5 talking points from Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Luton

Luis Diaz grabbed the headlines for all the right reasons as the Reds fought back to claim a 1-1 draw on Sunday evening against recently promoted Luton Town.

The Reds came into this game at Kenilworth Road as overwhelming favourites, but spurned several excellent chances, especially in the first half to see off the Rob Edwards' side.

Darwin Núñez was the biggest culprit, missing a sitter from around three yards out in the second half.

Eventually, the Reds were punished for their profligacy by an excellent counter-attacking goal from Tahith Chong with ten minutes to go.

However, just when it looked like all hope was lost, subsitute Luis Diaz equalised in the fifth minute of stoppage time to rescue the point for the Reds.

Here are five talking points from the game.

1) Who else?

It was written in the stars, wasn't it?

Thrown on in the 84th minute in the midst of the ongoing situation over his kidnapped father, and with the situation looking desperate for his team, the script was already written.

Who else was going to force a 95th-minute equaliser out of pure willpower?

It was a touching end to a rollercoaster of a game.

2) Darwin in a nutshell

Fresh off the back of his winning goal against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup, Darwin Núñez was given a start against Luton - and he looked to repay the faith almost straight away.

In the first half alone, the Uruguayan had six chances, drawing two particularly good saves from Thomas Kaminski, as well as hitting the crossbar.

However, as Luton started to grow into the game, Salah's knocked-down header presented Darwin with a golden opportunity to give the visitors the lead, only to sky it over the bar from just a couple of yards out.

Despite having looked so confident and much more at home in a red shirt this season, moments like these serve as reminders that there's still a lot of progress that needs to be made.

3) No width on the left

With Luis Diaz only on the bench, again Diogo Jota was chosen to deputise on the left-hand side.

The Portuguese, as one of the Reds' more potent finishers, offers a completely different threat from that position.

Rather than taking on his man on the outside, Jota often looks to sneak into the space between full-back and centre-back as he almost did to perfect effect in the first half, only to see his low shot flicked around the post by the keeper.

The other benefit of having Jota play here is that it allows an interchange with Núñez should he wish to attack from that left-hand channel himself.

However, against Luton, with no natural left-footer backing him up, Jota's inclusion meant that the Reds had no threat on the overlap and it became more congested down that flank.

It came as no surprise when Klopp removed both players on that side of the pitch after 65 minutes.

4) Tsimikas left out from the start

Seemingly having put his injury problems behind him, Joe Gomez has been in good form this season and was rewarded with a start at left-back on Sunday.

Despite picking up a yellow card, Gomez was mostly solid, but didn't offer anything going forward. So, what does his inclusion say about Kostas Tsimikas?

The "Greek Scouser" has been a popular figure among fans since moving from Olympiakos in 2020. However, his path to the team has always been blocked by the incredibly consistent Andy Robertson. Now, with the Scotsman out potentially until the New Year, this should be Tsimikas' chance to shine.

So far, there are big question marks over whether he's up to the task.

5) A unique atmosphere

The visit to Kenilworth Road is one many Liverpool fans have been looking forward to since Luton's promotion.

This minuscule ground creates one of the most unique atmospheres in English football - and Sunday was no exception.

With renditions of God Save The King more vociferous because of their opposition, fans winding up Trent Alexander-Arnold along the touchline, and about 15 minutes' worth of fireworks at the start of the second half, few in the Liverpool squad will have experienced anything like it!