Liverpool made it four wins from four in the UEFA Champions League this season as they secured a 4-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield.
Xabi Alonso endured an unhappy return to a familiar hunting ground as his side were emphatically put to the sword by a ruthless second-half showing from the Reds.
Luis Diaz stole the show with his first-ever Liverpool hattrick, while Cody Gakpo scored the other Liverpool goal with a header from close range.
And James Rodriguez has taken to Instagram to lavish praise on the Colombian’s display.
Luis Diaz sinks Leverkusen with his first Liverpool hat-trick
Diaz’s first goal was a delightful chip as he brilliantly dinked Lukas Hradecky between the sticks for Leverkusen after being played in by Curtis Jones.
Late in the game, the Colombian winger scored two goals from close range as the away side failed to clear the lines to seal what went down as a historic treble.
Diaz’s hat-trick was his first for Liverpool as he became only the second Colombian after Faustino Asprilla in 1997 to achieve the feat in the competition.
It was also Liverpool’s first hat-trick in the Champions League since Mohamed Salah in 2022 when the Egyptian netted the fastest hat-trick in the competition’s history against Rangers.
James Rodriguez lauds Luis Diaz
Diaz took to Instagram to post a series of pictures after his stunning display as he was named Player of the Match.
James Rodriguez, who captains the Colombian national team, was blown away by his compatriot’s exploits, as he commented, “que jugador” which roughly translates to “what a player” in English.
Diaz said he enjoyed playing as a number nine for Liverpool as he was preferred to Darwin Nunez against Leverkusen.
After signing for a fee believed to be in the region of £50m in January 2022, the Colombian is finally starting to perform consistently and has become a key player at Anfield under the new manager.
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