Liverpool must end their Luis Diaz No.9 experiment now: Arne Slot has attacking options that title rivals Arsenal would kill for - and he needs to start using them properly

As Everton fans revelled in pointing out, Liverpool effectively lost the league at Goodison last April after putting in a performance so poor that then-manager Jurgen Klopp felt compelled to apologise to the fans. However, as the German acknowledged himself, the real damage had been done at Old Trafford.

On March 17, Liverpool were beaten 4-3 at Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. The shock exit shouldn't have affected the title challenge - but it did. Badly.

Klopp admitted that losing a derby that they should have won easily felt like "a catastrophe" to the players and it was clear during the subsequent 2-2 draw with United in the league three weeks later that they still weren't over it.

"We lost more in that [FA Cup] game than the game itself," Klopp later admitted. "It didn't help at all."

The natural fear is that another bitterly frustrating 2-2 draw coming so soon after a Cup loss to a poor team (Plymouth Argyle in this latest instance) could send Liverpool careering out of control once again.

The Reds were certainly rattled at Goodison - even before Abdoulaye Doucoure elected to wind up the away fans - and it was telling that Harvey Elliott admitted afterwards that, from the players' perspective, it was a draw that felt like a defeat.

So, with Wolves up next at Anfield on Sunday, Liverpool would appear to have an ideal fixture to help them immediately put Wednesday behind them ahead of two of their toughest remaining fixtures: Aston Villa and Manchester City away.

No matter whom Slot selects, one would imagine that the Reds will have far too much firepower for a team currently sitting 17th in the standings, just two points above the drop zone.

However, it feels imperative that he restores one of his recognised centre-forwards to the starting line-up as it's become clear that deploying Luis Diaz as a No.9 is no longer working.

Arne Slot's decision to play Diaz through the middle in the Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen in November proved a masterstroke, with the Colombian scoring three times in Liverpool's rousing 4-0 win over Xabi Alonso's side.

However, even Slot admitted he was surprised at just how well it worked out, while he also acknowledged that it was never meant to be a long-term strategy.

Slot simply felt it was the best option at that time, in that particular game, because Diogo Jota was out injured and he also felt that Leverkusen centre-back Jonathan Tah "prefers to play against a target man".

Diaz as the 'false nine' has subsequently worked well against Spurs, West Ham and arguably also Manchester City. However, the former Porto player's dramatic drop in output has become impossible to ignore.

The one frustration with Diaz since he arrived at Anfield has been his end product. He proved himself a real livewire from the moment he signed in January 2022 but there was always the feeling that if the best dribbler at the club could increase the accuracy of his crossing and finishing, he'd be unstoppable.

There were signs at the start of the current campaign that he was on the cusp of doing precisely that, at least in terms of adding goals to his game.

Slot and his coaching staff concentrated a lot of time and effort on getting Diaz to get himself into more dangerous positions in the area during pre-season - and the hard work initially looked set to pay off, with the winger netting five times in Liverpool's first five Premier League games.

However, he's managed just three since (and two of those came in the same game, the 6-3 rout of Tottenham).

Diaz is still well on track to surpass last season's tally of 13 goals in all competitions (he currently has 12) - but he's yet to score or assist in 2025 despite starting the past six league games up front.

Even when returned to his usual role on the left wing against Plymouth on Sunday, Diaz was dreadful, easily one of the worst players on the pitch.

On an afternoon when he was expected to lead by example, Diaz toiled terribly and it was actually a surprise to see him start at Goodison three days later. It also proved a mistake.

Diaz's dribbling posed the Everton defence some problems but he carried zero goal threat (or 0.04 to be precise) and didn't create a single chance.

He failed to offer any kind of reference point in attack because he was completely - and predictably - outmuscled by James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite, which resulted in Diaz resorting to counter-productive attempts to disrupt the two centre-backs by simply jumping into them as they rose to head the ball clear.

Diaz conceded more fouls than any player in the game (six) and with each one he gave away, he released the pressure on Everton and allowed them to expert some of their own on Liverpool with long balls forward.

It was, quite simply, the wrong game for Diaz as the No.9 and had it not been for an injury to Cody Gakpo, it was he who would have been replaced by Darwin Nunez rather than being moved out wide for the final half hour.

Of course, Diaz's struggles in the very particular fixture that was the last derby at Goodison shouldn't rule him out of ever again playing centrally. As he proved against Leverkusen, it can be a very effective ploy. He could even enjoy a far more productive afternoon against Wolves on Sunday but if he does start, it should be out wide because of doubts over the availability of Cody Gakpo, who has proved himself a much more effective option on the wing than Diaz this season.

Slot simply has to give either the fit-again Jota or the ever-willing Nunez some much-needed game time at Anfield because Liverpool are going to need a proper focal point in attack in the massive matches on the horizon. Obviously, there are reasons to distrust his two more orthodox centre-forwards. Jota can't be relied upon to stay fit, while Nunez can't be relied upon to score goals.

Both men, though, are more suited to leading the line, particularly in terms of occupying centre-backs and creating space for Mohamed Salah, while Jota is quite probably the best finisher at Anfield. If the Portuguese is injury-free, he should nearly always start through the middle.

Slot has options, though, and that's the principal point here. He's not under any pressure or obligation to continue with Diaz as a false nine. He has attractive alternatives in attack, the kind that his Arsenal counterpart Mikel Arteta would kill for right now.

For all the frustration that followed the Merseyside derby, Liverpool still managed to move seven points clear of a team that play without a recognised striker. By complete contrast, the leaders have, as it stands, six fit forwards for a potentially decisive set of fixtures. If Slot makes the best use of them, the Reds should still end up winning the title.