LUTON: Luis Diaz saved Liverpool from a shock defeat at Luton in a 1-1 draw on Sunday 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 Premier League.
His mother was rescued within hours of her capture on October 28, but the search goes on for his father Luis Manuel Diaz.
The 26-year-old revealed a t-shirt saying “freedom for Dad” after scoring and again at full-time.
“It’s a wonderful moment but it doesn’t change the situation,” said Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. “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.”
Diaz’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 that will haunt the Uruguayan.
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 will soon be released after the head of the ELN guerilla group that seized the couple acknowledged 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.
The sides came into the match in very different form as Villa’s six-game unbeaten league run had taken Unai Emery’s men to fifth in the table.
However, Villa made a terrible start when Aina found the bottom corner from outside the box after five minutes and the visitors never recovered.
Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez picked up the prize for the world’s best goalkeeper at the Ballon d’Or ceremony earlier this week for his heroics in helping Argentina to World Cup glory last year.
Yet it was an error from Martinez that gifted Forest their second goal as he got a hand to Mangala’s strike, but did not do enough to divert the ball to safety as it looped back into his goal.
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,” said Cooper.
Forest climb to 12th in the table, eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Diaz saves Liverpool from Luton shock on return after parents’ kidnap
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Diaz saves Liverpool from Luton shock on return after parents’ kidnap
- Diaz’s soaring leap and header five minutes into stoppage time denied the Hatters their first ever home win in the Premier League
Iradie set to become the first Belgium Saudi Cup night runner
- Gaelle Gernay’s 5-year-old will run in Friday’s $500,000 Saudi International Handicap presented by LUCID.
RIYADH: Trainer Gaelle Gernay will represent Belgium on the big stage this Friday and her runner, Iradie, could be a little under the radar in the $500,000 Saudi International Handicap presented by LUCID.
The 5-year-old mare by Sommerabend has spent most of her career in France, winning twice last summer over 1,800 meters and 2,000 meters, so the 2,100 meters at King Abdulaziz Racecourse should suit. And she will be the first Belgium representative in the race.
Iradie changed hands at the Arqana sales in France in mid-November, when bought by bloodstock agents Jerry McGrath and Toby Jones for $27,400. Iradie was last seen finishing third at Mons on Dec. 4.
“We’re excited, especially as we’re just a small stable in Belgium, so it’s quite a big story for us to go with a horse to Saudi Arabia on the weekend of The Saudi Cup,” Gernay said.
“Last year her owner Mr. Jones called me and said he’d like to buy a horse for the race and that’s how it started.
“He said he was still looking in September and then he found her at the sale. She ran in Belgium once to qualify, she ran quite well over a distance that was way too short for her over 1,500 meters. She was beaten only (by) a nose and ran a great race. We started to think about the race then.”
Gernay had a successful career in the saddle, riding in lady riders’ competitions, but her life in the west of the country is unusual compared with her competitors.
“I only have five in training for the moment, I used to do a lot of pre-training but it’s not an easy thing to do in Belgium and I have another job to combine with the horses,” she explained.
“My boyfriend William takes care of the horses at home and I actually work with police horses, the Royal Cavalry. But I’ve got good hours so I can also train in the mornings.”
While Christophe Soumillon remains Belgian racing’s greatest ambassador, with the sport itself staged only at a handful of tracks, Gernay is excited to see what Iradie can do.
“We’ve not had her that long, but she’s already changed a lot,” she said. “She did her last work last week, and we were very, very happy with her. Hopefully everything goes well from now on.”
