Jurgen Klopp set a new Premier League record with one Liverpool substitution against Luton Town on Sunday afternoon.
Liverpool were not at their best against Luton Town - that much is certain. They weren't all that bad defensively and kept the ball well enough but going forward, things just wouldn't click.
And so when the Hatters took a late lead, it did feel a little unlikely that the Reds would hit back to avoid defeat. Luis Diaz would pop up to save the day, however, finishing a fantastic Harvey Elliott delivery with a towering header.
It was a goal with a lot of emotion behind it, of course. The Colombian has been enduring an unfathomable time of late with his father held hostage back in his homeland. Somehow, Diaz found it within himself to not just play but provide a decisive moment.
Diaz was only given seven minutes plus stoppage time in the game - unsurprising, given his lack of recent football. In scoring for Liverpool as a substitute, though, he helped Jurgen Klopp set a new record in the game.
This was, per Opta's Michael Reid, the 11th time that a player thrown on by the German has provided a decisive goal in stoppage time. That's eight a strike that equalised or put the Reds ahead in a fixture. No other manage has done that more often in Premier League history.
Luis Díaz's goal was the 11th time Jürgen Klopp brought on a substitute who went on to either equalise or put Liverpool one goal ahead in the 90th minute or later in the Premier League - the most of any manager in the competition's history. #LFC #LUTLIV
— Michael Reid (@michael_reid11) November 5, 2023
It's quite the stat, given Klopp doesn't always have the greatest reputation for his subs. The boss certainly knows how to find the right player for a late goal, though - better than anyone else to have managed in the Premier League, it seems.
Of course, Liverpool would much have preferred to not need a late, decisive goal against Luton. This was a fixture they should have taken three points from and it still feels like two dropped.
But Klopp, Elliott and Diaz all combined to at least give the Reds something from the fixture - and that deserves applause.
