts more than good for their lead.
What do the stats say about Diaz?
Sofascore awarded the 28-year-old a 6.7/10 score for his first-half showing against Forest – the second-best of our current front-three, with Mo Salah (6.4/10) ranking the lowest and Cody Gakpo (6.8/10) leading the way.
Diaz racked up an xG total of 0.03 from one off-target shot and has yet to complete a single dribble (from two attempted), amongst a host of disappointing stats:
→ 33 touches
→ 92% pass success rate (24/26)
→ 1 key pass
→ 1/3 ground duels won
With chances sure to be limited at the City Ground, we could yet see Diogo Jota being called upon to make the difference.
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The post ‘So poor’ – James Pearce reacts to what he saw from 6/10 Liverpool star in first-half v Nottingham Forest appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.