{"id":462370,"date":"2026-03-07T10:18:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T10:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/462370\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T10:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T10:18:10","slug":"liverpool-look-like-theyve-found-a-diaz-salah-hybrid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/462370\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool look like they’ve found a Diaz & Salah hybrid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liverpool<\/a> avenged their defeat at Molineux in midweek by winning at the same ground against Wolverhampton Wanderers<\/a>, advancing to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It was more of the same from Arne Slot<\/a>‘s side before the break, slow and laborious, but they sprang to life in the second half, Andy Robertson<\/a> the architect as he scored with precision from outside the box before playing an equally incisive cross for Mohamed Salah<\/a> to sweep home, back-to-back goals for the Egyptian.<\/p>\n

\"Liverpool<\/p>\n

Salah has taken a lot of flak for his performances this season; there is no denying that the 33-year-old has fallen well below his high standards. However, there has been a noticeable upswing of late.<\/p>\n

Mohamed Salah’s week at Molineux<\/p>\n

There’s no question that Salah is approaching the autumn of his Liverpool career, but then this is one of the best players in Premier League history, and class is permanent.<\/p>\n

He scored in both of Liverpool’s games at Molineux this week, showcasing a potency that could be the difference-maker over the coming months.<\/p>\n

Latching onto Robertson’s cross, the right-sided forward timed his run to perfection, making a positive effect in a role that allowed him to drift into more central positions than has often been the case this term. In 2025\/26, the veteran has seen his role tweaked, operating closer to the touchline than before.<\/p>\n

Moreover, he has shown this week his combative side, getting stuck in and involved when Liverpool have been pressed back.<\/p>\n

Mohamed Salah’s Stats at Molineux<\/p>\n

Stats<\/p>\n

Prem<\/p>\n

FA Cup<\/p>\n

Minutes<\/p>\n

90′<\/p>\n

69′<\/p>\n

Goals<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

Assists<\/p>\n

0<\/p>\n

0<\/p>\n

Touches<\/p>\n

70<\/p>\n

43<\/p>\n

Shots (on target)<\/p>\n

2 (1)<\/p>\n

1 (1)<\/p>\n

Accurate passes<\/p>\n

31\/43 (72%)<\/p>\n

23\/30 (77%)<\/p>\n

Possession lost<\/p>\n

29x<\/p>\n

15x<\/p>\n

Chances created<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

Crosses<\/p>\n

2\/11<\/p>\n

1\/6<\/p>\n

Dribbles<\/p>\n

0\/4<\/p>\n

0\/0<\/p>\n

Recoveries<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

0<\/p>\n

Tackles<\/p>\n

2\/3<\/p>\n

1\/1<\/p>\n

Duels won<\/p>\n

4\/11<\/p>\n

1\/4<\/p>\n

Salah has lost his skill at carrying the ball forward, though. This accentuates the absence of Luis Diaz<\/a>, who left Liverpool and signed for Bayern Munich in a \u00a365.5m deal last summer.<\/p>\n

Liverpool could do with the Colombian’s qualities this season, and while he’s been a big miss, Slot may actually be developing a star with some of both Salah and Diaz’s standout traits.<\/p>\n

Slot has found a Diaz and Salah hybrid<\/p>\n

Liverpool are the first team into the hat for the FA Cup quarter-finals, and in large part, this was down to a dazzling display belonging to 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha.<\/p>\n

\"Liverpool<\/p>\n

Ngumoha is fast. A blur on the ball, he dribbles with purpose and precision, boasting a maturity that belies his years and inexperience.<\/p>\n

Many fans have clamoured for him to be starting matches after a season largely spent on the sidelines, and Slot now seems to be taking heed, judging the teenager to be ready to rival Cody Gakpo<\/a> on the left wing.<\/p>\n

Having come on and made a big impact in midweek, Ngumoha earned his starting role this time at Molineux, and he didn’t disappoint. Playing 69 minutes, the winger ran the Old Gold ragged, completing three of four dribbles and winning six duels.<\/p>\n

Stats are almost meaningless. Watch him with your eyes and you will see Ngumoha’s brilliance, and in many ways, that echoes the kind of football that Diaz brought to Merseyside during his trophy-laden stint at the club.<\/p>\n

\"Luis<\/p>\n

However, Diaz was often criticised for his end product, only scoring 41 goals and supplying 23 assists across 148 appearances in Red. Ngumoha didn’t actually register a goal involvement on Friday evening, but his gusto and intent spoke of a player who will grow into a real danger in the final third.<\/p>\n

Could we be seeing Liverpool’s future talisman, someone to take the baton from Salah’s hands after so many years? As Virgil van Dijk was keen to stress in his post-match interview, there is a long way still to go, but this kid has the world at his feet and he will only enhance his stock over the business months of the season.<\/p>\n

\"Liverpool<\/p>\n

Liverpool need to build their consistency, and they certainly need to work toward starting matches with more intensity and style, but with a prospect like Ngumoha on the rise and bringing some of the better elements from Salah and Diaz, there might just be cause for optimism ahead of the crucial closing months of the campaign.<\/p>\n

\"Liverpool<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\tSlot sold Liverpool’s new Alonso for \u00a315m, now he’s better than Gravenberch
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Liverpool have been left rueing a number of their decisions in the 2025 summer transfer window. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liverpool avenged their defeat at Molineux in midweek by winning at the same ground against Wolverhampton Wanderers, advancing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462371,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[218,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-462370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-football","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}