Luis Diaz leaves Liverpool red-faced as winger outshines Isak, Ekitike and Wirtz

Luis Diaz continues to shine for Bayern Munich after his £65.5million move from Liverpool - and the Colombian has more direct goal contributions than three of Arne Slot's forwards combined. Diaz's outrageous goal, a finish so good it left team-mate Josip Stanisic with both hands on his head, in Bayern's 2-2 draw with Union Berlin means he has 11 goals and five assists (16 contributions) in just 17 appearances.

Upon waving Diaz goodbye, the Reds spent over £300million on Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz. While Diaz is flying for Bundesliga leaders Bayern, the Liverpool trio have had mixed fortunes. Ekitike has started strongest with six goals and one assist.

But Isak's Anfield career has been stop-start so far with just one goal and one assist, while Wirtz has shown flashes of his quality and is still seeking to improve his numbers. He has yet to score but has three assists. That means combined, Isak, Ekitike and Wirtz have managed 12 contributions - four less than Diaz alone.

Diaz made amends for his midweek Champions League red card against PSG, though he also scored what turned out to be a match-winning brace in Paris before his dismissal, by netting a fine goal against Union Berlin. The never-say-die attitude that epitomised his Liverpool career saw him keep the ball in play and score from an acute angle.

And Diaz is Liverpool officials a little red in the face with his explosive output in Germany. He was allowed to leave because at 28, the No.7 was deemed too expensive and expendable. Talks over a new contract broke down because the winger wanted higher wages than the Reds were willing to offer. It must also be noted he was also sold for a £22.5m profit on the price Liverpool paid Porto to sign him in January 2021.

The Colombia forward turns 29 in January and Liverpool were wary of giving him a huge pay-packet into his 30s. That's despite Diaz having his best season on Merseyside last term with his 17 goals and eight assists across all competitions.

He is close to surpassing that already at Bayern, although some would argue the Bundesliga is an easier league to play in than the Premier League. Certainly, while Diaz's form raises questions about the logic behind selling him, there are no ill wishes towards the player from anyone at Liverpool.

The man from Barrancas never gave anything less than 100 per cent in a red shirt and when he left, said he did so "with the feeling of a duty fulfilled". Liverpool boss Slot said: "Yeah, it was [always going to be a sad day when Diaz left]. First of all for the person he was because he always had a smile on his face no matter what, in the year that I've worked with him.

"I played him a lot so then maybe it's a little bit more normal to have a smile on your face! But even when I didn't play him he always came out for every training session and gave it everything, with a smile on his face.

"Apart from that, I'm going to miss his song a lot, a lot, a lot as well because it was maybe one of the best songs our fans have for a player. And of course all that he contributed to us winning the league.

"But this is also who we are as a club. We are making big signings, we have done that over the past few years. But this club also needs to recoup funds to get these transfers that we already did over the line.

"It has been a summer where we've spent a lot but I think if people look at all the money we've already brought in, that's also - like last year when we almost only sold players - a good thing for this club as well."