17 Feb 2026 09:26:55
Hey Ed01 how on earth can you think Gakpo was better than Diaz last season? I expected better from you mate.
{Ed001's Note - because he was. This rewriting of history to make out Diaz was something special is ridiculous and embarrassing. He was a massive downgrade on Mane.}
17 Feb 2026 09:52:13
Personally, I thought the fierce comp. btw both players for the left wing spot brought the best out of both of them, which only enhanced us as a team. We now see how a lack of healthy comp. on that side has taken the toll on Cody and the whole team. As for who was better, Gakpo had better production stats-wise (which is his strength, really), but I think since Diaz wanted to go and let everyone know it for a couple of years, we let him go and stuck with the one, Gakpo, who wanted to stay.
Just my opinion. And, I concur. Diaz ain't Sadio. Neither is Gakpo. He is levels above both of them.
17 Feb 2026 10:28:42
Diaz massively lacked end product in the Premier League for us. He was consistently outscored by Gakpo, who also got more assists in general. What we do miss is Diaz's ball-carrying ability and pressing from the front. In terms of goals, though, he'd be performing no better than Gakpo this season if he'd stayed. Going to Bayern Munich and looking good alongside Harry Kane (who is a world-class striker who occupies 2 or 3 defenders and makes everyone around him look better) against generally quite weak opposition is warping people's memories.
Also, Diaz wanted to go. It was not a case of us choosing Gakpo over him; Diaz spent months, if not years, manufacturing an exit, using his father as a public mouthpiece.
17 Feb 2026 10:41:35
I have to say, I haven't missed Diaz. I agree with @MK - most of the time his end delivery (or lack of it) was way below PL standard.
17 Feb 2026 10:55:35
Imagine how many defenders Kane occupied when he could actually run faster than 5mph. No wonder Jarell is pulling up trees over there.
17 Feb 2026 11:12:47
Ed001, Gakpo and Diaz were both a massive downgrade on Mane. Mane was like a mix of both of them on the pitch at the same time: Gakpo's end product and Diaz's work rate. I do feel Diaz's work rate up there is definitely missed, and even though his end product was hit and miss, that endeavour did help with creativity.
17 Feb 2026 11:59:19
I agree with MK. I think we miss Diaz's pace, pressing, and ability to take a player on, but his output was below what it should be. Gakpo has also had a decent output. The problem is he is one-dimensional in his playing style, but he is always good for 15-20 goals a season, which for a wide forward is a decent return.
17 Feb 2026 12:07:04
Diaz's end product, whether final pass or goal, was poor. BL is slower than the PL, so Diaz's output is good, coupled with it being a poorer league in quality versus the PL. Mane was a quality player we had not had in years, in my opinion.
17 Feb 2026 12:14:42
I know Gakpo seems to be the new Jones-like whipping boy here, but Ed1 is right again. I liked Diaz, but he definitely was not the Messiah, and Gakpo was very good last year.
17 Feb 2026 13:11:16
Last season, Diaz scored more league goals than Gakpo; the season before that, they scored the same number of league goals. Over the same time period, Diaz had more assists than Gakpo.
I'm not sure where this fantasy that Gakpo was more productive in the league than Diaz is coming from, but it clearly isn't true. Yes, Diaz was a downgrade on Mane, but Gakpo is a downgrade on Diaz.
{Ed025's Note - i would agree with that Thunderbird..
17 Feb 2026 13:31:41
But we are talking about the LW position, Thunderbird. Last season, Diaz played through the middle most of the time, from Leverkusen onwards. The season before, Klopp was experimenting with Gakpo in midfield. I think both players have their attributes, and I loved Diaz's willingness to defend.
Gakpo is not as intense as Diaz, but he knows where the goal is and is a much more natural goal scorer. He anticipates where the ball will drop, like good strikers do. Not as flashy as Diaz, perhaps, but if you look back at some of his goals and assists, he's a very good player, and his numbers speak for themselves.
17 Feb 2026 14:00:49
Diaz outscored Gakpo 13 to 10 in the Premier League, with Gakpo edging it 18 to 17 in all comps. Superb seasons from both players for me. Even this season, Gakpo, in a poor season, probably won't be far off 15 in all comps.
17 Feb 2026 14:04:32
Play both of them together and they still wouldn't be a Mane replacement.
17 Feb 2026 14:08:23
Personal opinion, but I'd have Gakpo and Diaz every day of the week over Darwin at LW or CF in their time here.
17 Feb 2026 14:09:49
Ed1 and MK, I agree fully. I was delighted to see the back of Diaz, and at the time most people weren't bothered he left. Fast forward to this season, and he was some sort of incredible player? Come off it. He had the odd moment of quality, and that's about as far as it goes.
17 Feb 2026 14:15:18
Diaz, Jota and Nunez all had speed, played very direct. We should've replaced Diaz. Massive mistake. Gakpo was better when he had competition for LW. (But I agree both are a monstrous downgrade on Sadio Mane.)
17 Feb 2026 14:42:53
Gakpo scored and assisted more overall than Diaz last year, and was first choice LW for that reason. Don't quote league-only stats just to suit a narrative. Diaz played through the middle because Slot didn't like our other options there, so it stands to reason had we a striker last year Slot like Diaz wouldn't have even been a starter. I have no problem with Gakpo whatsoever, and do not understand why so many on here do.
Diaz was good, but he wanted out. Gakpo wants to stay. There's another thread live on this site right now going on about how important that is, but apparently not as soon as someone takes up the mantle of whipping boy. No bother, it'll revert back to Jones, or Szob, or Macca, or whoever in a few weeks' time.
17 Feb 2026 14:45:02
Mks, my sentiments exactly. Just to add, Diaz is playing in the best team in a weaker league, and pulling up trees, so I wouldn't compare him to Gakpo right now, who, btw, this same Bayern team were ready to pay big dough for until they essentially "settled" for Diaz. Just a reminder.
17 Feb 2026 15:02:42
Thunderbird, in that last season Diaz played as a striker in most of his appearances, so it's a moot point when comparing them as wingers. You've compared with far too basic metrics as well, because you've not factored in position played or minutes played within statements. I ran the numbers due to your opinion, though, because I don't like being dismissive unless I can back myself up factually, and those numbers were incredibly close. As per Transfermarkt, for Liverpool as a Left Winger, Luis Diaz got 23 goals and 16 assists in 83 appearances (5476 minutes). A goal every 238 minutes, an assist every 342 minutes. As per Transfermarkt, for Liverpool as a Left Winger, Cody Gakpo got 15 goals and 11 assists in 58 appearances (3649 minutes). A goal every 243 minutes, an assist every 331 minutes. Gakpo only marginally shades it when considering both goal and assist output from the left wing, and it really surprises me just how close it is, to be fair.
It always felt like Gakpo was a more reliable source for a goal coming off the left, but Diaz actually had the better minutes-per-goal ratio. Ultimately, it seems like the facts would suggest we're both wrong and that their outputs were effectively the same, more or less, if you take the measurement across their entire spells at the club. If you expand to all competitions, Gakpo got 28 goals in 84 games as a Left Winger, and Luis Diaz got 31 goals in 125 games as a Left Winger. So clearly Gakpo was a far more consistent goalscorer in all competitions from the Left Wing. I've evidently made the incorrect assumption that this translated into the Premier League games as well, for which I apologise. Although I reject the notion it is a fantasy. My fantasies strictly involve Sydney Sweeney and Ana de Armas.
17 Feb 2026 15:22:33
Diaz was always fit, always worked hard, pressed like a madman, covered his left back, and was ready to fight with everything he had. He didn't disappear in difficult games, like others. That game at Goodison in Klopp's final season was a great example of what Diaz is all about.
He was the only player in red fighting that day. His problem was that he was not Sadio Mane. Nobody is. Had he been 26 rather than 28, I think he would have got another deal and stayed with us.
17 Feb 2026 15:37:17
Let's be fair, Diaz was an incredible player, full of fight. He could carry the ball the length of the pitch while getting kicked all game. He was also deceptively good in the air, and was the best dribbler we had. He lacked end product, yes, but he had elite qualities as an attacking player.
He was no Mane, but Mane is one of the most complete wide attackers the Premier League has ever seen. That being said, in terms of pure goal threat, Gakpo is probably the superior and more efficient player.
17 Feb 2026 16:14:31
Diaz, last season, Transfermarkt says he played: Left wing 33 times Right wing 2 times Centre forward 15 times I also don't like the fact he wanted out of Liverpool to get more money. He could have at least said he was moving to Germany to grow the sport, like others did for Saudi.
17 Feb 2026 16:25:34
"More efficient player". This is my point, PB. Whatever one may think of Gakpo as a player, his ability is his biggest strength. I loved Diaz as a player as well for the qualities he had, and I think both players brought the best out of each other.
However, one wanted to go at all costs, so we let Diaz go and kept Gakpo, who was, to your point, more efficient.
17 Feb 2026 16:40:29
I have no problem with the fact that Gakpo is better in the League Cup than Diaz. 9 goals for Gakpo versus 2 for Diaz prove that. I just think it's important to acknowledge that this reflects Gakpo's level.
If Gakpo is starting, week in, week out, you are probably going to finish 4th or 5th. If Diaz is starting, week in, week out, you are probably going to challenge for a league title.
17 Feb 2026 17:32:23
How'd you work that one out, Thunderbird. Diaz was all flair, with limited end product. He could barely finish a sentence.
17 Feb 2026 18:22:50
Gakpo looked better as the other option. People got frustrated with Diaz and overrated Gakpo. He was only ever a decent squad player who did well in a good squad. Diaz offered more.
17 Feb 2026 18:44:51
For the reasons I said above, Frode, Diaz had more goals and assists in the Premier League in the last 2 seasons than Gakpo did.
17 Feb 2026 18:47:54
I disagree. Gakpo is not even close to Diaz as a player. What does Gakpo even try to do? Diaz's end product was not small because he tried things Cody could only dream of. He went past players on both sides, and through them too. I can tell you exactly what Cody is going to do before he does it. I could do that with Diaz. He had me off my seat much more than anybody but Mo last year. He occupied two to three defenders every time he got the ball. Now the RB shows Cody inside, puts pressure on him, and waits for either another defender to step in and make him lose possession.
Then nine times out of ten his shot is weak. Not many defenders found Diaz easy to defend? They did not have a clue. He took space that others would not dream of. To imply he was not good by comparing him to Mane is just not fair. I know Edd001 hates the way he treated the club and his dad too, but it is not rewriting history; we have missed him massively this season. It is nothing to do with competition for places either. Gakpo is just not good enough. When I found out he is on 250 pounds a week I was astounded. The quicker he is gone the better imo.
17 Feb 2026 19:34:16
Agree with Salah. Diaz wanted out, and his end product wasn't amazing. It's funny how fans want a player to go, then hail them as amazing when they're gone.
17 Feb 2026 23:52:54
Sydney Sweeney and Ana de Armas? Oh, MK, seems like we are sharing the same fantasies.
18 Feb 2026 00:24:55
Diaz - flashes of brilliance, purple patches. Gakpo - consistent, predictable. That's how I saw it between those 2.
18 Feb 2026 01:36:13
Gakpo is too predictable. A good player, but I'm sure we can get better as first choice.
18 Feb 2026 02:50:15
Gakpo was good last season, but fell off a cliff this season. He also rightfully won the LW slot over Diaz last season and was way more consistent than Diaz. Diaz had better numbers because he played most games as a CF last season, and only then because both Nunez and Jota were out injured, iirc. It's hard to judge our players on this season, imo, because they are all playing poorly, bar Szob. I've always maintained that if the whole squad is playing poorly, then the blame lies with the coaches, and that is what I still think is happening.
I also think that Gakpo has been playing better recently too, when we have reverted to a faster pace of play, similar to how Salah and the team look better as well. imo, Gakpo has been unfairly used as a scapegoat of sorts by fans, and we are all waiting for him to make one mistake or do one cut in before we jump on his back. I don't think he is as bad as we are making him out to be.
18 Feb 2026 05:45:40
Luis Diaz did not play the majority of games as striker in his last season at the club
I like both players for their own reasons and think they benefitted from having each other in the squad. Relatively speaking, you could rely on one of them to turn up.
Now it just seems like Gakpo can play like gestapo and he'll get a start the next game
With regards to Diaz, I think we miss his tenacity, competitiveness and flair. We don't have anyone in the current squad who plays like him. And given all the talk about how slow and boring we are, a little drop of Diaz in there would spice things up a bit.
Plus he's at a good age and stage of his career to help a team chasing titles
18 Feb 2026 06:43:48
Diaz definitely did not start ahead of Darwin last season because of injury. Nunez missed one league game through illness or injury. And he definitely did not play most games at CF. Fifteen of fifty games is not most.
18 Feb 2026 08:54:32
Is this the same Diaz that everybody slagged off for wanting to leave the club for two years or so? Didn't everybody think he wanted to go to Barcelona and thought we'd be better off without him?
18 Feb 2026 10:05:20
JK23, I don't know where you got 15 out of 50 given we only play 38 league games! Diaz started 28 league games last season. 14 of them were at CF, 13 were at LW, and 1 was at LM. Again, stats as per Transfermarkt. Maybe my choice of wording ("most") was misleading, but the reality is that when he started in the Premier League last season, factually speaking, 50% of the time he started as the CF. Hence, I don't like the simplistic statement that Diaz scored more league goals last year, and therefore has a better output than Gakpo as a LW. Gakpo did not start a single league game at CF last season, so it's just not a fair comparison.
Diaz was a far more effective CF than LW, though, in my opinion, and I wanted him to stay and play as the CF longer term. My thought process was perfectly encapsulated by Diaz's performances last year in the Champions League when it really mattered. Diaz started 6 CL games on the LW and got 0 goals and 0 assists. He started 1 game at CF vs Leverkusen and he scored 3 goals in that one game. I liked Diaz, and I wish he'd chosen to stay, but I still don't think he is a better LW than Gakpo. I do concede that their output is significantly closer than I initially thought, though.
18 Feb 2026 10:18:13
"Most" isn't misleading, it's just wrong. It just seemed like you were making a strong point based on Diaz mostly playing at CF. Sorry, MK, it's just not what happened. But, all good, it's not that deep.
18 Feb 2026 10:29:50
Mk, 15 out of 50 games in total across the 4 comps. Diaz played 36 league games last season. Not sure why we would only count the games he starts? As far as the comparison of Diaz and Gakpo, I wasn't debating that, mate. I like both players.
I'd have been more than happy to see us keep Diaz as well as Gakpo. Also the Lm start was against West Ham at home, where we def played 433. Not sure why Transfermarkt have him as Lm, because Salah has def never played Rm.
18 Feb 2026 12:06:44
JK23, I don't trust any of the major stat sites when they list the position played for a substitute appearance, because I've seen them all get it wrong so many times. When players come on as a substitute, it's usually when formation and tactical changes are being made left, right and centre. Some substitutes even end up playing 2 or 3 different positions in a 20-minute cameo. It's just quite unreliable, so when I'm looking at smaller data sets, such as an isolated season in one competition, I tend to remove those possible anomalies. Whereas if I'm looking at it across multiple seasons, it's not worth the hassle! We were talking about the output in the Premier League, so the games outside of that competition weren't relevant to the topic of discussion, in my opinion, but that makes sense how you ended up with 50 games played now! I also like both players.
I just didn't like Diaz as a winger. I think you could count on both hands the number of times he put in a good cross, whereas Gakpo actually can cross it, he just has shocking decision making and always opts to shoot. Both are/were massive downgrades on Mane, unfortunately. I hope we sign Mateus Mane and Yan Diomande to inject some proper pace and directness into the attack.
18 Feb 2026 13:46:30
Do you really think that, last season, a Liverpool striker got more chances than a winger? Most of the games I watched, we created almost nothing for the striker.
18 Feb 2026 14:51:53
Mks, Mateus Mane from Wolves? Are you sure?
18 Feb 2026 15:11:38
I really like him, Oli. I'm not yet sure where he'll end up settling in terms of his best position, but he can play AM, CM, CF, LW, and RW. A really exciting talent, and exactly the sort of direct and powerful ball carrier that we lack since losing Diaz and Jota. Sometimes you want a player who just runs straight at the heart of the opposition.
Gakpo and Salah typically love hugging the touchline and then cutting inside when they get to the edge of the box. Diaz and Jota would normally just run diagonally straight at goal, even if they had to bundle through a challenge and it looked a bit messy. It commits players and creates pockets of space for others. Mateus Mane has that same quality.
19 Feb 2026 00:54:45
I would have loved us to keep Diaz this season had he been willing to stay. I think the chaos he brought, opposing defenders not knowing where he was going or if he would have a worldie in him, is exactly what gave Mo more freedom on the right to do his thing.
When the opposition are wary of two players on the wings, they leave more space, and I think with him, Ekitike and Mo up front, opposing defenses would have had nightmares rather than Gakpo's more predictable style.
19 Feb 2026 06:59:25
@Grinch, I thought Darwin was the one that caused chaos?