Luis Diaz on Sunday saved Liverpool from a shock defeat at Luton Town in a 1-1 draw on his first appearance since his parents were kidnapped in his native Colombia.
The winger was introduced as a substitute moments after Tahith Chong had given Luton a stunning lead 10 minutes from time.
Diaz’s soaring leap and header five minutes into stoppage time denied the Hatters their first ever home win in the English Premier League.
Photo: Reuters
His mother was rescued within hours of her capture on Oct. 28, but the search goes on for his father Luis Manuel Diaz.
The 26-year-old revealed a T-shirt reading “freedom for dad” after scoring and again at full-time.
“It’s a wonderful moment, but it doesn’t change the situation,” Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said. “The most important thing is his father is released.”
“It is wonderful he wanted to be here. For us a super important goal and for him very important and emotional, but that’s it,” Klopp added.
LuisDiaz’s remarkable show of strength glossed over a poor performance and result for the Reds.
Liverpool spent more on each of their starting midfield trio this summer than Luton have in the transfer market since the advent of the Premier League in 1992.
Yet, Rob Edwards’ men were seconds away from one of the biggest shocks in Premier League history.
Darwin Nunez struck the crossbar early on for the visitors, but it was a spectacular miss with the score still level at 0-0.
Mohamed Salah should also have scored with a free header from close range 20 minutes from time, but when the Egyptian’s effort fell to Nunez, he somehow blazed over with the goal gaping.
Instead it was Chong who opened the scoring in controversial fashion.
Liverpool were screaming for a penalty for handball against Ross Barkley at a corner as Luton broke upfield and Issa Kabore crossed for the former Manchester United winger to slot home.
Diaz was then summoned from the bench and in a fairytale ending grabbed the equalizer when he met Harvey Elliott’s cross to the back post.
There is hope that Diaz’s father could soon be released after the head of the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group that seized the couple said that the organization had made a “mistake.”
Liverpool missed the chance to go second in the table, but edge up to third, above Arsenal on goal difference. A point takes Luton out of the relegation zone.
Earlier, Nottingham Forest stunned Aston Villa with their first Premier League win in seven games as Ola Aina and Orel Mangala struck in a deserved 2-0 win.
A much-needed victory for Forest eases speculation that Steve Cooper was at risk of becoming the first Premier League manager of the season to be sacked.
“I’ve got a lot of gratitude for the players for sticking to the plan and committing to it,” Cooper said.
Forest climb to 12th in the table, eight points clear of the relegation zone.
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