Bayern had plenty to celebrate in the dressing room. After a 7-0 like that, the reasons soon add up. "The coach had some of us give speeches in the dressing room," reported Harry Kane, when he left the German record champions' dressing room on Friday a few minutes after midnight as the last professional after the thumping win against Union Berlin, a gingerbread heart with an iced 100 on the front in his hand in honour of his next fabulous record. "Michael scored his first hat-trick for us, Isi (Saibari, ed.) scored his first goal for Bayern, I got my 100th goal, Serge Gnabry is back after his injury," Kane listed in good spirits, adding with a laugh when asked that Olise's speech had been the shortest.
No surprise there.
What Luis Diaz made of it all as the other attacking stars spoke in front of the squad about their successes is not known. Diaz left the Allianz Arena without any further comment. The contrast could hardly have been greater. There were reasons for joy and celebration everywhere, and then there was Luis Diaz, the striker who currently seems unable to catch a break. The sad figure among all the fortunate ones.
When did Luis Diaz score his last goal for Bayern Munich?
At least one thing stood out: he did not look downcast after his latest frustrating night for the Munich side, his fifth in a row. Since his goal for 5-1 in the Bundesliga opener against VfB Stuttgart, the 29-year-old has offered little in the matches since. Worse still, against Schalke, Osnabrück in the cup and Bodö/Glimt in the Champions League, he also wasted some very high-quality chances. Last week, after coming on in Elversberg, he drew the anger of his team-mate Josip Stanisic when, after being picked out perfectly by Michael Olise in the penalty area, he did not simply shoot at goal but instead seemed somehow to have several spectacular tricks in mind before managing only a little backheel effort.
Now his most noticeable moment came when he finished what had been Bayern's best move up to that point, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
By going another game without a goal or an assist, Diaz failed to deliver on the promise he had previously made in an interview with Sky/RTL. "I believe that goal will come in the next game. You also have to stay calm, mentally, so that it does not weigh on you. The key is to work on it, to improve. I know that it is only the finishing. Only the final touch is missing – and then it will be fine."
Getty ImagesHow well do Luis Diaz's FCB team-mates take their chances?
Diaz will now have to wait until 10 October for his next chance to put things right. International matches come before the game at FC Augsburg. And for Luis Diaz, special leave. Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo decided, in consultation with his striker, not to call him up. Diaz is to rest after an extremely energy-sapping past season with 51 appearances for Bayern, in which he managed an extraordinary 26 goals and 23 assists, as well as another 16 matches for the Colombia national team (7 goals, 3 assists).
Even during the World Cup, in which Diaz had reached the last 16 with Colombia, he had been wrestling with his finishing, and in the first weeks after his return to Munich that problem intensified, until against Union he was no longer even getting many chances.
Still, according to Sofascore data, he has already missed six big chances in the Bundesliga alone, and across the first four Bundesliga matchdays he also recorded an expected goals value of 3.1. For comparison. Harry Kane has so far scored three times from an xG of 2.17, while the absolutely outstanding Michael Olise has four goals from an xG of 2.65. Across all competitions, Olise already has eight goals and three assists. Ismael Saibari, who came on for Diaz in the 63rd minute against Union, has also managed one goal and three assists in his first four Bundesliga matches in just 178 minutes of playing time.
Did Luis Diaz perhaps even see this dip in form coming?
"Some would be glad to have a dip like his," Bayern board member for sport Max Eberl said on Friday before adding: "In South America the international matches are not absolutely essential right now and it will simply do the player good. He has just had a lot of matches. So in that respect it is nice." Diaz will "first have a bit of a holiday and then get going again. He will have his programme. There is no need to worry that he will not come back fit," said Eberl.
Curiously, Luis Diaz seems at least to have factored in the possibility of a drop in performance at the start of this season. In an interview with Sky/RTL, he even revealed that he would quite have liked a back-up for his position. "Of course I always want to play. But if there is someone there who can help in my position: welcome. It helps a lot when things are not going well. Then the team-mate is there to help you – and that is how you alternate. That is very important. I would have liked that. But fine, it did not happen. We are still good as we are."
Getty ImagesLuis Diaz has been given special leave at Bayern before
In fact, Bayern had intended, and said so, to go into the season with that kind of back-up for Diaz. But shortly before the end of the transfer window, they sent Arijon Ibrahimovic on loan to FC Augsburg, somewhat to the surprise of the 20-year-old as well. "From where did Isi score his goal today?" Eberl replied on Friday when asked whether Bayern might perhaps think again in winter about a back-up for Diaz, after all his left-wing position is the only one not nominally covered twice over.
That question was rhetorical, because Saibari had of course scored his goal from the left side of the penalty area. The Moroccan is not, of course, a winger, as he lacks the pace for that. However, he is so intelligent in his play, has such a good eye and possesses such fine technique that in attack he can indeed theoretically play in any position. Serge Gnabry can also cover for Diaz in his position. For the time being, Diaz does not really need to worry about his place in the team. Vincent Kompany is likely to continue rotating in the coming games to give as many stars as possible similar playing time. On top of that, several midweek rounds follow one after another after the international break.
Incidentally, this is not the first time Luis Diaz has been given a holiday in the middle of the season. In December 2025 he was suspended in the Champions League because of a red card and had also picked up his fifth yellow card in the Bundesliga, and coach Vincent Kompany sent him "away for a few days. I think it is simply sensible right now that he is away for a few days and then comes back mentally and physically at one hundred per cent," the coach had explained at the time.
Diaz did return full of drive then and produced a very good second half of the season. Will history repeat itself, only at a much earlier point in the campaign?