Liverpool legend Roberto Firmino sends message to Luis Diaz after no-look finish vs Leverkusen

Roberto Firmino responded to Luis Diaz on Instagram after the Colombian completed his hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen with a no-look finish.

Diaz was the star of the show at Anfield on Tuesday night, scoring three goals in the second half as the Reds routed Xabi Alonso's visiting side 4-0 in the Champions League.

All of Diaz's goals were dispatched in clinical fashion, but the third strike in particular evoked memories of former Liverpool forward Firmino, who scored a fair few no-look goals during his time on Merseyside.

Responding to Diaz's post from the game on Instagram, Firmino said: "No look goal done. I saw little hand... big hug," to which Diaz responded: "I learned a lot from you Manito..! a big hug."

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One fan commented on the exchange on Reddit, saying: "This club sometimes surprises me so much. I love how past and active players all adore their time at Liverpool. It’s like a big family. Even seeing Xabi touch the sign at halftime, they know it’s a special place, they know it’s a privilege." Another wrote: "It's actually crazy how much joy this brings me. Bobby will always be one of my very favorites."

Diaz was deployed in an unfamiliar position against Leverkusen, with boss Arne Slot playing the Colombian as a striker ahead of more obvious options like Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo, and the decision clearly paid off.

Diaz said: "The manager makes it very clear what he wants from each of us in our positions on the pitch. The most important thing is the three points so we can keep progressing in the competition.

"Things have gone so well with the new manager. It obviously wasn’t easy for him, coming in to replace Jurgen but we have to keep going. We haven’t won anything yet but hopefully we will have something to celebrate at the end of the season.

"We have top quality players all over the pitch but I really enjoyed playing in that position. Wherever I play on the pitch, I work hard and try to help the team. I now need to go and find the match ball and keep it somewhere safe at home."

Slot, meanwhile, said that Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah's preference to play against big strikers influenced his decision to play the agile Diaz through the middle.

"I only have four attackers available with injuries to Chiesa and Jota," Slot said. "Darwin with this fixture list, impossible to play them all. Tah one of best defenders in Germany and likes to play against target man, so we played Lucho [Diaz] there.

"If we have injuries like we have at the moment then we can play Lucho as a nine again. Last season more Cody as a nine and Lucho as 11, so that's also an option. Not only do people in Colombia love Lucho, but they love him in Liverpool as well as I heard the fans sing his song a lot. But his manager also likes him as well!"