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Former Liverpool winger Luis Diaz was heavily involved early on as Bayern Munich beat PSG in the Champions League on Tuesday, scoring twice and getting sent off in the first half.
Diaz now has 14 goals and assists in 16 games this season under Vincent Kompany. He joined Bayern Munich for a fee that could reach $88 million (£66 million) this summer and has thrived in the main — but was also shown a red card here.
Reacting quickly after Michael Olise's shot was saved, Diaz opened the scoring after just four minutes by clinically following up the second ball. Half an hour later, he doubled Bayern Munich's lead after pinching possession from Marquinhos.
However, just before half-time, Diaz tackled Achraf Hakimi from behind, catching him on the ankle. The Italian referee Maurizio Mariani initially showed a yellow card, but that was upgraded following a VAR review.
After a few minutes, Hakimi was replaced by Senny Mayulu. Despite it only having 10 men, Bayern Munich held on for the win in the second half, with Joao Neves scoring what proved to be a consolation.
"The most important thing is we hope that Hakimi recovers quickly," Vincent Kompany said post-match.
"It was hard work and emotions today — those are the feelings we had after the game. In the end, we did it together.
"We obviously would’ve liked to have kept playing in the second half like we’d done in the first, but you get games where things change through situations like the red card.
"I also want us to enjoy it when we have to defend. We work on it a lot in training. That’s why it didn’t surprise me that we did it well.
"The first half was really pleasing. In the second half, we had to play differently. We know that the Champions League isn’t decided yet, but today was a really important three points for us."
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"Bayern were better than us in the first half," PSG coach Luis Enrique admitted. "They were more present on the pitch and created more chances. We handed them some gifts.
"We had a man advantage in the second half and did a good job. We created lots of chances and could’ve got an equalizer, but we need to accept today that the opposition were better. The season isn’t over. We’ll build up our level again."
Liverpool.com says: Diaz is a very good player, and it is no surprise he is doing well at Bayern Munich. It was still the right call to cash in, though, as he wanted to move on and only had two years left on his contract. Diaz's red card means he will miss Bayern Munich's next Champions League game, which is against Arsenal at the Emirates.
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