Liverpool Play Out Scoreless Draw with Bayern in the Champions League

Liverpool and Bayern Munich played out a scoreless draw in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg at Anfield on Tuesday, with both sides frustrated on the evening.

It was built up to be one of the matches of the season – Liverpool taking on Bayern Munich in the Champions League, under the lights at the raucous Anfield. Mohamed Salah, Robert Lewandowski, Sadio Mane, James Rodriguez, some of the brightest attacking stars in world football on display. Unfortunately, like plenty of these over-hyped ties tend to be, the match was rather timid, with both sides avoiding going too fast for the jugular in fear of being exposed the other way. It eventually ended 0-0, and although Bayern didn’t grab the coveted away goal, they’ll still run out the happier side.

The match started as all heavyweight clashes at Anfield do – fiercely. Both sides pressed from the front intensely, so much so that both goalkeepers were mere inches away from committing catastrophic errors. Although Liverpool so often come out on top at home in these intense matches, they were unable to find the back of the net early on, which is so crucial to their method of success. Despite not being able to score, the 1st half was entertaining and both sides played some fantastic transitions.

Jordan Henderson in particular was sublime in the first half, contributing defensively and kickstarting every Liverpool move. Keita’s positive play was a breath of fresh air as well, although he struggled a bit with the final ball. Sadio Mane wasted a couple of golden opportunities, which was uncharacteristic of him considering the form he has been in lately. He will feel like he could have won the match for the Reds, and most of their fans would agree.

The 2nd half was certainly more timid than the first, with both sides playing out more of a chess match, while the first half was much like a UFC match. Fabinho was forced to play at centre-back due to Virgil Van Dijk’s absence through suspension, and the Brazilian surprisingly excelled, managing to keep one of the world’s best centre-forwards in Robert Lewandowski quiet throughout.

Bayern truly struggled to create anything of note in the entire match, with Serge Gnabry being their lone bright spark on the front foot. The German side couldn’t even muster a single shot on target, as Liverpool dominated the midfield. Despite this, a scoreless draw is a decent result for the Germans, who will be confident in securing the decisive result at home.

Liverpool on the other hand, will need to add more cutting edge to their game if they are to succeed in Munich. Chance after chance went begging in this first leg, and the lack of a true number 9 up front was evident. There is still all to play for in this tie.

Player Ratings:

LFC: Alisson: 6; Alexander-Arnold: 8, Fabinho: 7, Matip: 7, Robertson: 5; Wijnaldum: 6, Henderson: 8, Keita: 7; Mane: 5, Salah: 6, Firmino: 7

FCB: Neuer: 6, Kimmich: 6, Sule: 7, Hummels: 7, Alaba: 6; Thiago: 6, Martinez: 8; Coman: 5, James: 7, Gnabry: 8; Lewandowski: 6