‘Really, really strong’ – Jürgen Klopp on Luis Diaz’s first start back

Jürgen Klopp praised a ‘really, really strong’ showing from Luis Diaz after he returned to the Liverpool starting line-up on Sunday.

The Colombian was included in the manager’s XI for the first time in more than six months, marking another step forward in his comeback from a long-term knee injury.

Diaz helped the Reds surge into a three-goal lead within the opening 15 minutes against Tottenham Hotspur, netting the second of those strikes with a crisp finish from Cody Gakpo’s pullback.

The No.23 is still working towards maximum fitness but Klopp detailed his delight with having Diaz available again as he previewed Wednesday night’s visit of Fulham.

“What a goal. Great, super,” the boss replied when asked at his pre-match press conference about Diaz’s display in the 4-3 win over Spurs, which totalled more than an hour.

“Already in the game before when he came on it was a really nice watch. We gave him now hopefully enough time that everything can settle.

“He is in training for a while, started really well in training and then how it is after long-term injuries, you can see the power level decreased slightly and then they lack the sharpness here and there – that’s where we just let him be and let him go through this.

“Now we picked him first time for the first line-up and it was top. That he cannot play 90 minutes was clear but for long spells and as long as he was on the pitch he was really, really strong.

“So, very good news for us.”