Gary Neville has described Luis Diaz’s instant impact at Liverpool “utterly depressing” and has compared Jurgen Klopp with the legendary managers in the club’s history.
The ex-Manchester United defender was speaking after watching his former side lose 4-0 to the Reds at Anfield . Goals from Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Diaz helped Liverpool briefly climb to the top of the Premier League and take the latest step in their quest for an unlikely quadruple this season.
Meanwhile for United, who have since confirmed the appointment of Erik ten Hag, it was the latest dent to their hopes of securing a Champions League place. Asked for his thoughts after the final whistle, Neville couldn’t hide his feelings when discussing the recent arrival of Luis Diaz on Merseyside.
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“Honestly, it’s utterly depressing,” he told the Gary Neville Podcast . “From the moment I saw him play in the Carabao Cup final, which was the first time I’d seen the lad live - particularly when I look at him, he’s playing off the left-hand side and I look at it from a right-back’s perspective.
“So, I have a pretty good eye about what I wouldn’t have liked and what I would like – I thought ‘oh my God, what a player he is, His tenacity, his skill, his pace, his fight, his spirit, everything. He’s cost not a lot again. They have found another one.”
With Diaz added to the forward options at Jurgen Klopp’s disposal, Neville claimed that the Reds now have five “world-class” forwards within their ranks, alongside Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota, Mane and Salah. And the Sky Sports pundit insisted that the strength of Liverpool’s squad shows that the team deserved to be mentioned among the great sides in the club’s history.
“It’s what great clubs do, they have a conveyor belt,” Neville continued. “It’s what Sir Alex did for many, many years, he got the next one ready so that no one was holding the club to ransom. Great clubs don’t just build for three years.
“What Klopp ’s doing here, it’s a (Bill) Shankly, it’s a (Bob) Paisley, it’s a (Joe) Fagan. It’s six or seven years of excellence we’re talking about here. He does need to win two or three trophies to cement that but I think he will this season.”
Having already lifted the Carabao Cup this season, Liverpool remain a point behind Manchester City in the league, have reached the FA Cup final, and progressed to the Champions League semi-finals. Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher was sitting alongside Neville and the ex-Red says the side could write their names in history this season.
“This is one of the greatest Liverpool teams of all time, there’s no doubt about that,” Carragher said. “Jurgen Klopp’s actual win ratio is higher than any other manager in the club’s history, so this isn’t just a special team right now, in Liverpool’s history this team is right up there. And if it did something really, really special this season it could actually go to the top.”
