What Luis Diaz did in dramatic Bayern thriller will have Liverpool fans groaning in disbelief
Luis Diaz showed Liverpool exactly what they’re missing this season with a man-of-the-match performance against FC St Pauli.
The Colombian international produced the decisive moments of the game, supplying the assist for Raphael Guerreiro’s equaliser before scoring after the 90-minute mark to secure three points for Bayern.
A top performance from the former Red, which takes his tally to 18 goal contributions in all competitions in the 2025/26 season.
How Luis Diaz helped Bayern Munich beat FC St Pauli
It has to be said that the one glaring thing Liverpool seem to be missing on the flanks this season is pace.
But what particularly stood out when observing Diaz’s involvement in their 3-1 win in the Bundesliga was his superb ability to retain possession.
Just take a look at some fan footage shared on CF Bayern Insider’s YouTube:
The winger runs into the box, controls a ball lofted over the defence from Kim Min-jae, and holds possession whilst under pressure from two St Pauli players.
He is eventually felled, but manages to knock the ball to Guerreiro, who finishes from close range.
Then, to top it all off, Luis Diaz sets the home crowd on fire with a match-winning headed goal in the depths of extra time in the second half.
Catch Luis Diaz celebrating his goal for FC Bayern below:
Would Diaz be an improvement on Cody Gakpo?
It’s hard to say whether or not Diaz would be a serious improvement on the left wing.
On the face of it, Cody Gakpo hasn’t done a great deal to justify his continued involvement in the first-XI, with only seven goal contributions in all competitions this term.
| Players | Goal contributions | Minutes per goal contribution |
| Cody Gakpo | 7 | 186.57 |
| Luis Diaz | 18 | 84.11 |
Though, of course, the same could be said for anyone who isn’t Dominik Szoboszlai!
Remarkably, even despite the ludicrous number of issues we’re facing all over the pitch, there isn’t as ginormous a performance gap between Gakpo and Diaz as you might expect.
Which is made even more surprising by the fact that the latter had admitted he’s benefitting from more space and time on the ball in Germany.
| Luis Diaz stats | Cody Gakpo stats |
| 0.59 xG | 0.34 xG |
| 0.21 xA | 0.21 xA |
| 2.28 chances created | 2.15 chances created |
| 1.74 successful dribbles | 1.47 successful dribbles |
| 42.2% dribble success | 55.6% dribble success |
| 0.82 possession won in final third | 0.59 possession won in final third |
| 7.13 touches in opposition box | 6.65 touches in opposition box |
* Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo’s stats in the Bundesliga and Premier League per 90 in the 2025/26 season (Fotmob)
Diaz wouldn’t fix everything going wrong at Liverpool
It would be inexcusable of us to suggest that, had Liverpool retained the Colombian in the summer, we’d be in a much better position.
However, likewise, to suggest certain traits wouldn’t have been of any value to Arne Slot during what has been a horrendous run of results would be unfair.
Evidently, the Dutch head coach agrees to some degree, given that he had reportedly opposed the sale of Luis Diaz to Bayern. If the claim is to be taken seriously, it seems that Richard Hughes went ahead and sanctioned the exit anyway.
Regardless, this isn’t to point an accusing finger at our sporting director; Liverpool’s problems on the pitch are arguably not of the Scot’s making.
Keeping Diaz certainly wouldn’t have fixed our apparent weakness against long, direct balls. Nor a lack of willingness to throw ourselves into 50-50s on the pitch.
But boy, do we miss the 28-year-old’s absolute relentlessness!
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