Liverpool do it the ugly way in the Champions League, but what have done Robert Lewandowski?! - The Warm-Up
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 09/03/2022 at 09:28 GMT
Liverpool battled through to the Champions League quarter-finals while Bayern Munich breezed into the last eight. Tonight one of Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain will join them, with the other side destined for the dreaded early inquest. Not what you want in early March. Elsewhere, Aleksandar Mitrovic keeps scoring goals.
'The art of football is to lose the right games' - Klopp after defeat to Inter
WEDNESDAY’S BIG STORIES
Liverpool battle through
Before the BT Sport stream had even stopped showing the replay of Lautaro Martinez’s second-half stunner, Twitter was already abuzz about Alexis Sanchez’s second yellow for a second studs-up challenge on a Liverpool player.
Hopes can fade just like that, and although the tie was far from over with 30 minutes still to go, the wind ripped through the Inter sails like a storm on the O2 just as Inter were looking capable of mounting the comeback.
In the end, Liverpool held on, losing at home but progressing to the Champions League quarter-finals, and it may well secretly please Jurgen Klopp that they did it the ugly way.
"The difficulties we had were pretty close to what I expected,” Klopp admitted. “Without playing brilliantly we had clear-cut chances, and it's completely fine that they won one and we went through.”
It is not often Klopp addresses a loss at Anfield, but this one he might not mind – and Mohamed Salah concurs.
“The most important thing is that we have qualified,” Salah told BT Sport.
“This is a good game to learn from, it's always important to win but sometimes, like tonight, you hit the post twice and you miss chances, it can happen.
“The good thing is that is not in the league, and we have qualified. That is great.”
Super Lewy
Woah, woah, woah, Robert! What did you do that for? That wasn’t part of Operation Shush. You know, the plan to not draw attention towards Bayern Munich? You just can’t help yourself, can you…
Yes. A Lewandowski hat-trick inside 23 minutes and suddenly everyone has remembered how good Bayern Munich can be, how good he can be, and how they are perfectly capable of going the distance in the Champions League once more.
That’s nothing new, but occasionally it gets forgotten. A 1-1 draw in Austria suggested RB Salzburg could test the 2020 winners, but despite an actual impressive start in Munich – no, really – they were 4-0 down after just 31 minutes.
It ended 7-1 on the night, meaning Lewandowski’s hat-trick was just the start of the rout, and with Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane all on target as well – there is more than just one reason to fear the German champions.
An inquest is on the way
Paris or Madrid? Mauricio Pochettino or Carlo Ancelotti? Nasser Al-Khelaifi or Florentino Perez? Le Parisien or Marca?
Come 10pm tonight, maybe 10.30pm, or perhaps even later if it goes to penalties – an inquest will begin, but where exactly remains to be seen.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2022/03/07/3333499-68150248-2560-1440.jpg)
Mbappe & Pochettino
Image credit: Getty Images
As soon as Real Madrid were picked out to face Paris Saint-Germain, after the most memorable of Champions League draws arguably ever, the inevitable was in the offing given one European giant will not be making it into the quarter-finals.
Both are going strong in their respective domestic campaigns, but of course that is never enough, and there has even been talk of Ancelotti leaving Real in the summer, never mind the assumption Pochettino will leave PSG, which has been talked about since the moment he walked into the job.
And so, tonight will prove decisive. It is fascinatingly poised.
IN OTHER NEWS
Mitro constantly on fire
Make that 35 Championships goals this season for Aleksandar Mitrovic, with 11 games still to go.
The Fulham striker has smashed the record already, and looks set to post a potentially unbeatable tally after scoring goal No 35 in the 5-1 win at Swansea last night.
It’s an insane tally, and will only get better. Not enough, however, for him to make some Fantasy Premier League teams next season…
RETRO CORNER
Happy 47th birthday Juan Sebastian Veron. Of Lazio, Manchester United and Chelsea fame, but this is six minutes worth watching on the legacy he left at first club Estudiantes.
COMING UP
Another Champions League double, with Manchester City already 5-0 up on Sporting Lisbon, while PSG take their slender lead to Real Madrid in the standout tie of the night.
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement