Liverpool's Luis Diaz hailed as 'best' by Aston Villa's Jhon Duran in telling interview

Liverpool's Luis Diaz and Aston Villa's Jhon Duran have been lighting up the Premier League this season.

The duo showcased their skills on Tuesday night, both on and off the pitch. Diaz is among the top goal scorers in the English top flight with five goals in his first seven games. Duran, who came off the bench to score four times, was also the hero in Villa's memorable 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Both players found the back of the net as Colombia cruised to a 4-0 victory over Chile, securing second place behind Argentina in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying table. After an own goal by former Tottenham defender Davinson Sanchez, Diaz capitalised on a goalkeeping error to double Colombia's lead in the 52nd minute.

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Rising star Duran then came off the bench to make it 3-0 before Bournemouth forward Luis Sinisterra rounded off the scoring. Post-match, El Colombiano hailed Diaz as "a prophet in the land that saw him grow as a player".

Duran also had words of praise for his teammate, albeit after interrupting Diaz's interview in the mixed zone. Referring to Diaz, Duran said: "This is very bad."

But let's be clear, Diaz is far from "very bad". It quickly emerged that the youthful talent was merely having a laugh. After Diaz summoned him back from the dressing room, Duran playfully called his 27-year-old teammate an "animal," a Colombian term for a top-notch player - a label Diaz undoubtedly deserves.

And to double down on the admiration, Duran hailed the ex-Porto sensation as "the best thing the Colombian national team has" which, considering the squad's deep pool of skill, is quite the compliment.

Diaz is dishing out accolades too, especially towards the most stellar name in the Colombia roster, James Rodriguez - the former Everton and Real Madrid maestro who seized the Golden Boot at the 2014 World Cup and is now showcasing his class at Rayo Vallecano.

Post-match, Diaz didn't hold back his esteem for his captain, saying: "It's an honour to play alongside him, sharing these last few years has made me learn a lot from him. We're always together, sharing every moment is important.

"With his talent, with his personality, he always talks on the field, he's super important here, we understand each other with sign language. That's how I admire him, he always does good for the national team."