Luis Díaz shares touching moment with fan before horror tackle on Liverpool star sparks brawl

Liverpool forward Luis Díaz had a very eventful game for Colombia against Bolivia on Saturday. His side won 3-0 in a warm-up friendly in East Hartford, Connecticut ahead of the forthcoming Copa America tournament.

‘Lucho’ was involved in almost all of the key moments. Jhon Arias gave the Colombians the lead in just the fifth minute of the match, but thereafter it was effectively the Díaz show.

Twenty minutes later, the Liverpool man assisted Jhon Córdoba in a fashion familiar to Reds fans. Collecting the ball near the left touchline in the final third, Díaz dribbled into the box and picked out his teammate near the penalty spot, enabling him to score.

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Shortly before half time, the former Porto man added his own name to the scoresheet. This time it was Deiver Machado who passed to him in the penalty area, with Díaz then cutting inside to work a yard of space before firing the ball into the corner of the net.

Per Transfermarkt, this was only the second time the 27-year-old has both scored and assisted in a match for Colombia, in what was his 49th appearance (and 37th start). Fans of coincidences will be delighted to learn that the previous example also involved the opening two goals of a 3-0 win over Bolivia, with the previous instance occurring in a World Cup qualifier in March 2022.

While the scoring was concluded before the interval in the match on Saturday, that wasn’t the end of the action. Midway through the second half, a horrendous challenge on Díaz sparked a melee which saw a player from each side dismissed by the referee.

Having not played outside his homeland, Bolivia’s red card recipient Cesar Menacho is unlikely to be too widely known. However, Premier League fans will certainly be familiar with Díaz’ teammate and Crystal Palace wing-back Daniel Muñoz, who was also sent off following the skirmish.

Despite the needless hostility in a friendly match, there was also a sweet moment involving the Liverpool man. In the first half, a young fan in a Colombia shirt ran onto the pitch in the hopes of meeting Díaz. Having achieved his goal, the boy burst into tears, though he was later seen smiling as he was taken off the pitch by an official. It was certainly a match Díaz is unlikely to forget in a hurry.

Liverpool.com says: This was all in a day's work for Liverpool's left winger. A goal, an assist, some rough stuff from the opposition and a life changing moment for a young supporter. What a guy.