Is it advantage Bayern? Niko Kovac’s men come away with 0-0 draw from Anfield

Is it advantage Bayern Munich? Some would think so after the Bavarian giants came away with a 0-0 draw from Anfield following the first leg of their Round of 16 Champions League clash. Research suggests that the away team in the first leg (in this case Bayern) progresses nearly 75% of the time when the first leg ends in a 0-0 scoreline.

However some would argue that Liverpool still hold an upper hand as they didn’t allow Niko Kovac’s men to score. This means an early goal at the Allianz for the Reds would leave Bayern chasing the game as a 1-1 draw would see Jurgen Klopp’s men progress on the away goals rule.

Klopp himself declared in his post match interview that he “was not over the moon” but “was completely OK” with the result.

LFC starting

Indeed things started brightly, but there was precious little of football played in the second half. The biggest talking points would perhaps be the Bayern fans’ banner protesting the exorbitant prices of away CL tickets, and Joshua Kimmich getting himself carded for a needless challenge on Sadio Mane, which sees the former out of the return leg in Munich.

Javi Martinez was fantastic for Bayern, with his form reminiscent of previous European performances in the early part of this decade. Given the fragile nature of both defences, few would’ve expected a 0-0, but that’s the way it panned out! Liverpool would perhaps not be too disappointed- they fielded a makeshift pairing of Fabinho and Matip, as was expected, but managed to keep Lewandowski quiet, and will have VVD back for the return leg.

JM

(Credits- Twitter)

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