168 minutes, six goals in sight
No one saw this coming. Mariano Diaz, 33, has come out of two near-empty seasons and suddenly finds himself among La Liga’s most decisive players.
The numbers are almost ridiculous. Four appearances this season. One hundred and sixty-eight minutes on the pitch. Three goals and three assists. The Dominican striker has been involved in six of Alaves’ ten goals since the restart.
The detail is worth a look. A goal and two assists against Getafe. A goal against Rayo Vallecano. Then another goal and an assist on Sunday in the 5-2 demolition of Osasuna. At this rate, only Raphinha at Barcelona, involved in seven goals, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at La Coruna, on six, are matching that output in Spain.
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Five years of being told to pack his bags
You have to go a long way back to find Mariano at this level. In the 2017-18 season, while on loan from Real Madrid to Lyon, he scored 21 goals and added 6 assists in 45 matches. Sevilla tried to bring him back. Real then triggered their buy-back clause at Julen Lopetegui’s request.
And then nothing. His second spell in Madrid was little more than cameos and repeated hints that it was time to leave. He clung on to his contract until 2023.
After that came Sevilla. Thirteen appearances, 319 minutes, one assist. Then a full year without a club. When he arrived at Alaves in 2025, he had managed only 3 goals and 1 assist in 12 matches. Normally, that’s the sort of graph that doesn’t turn around.
Sanchez Flores has found his formula
The change has a clear signature. Quique Sanchez Flores has Alaves playing with two strikers and keeps rotating his front line. The coach has openly praised the contribution of his forwards, naming Toni Martinez, Boye and Manas alongside Mariano.
AS summed up the mood in Spain after his first start was followed by a goal. The tone was a long way from the one Mariano had been dealing with for the past five years.
Alaves are currently sitting second in La Liga. They won’t stay there all season, everyone knows that. But while Mariano is scoring every 56 minutes, nobody is going to tell him to calm down.
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