Liverpool manager Arne Slot hailed Luis Diaz after the Colombian scored a hat-trick as the Reds trounced Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 in the Champions League.
Diaz, playing in an unorthodox central role, scored three goals in 30 minutes as Liverpool recorded their fourth successive Champions League win.
The forward is only the second Colombian to score a hat-trick in Europe's premier competition after Faustino Asprilla for Newcastle United vs Barcelona in 1997.
Slot said: "Not only the people in Colombia like and love Lucho, the fans of Liverpool love him a lot as well. I heard many times the fans singing his song. And the manager likes him a lot as well – I don't love him but I like him a lot.
"You all look at the goals Lucho scored and the goals Cody scored, I also look at the fact how hard they track back, how much they have to defend. I ask a lot from them, so that's why sometimes we have to rotate them.
"But Lucho, for me, is a starter. And I said this three days ago about Cody as well – he's, for me, a starter also.
Diaz is the club's joint-top goalscorer this season with nine goals and is reaching new heights under Slot.
On whether central striker is a position he can be deployed in going forward, the Liverpool manager added: "If we have our injuries like we have at the moment then this could happen, yeah. But that also depends on who is available and how the other team lines up, what the formation is.
"Last season, I think if both of them played – Cody Gakpo and Lucho – then it was more Cody who played as a nine and Lucho as an 11, and that's also a possibility. But then we had maybe, again, this height from Cody against Tah instead of someone who's a bit more versatile and who drops into the midfield."
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Alonso: Liverpool are a complete team
Xabi Alonso praised Liverpool as a 'complete team' as the Spaniard, returning to Anfield for the first time since 2009, suffered a bruising homecoming.
The defeat, Alonso's joint-heaviest as Leverkusen manager, was only the club's third since the start of last season and the first away loss in 33 matches.
Slot's side, who have won 11 of their last 12 games, now sit at the summit of both the Premier League and the Champions League and are the only team with a perfect European record.
"I think they are a complete team," Alonso said.
"They are able to defend, to score, to have power in both boxes, they can keep clean sheets and they are able to score with not many chances.
“That is a great strength in the Champions League, especially when you go to the next round. They have this power but it is still too early to tell. The team has a good balance. The coach is doing great work so far. It’s looking a promising season but we are still in November."
Alonso, who spent five years at Liverpool between 2004 and 2009, was serenaded by the home crowd in the final minutes of the game.
He said: "I have bitter feelings with the game which mean I can’t enjoy the reception too much, but I really appreciated it and was thankful that even after so many years that I come here and I have this bond with the club. It was nice but it would have been nicer with a better result.”
"The result is painful, the performance is even more painful," he added.
