The story of a three-piece puzzle that terrorises the Bundesliga and Europe

Bayern Munich didn't follow the script. They broke their own rules. And they got it absolutely right.

Luis Diaz arrived at 28, an age that usually raises eyebrows in Munich. He wasn't German, he wasn't young, and he wasn't part of Bayern Munich's traditional transfer logic.

But football doesn't always reward logic - sometimes it rewards courage.

Six months later, there is no debate. Diaz has been the best attacking signing in Europe's top five leagues in the previous transfer window.

He doesn't pose, he doesn't complain, he doesn't hide. He runs, presses, obeys, decides. Diaz is not a modern superstar, he is something far more valuable: a footballer who improves everyone around him.

Salah with a surprising farewell to Luis Diaz: "We were lucky to have you"

His numbers speak loudly: 14 goals and 11 assists, second only to Harry Kane and Michael Olise in Bayern's internal rankings. Together, the trio has produced staggering 57 goals and 32 assists, forming the most devastating attacking unit in world football right now! Poor RB Leipzig are probably aware of that ahead of today's Bundesliga derby. Or "derby", to put it precisely.

Luis Diaz's true value appears in the biggest moments. He doesn't inflate statistics against weaker opponents. He shows up when it hurts, when the lights are brightest. Paris was the perfect example: two goals to win the game against PSG, even if it ended with a red card.

Diaz does it all: A brace and a red, but PSG fail to rise from dead

Last season, Kane and Olise were already there. Bayern were strong, but not ruthless. This season, they are overwhelming. The difference wears No.7.

Manuel Neuer summed it up best: "One of the best players I've ever trained and played with."

From a goalkeeper who has shared dressing rooms with legends, that is no ordinary compliment. Lewandowski is history. Kane is present. And on the wings, Olise and Diaz evoke memories of Ribery and Robben. Bayern didn't plan this signing, but they couldn't have made a better one.

BUNDESLIGA - MATCHDAY 18

Friday

Werder - Eintracht Frankfurt 3-3 (1-1)

/Njinmah 29, Stage 78, Milosevic 81 - Kalimuendo 1, Collins 56, Knauff 90+5/

Saturday

17.30: (1.35) Dortmund (5.30) St.Pauli (10.5)

17.30: (2.50) Hamburger (3.50) M' gladbach (2.90)

17.30: (2.50) Hoffenheim (3.85) Leverkusen (2.70)

17.30: (2.20) Koln (3.50) Mainz (3.45)

17.30: (1.70) Wolfsburg (4.00) Heidenheim (5.40)

20.30: (5.00) RB Leipzig (4.90) Bayern (1.60)

Sunday

17.30: (1.67) Stuttgart (3.90) Union Berlin (5.10)

19.30: (3.05) Augsburg (3.45) Freiburg (2.45)

***odds are subject to change***