The stick narrowly missed Diaz
A Benfica supporter was seen throwing a stick at Liverpool’s Luis Diaz in the immediate aftermath of the Colombian’s goal on Tuesday night.
Diaz scored the third as Jurgen Klopp’s side won 3-1 in Lisbon, taking a significant step towards the Champions League semi-finals.
Diaz was booed throughout the game because of his Porto connection
The 25-year-old forward, who arrived at Anfield from Benfica’s rivals Porto in January, was booed throughout the game at the Estádio da Luz.
After Ibrahima Konate had opened the scoring, Diaz nodded down Trent Alexander-Arnold’s pinpoint diagonal pass for Sadio Mane to double Liverpool’s lead before half-time.
Though Darwin Nunez halved the deficit for the home side early in the second half, Diaz latched on to Naby Keita’s deflected pass with three minutes to go, rounded the goalkeeper and slotted home the third.
Diaz was targeted as he celebrated his goal
Having run to the side of the pitch to celebrate his goal, a supporter could be seen throwing the stick – which appeared to be from a plastic flag given to supporters prior to kick-off – at Diaz and his teammates. Fortunately, the stick appears to narrowly miss them.
That one would have felt good for Luis Diaz! 👊
The former Porto man bags his first #UCL goal for Liverpool to regain their two-goal advantage ✌️
Klopp's smile says it all! pic.twitter.com/VPpaz89Fot
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 5, 2022
Andy Robertson also had objects thrown at him
Andy Robertson also appeared to be targeted with more of the sticks and other objects as he prepared to take a late corner. Again, no damage was done to the player, though Benfica will likely face action from UEFA over the incidents.
Liverpool will host Benfica at Anfield next Wednesday in the return leg, but are now in a strong position to progress to the last four of the competition.
They will now turn their attention to their league meeting with Manchester City on Sunday, where victory will see them leapfrog Pep Guardiola’s side at the the Premier League summit.
Related links:
- Benfica ‘helped’ Liverpool win Champions League by ‘becoming’ Spurs
- Aymeric Laporte claims Man City are ‘superior in all areas’ to Liverpool
- Liverpool vs Man City: Train farce a reminder that Wembley semis simply don’t make sense
