Arne Slot discovers SHOCK secret formula that now makes Liverpool INVINCIBLE

Liverpool’s midweek Champions League clash against Bayer Leverkusen was arguably Arne Slot’s biggest challenge yet, and he smashed it.

Despite another slow start, the Reds were able to emerge as 4-0 victors over a side that hasn’t lost away from home in 18 months.

The line-up raised some eyebrows before kick-off, with Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo starting alongside each other.

Diaz would play through the middle and his performance will have given Slot the opposite of a selection headache, there is now a clear front three that will make Liverpool unstoppable.

The Colombian showed just how good he can be through the middle, a position which the Reds are a bit short in, by scoring his first ever Liverpool hat trick.

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Why Luis Diaz's performance vs Bayer Leverkusen can be Liverpool's secret to becoming invincible

Diaz didn’t have an electrifying first half, but no one on the pitch did really. It was a hard-fought tactical battle that didn’t allow many chances for either side. The second half though was a different story.

After receiving an excellent through ball from Curtis Jones, Diaz had the audacity to chip Leverkusen’s ‘keeper Hradecky, breaking the deadlock in the 61st minute.

Just over 20 minutes later he claimed his second goal of the evening, finishing a cross that was sent in by Mo Salah and all but confirming the three points for Liverpool.

The 27-year-old’s first Liverpool hattrick was completed in the 92nd minute when, after a scramble in the penalty area, he was able to neatly poke the ball past Hradecky.

The performance was arguably Diaz’s best since he arrived in Merseyside in 2022 and shows how much he has developed during Slot’s short tenure as head coach.

Explaining his decision to start Diaz as a centre forward, Slot told the press after the match: “I only have four attackers available with injuries to Chiesa and Jota, and Darwin with this fixture list, it’s impossible to play them all.

“Tah is one of the best defenders in Germany and likes to play against a target man, so we played Lucho there.”

The Diaz vs Gakpo narrative is no longer

For the majority of the season it has been thought that Diaz and Gakpo were directly competing with each other for the left-wing spot in the starting XI, with Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez the options through the middle.

Diogo Jota is now out injured and Nunez has struggled to find his feet since Slot arrived at Anfield but now the head coach has discovered an even better solution.

Rather than playing Diaz OR Gakpo, playing Diaz AND Gakpo appears to be the Dutchman’s best option.

If Liverpool can continue to be as ruthless as they were in the second half today, there isn’t a single defence in world football that will be able to stop them.

Slot has discovered the secret to getting Diaz firing in front of goal, playing him through the middle, and he must continue to play the front three of Salah, Gakpo & Diaz to give the Reds their best chance of winning the lot.

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