Bayern Munich vs Liverpool - Champions League (Round of 16 - 2nd Leg)

[Shaggy]

[ame]https://twitter.com/2sporten/status/1105949948737212416[/ame]

[baitman]

Ffs robbo been poxy, probably needs a rest imo. Just that we don't have anyone decent to replace him.

Erm, have you cleared this with Buzzo

[Buzzo]

Erm, have you cleared this with Buzzo

He certainly did not.

We’ve had words

[Liverpool]

Klopp! https://twitter.com/Liddellpool/stat...51370136424448

after the game on Sunday the ground was baying for him to do this and he waved it away as a no not today almost like wait til we are top again

[Norbs]

Haa ha ha ha! https://twitter.com/agentbobby_/stat...64951636725761

Watched that twice, its soooooo catchy

[Norbs]

Yeah. But **** the other 3, John.

I thought you meant TAA, Matip.and Robbo

[baitman]

Fabinho was the difference for us, broke up their play, several great tackles and the last minute lunge in the box was arse twitching stuff but perfectly timed.

[Buzzo]

Just to show that it’s not just me that thought Robbo did ok. If you want to isolate one or two incidents then fine, but no coincidence Mane is creating havoc just now with Robbo backing him up, overlapping constantly to make space.

From the Grauniad.

Liverpool

Alisson His quiet night reflected Bayern’s failure to turn possession into chances against a well-drilled defence. 7

Trent Alexander Arnold Kept busy by Bayern targetting Ribery yet comfortably up to the task of containing him. 8

Joël Matip Unlucky with the own goal as he had to play the ball. Made several crucial interventions. 8

Virgil van Dijk Great tackle on Lewandowski, lovely ball for Mané and a match-winning header – another stunning display. 9

Andy Robertson Overlapped to good effect and made key clearances, although caught out for the equaliser. Silly booking rules him out of next game. 7

Georginio Wijnaldum Improved after a chaotic start. Succeeded in his main task of stifling Rodríguez and driving him to distraction. 7

Jordan Henderson A surprise inclusion ahead of Fabinho only to suffer an injury that ended his night after 13 minutes. 5

James Milner Passing wasn’t the best but took the middle battle to Bayern with a solid display. 7

Sadio Mané The most dangerous forward on the pitch. Conjured a sublime first goal and unnerved Bayern. 9

Roberto Firmino Led the press well at times but unable to hurt the hosts when in possession. 7

Mohamed Salah Quiet until the game opened up at 2-1 and then he wreaked havoc. Glorious cross for Mané. 8

Substitutes

Fabinho for Henderson, (13) 7

Origi for Firmino, (83) 6

Lallana for Milner, (87) 5

[Buzzo]

This is a great read

Virgil van Dijk’s composure proves decisive on Vegas night for Liverpool
Jürgen Klopp’s side rose to the occasion with their Dutch factotum directing an almost dismissive victory over Bayern

Barney Ronay at the Allianz Arena
Published: 23:50 Wednesday, 13 March 2019

On German television they closed out the show with Hello Goodbye by the Beatles, which felt about right. Through mid-afternoon the grey stone squares of Munich’s old town had echoed with choruses of “Allez, Allez, Allez”, Liverpool’s own European anthem of the past two years.

It is a sound that may just come to haunt this ageing Bayern era, which reached its own decisive goodbye on a chilly, luminous night at the Allianz Arena. Quietly, and always with a feeling of strength in reserve, Liverpool produced a performance shot through with the steel of the mature Klopp period.

A 3-1 win in this last‑16 second leg will live with the best of the club’s modern era. This is a Bayern squad reaching the end of something. But before this game they had lost only once in 26 home Champions League fixtures. On this same ground Bayern had overrun the best club side of the past 20 years, the tail-end of the Xavi era at Barcelona. Real Madrid have been cuffed aside, Juventus digested, Arsenal tossed around the pitch like a team of Lego men.

In the face of this Liverpool were fearless. Trent Alexander-Arnold was brilliant, shutting down the venerable Franck Ribéry and losing nothing by comparison with David Alaba as a fluid, playmaking full‑back.

Above all this was a cold, almost dismissive performance, led by the absurdly composed Virgil van Dijk. It has been said before. It needs to be said a little louder, and with added italics and underline. Van Dijk has been a remarkable signing, a player who has managed to change every part of the team around him, to provide a whole other gear on his own.

Liverpool couldn’t have produced this performance in their fun, skittish run to the final last season. They won here by refusing to back down, refusing to give space, and by ruthless finishing when the moment presented itself.

Jürgen Klopp had promised that Liverpool would play “brave” football, meeting Bayern’s customary swagger with some of their own. Klopp knows how it feels on nights like these in this luminous giant doughnut of a stadium, a challenge of will as much as anything else.

Liverpool did rise to meet the occasion. But then they had their spine, guts, backbone and all-round 6ft 4in Dutch factotum back in the team. There were four Van Dijk tackles, five clearances and three headers won. There was a lofted pass to create the opening goal and the timing and skill to head the second direct from James Milner’s corner, a decisive blow from a sustained, slow-burn spell of pressure.

Mainly he just stood there being Virgil, appearing at times like the only grown-up on the set. Van Dijk is a fascinating leader. He doesn’t yodel and bang his chest. It is more a question of presence, a way of standing. Even watching from the seats you feel somehow that you’re going to find that train home, that the half-time queues will be short, that whatever it is that’s happening in parliament will work out.

In front of Van Dijk Liverpool had leader No 2 in Sadio Mané, who was in waspish, relentless form and who scored Liverpool’s first and third goals. But then Mané has been doing this for three months now. The goals here were his 10th and 11th since Christmas, a man playing up to the occasion, decisive where others might have faltered a little.

Bayern Munich 1-3 Liverpool: Champions League player ratings | Andy Hunter

And Bayern in the Allianz Arena is one of the Vegas nights of European football. This is a wonderful stadium, with a roof that curves in at the top like an alpine shelf, retaining the great surging waves of noise from one Bayern end to the other. Under those brilliant white lights Klopp went with his most muscular central trio, the Milner‑Henderson‑Wijnaldum axis, a midfield that might lack creativity but which could double up at the weekends as a sensationally eenergetic and committed team of mobile piano lifters.

Henderson departed early with an ankle injury. He was replaced by Fabinho who stepped in without missing a beat. Steadily the game settled and thickened. For long periods the players sprinted backward more often than forward, filling the holes, tessellating like grey and red walls meeting over a disputed boundary.

Out of nowhere Liverpool scored. It was a lovely piece of creative opportunism. Van Dijk floated the ball forward. Manuel Neuer came haring out, pointlessly, sprawled at Mané’s feet,and watched as he wriggled away and dinked the most wonderful finish into the corner.

Cue silence around the Allianz Arena, save for the sustained white noise from the Liverpool fans up in the gods. Klopp leapt and pranced, all teeth and wild goggling eyes.

Bayern’s equaliser was a sightly soft Joel Matip own goal. Still Liverpool continued along their way. Mo Salah grew into the game and provided a lovely pass for Mané’s second goal deep into the second half as Bayern withered.

At the end of which the season remains wide open on two fronts. Liverpool will take huge heart from a performance of high-spec, cold-blooded control. For Bayern, and the great team of the past six years, this was goodnight, but also a wider kind of goodbye

[kemm1]

Get in!!!

[Rigadon]

Fantastic result. Probably the best of the season (so far). Happy to take anybody in the next round but would rather avoid City and Ajax. Think it will be Barca.

[Rigadon]

https://twitter.com/AndyMitten/statu...64315083968513

Just read this. Was thinking exactly the same about Ajax - young, fearless and nothing to lose. Would rather avoid (and see them hammer Utd).

[Rigadon]

Unlike previous years you get the feeling and know this team will not be broken up and our best players sold. This is just the beginning.

Just need to win our first trophy then many will follow.

[Scratch]

Joel Matip...starting to love this guy! Is this his longest uninterrupted spell in the first team for us now?

[Phoenix07]

This is THE result in European competition that shows we're back in the big time.

Yes, I know we reached the Europa League and Champions League Finals, and beat PSG at home, but Bayern, one of the true European giants, and we've beaten them in their own backyard.

Dickheads were saying how easy a run we had last year in the Champions League, but I think that result last night, against an in form Bayern, shows we're back in the elite.