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Joel Matip’s Clearance Off His Goalie’s Chest Is The Greatest Piece Of Teamwork In UCL History

By Travis Yoesting February 19, 2019
Featured Image
Liverpool and Bayern Munich played to a 0-0 draw at Anfield in the first leg of their UCL Round of 16 tie.
Getty Images

There were a lot of Liverpool vs Bayern Munich highlights from the Champions League Round of 16 first-leg match on Tuesday. Surprisingly, none of them included goals.

Neither team could find a way to break the deadlock as the teams settled for a 0-0 draw at Anfield ahead of a return trip to Allianz Arena in Munich on March 13. 

That the match finished scoreless came down to a combination of brilliant last-ditch defending and scuffed opportunities. The highlight of the match, however, was neither — just some really great, unwitting teamwork.

Early in the match, former Arsenal winger Serge Gnabry torched left back Andrew Robertson before whipping in a cross. The ball fell to Liverpool defender Joel Matip, who accidentally smashed it off his goalkeeper Alisson’s chest, sending the ball clear out of the box. The play continued with the Reds throwing their bodies around to keep Bayern at bay. 

No wonder neither team could score with teamwork like that.

Here's another angle at 0:37 in the below video.

The chance that best summed up the Liverpool vs Bayern Munich highlights on the other end of the pitch is this attempted bicycle kick from Sadio Mané.

Not that this was by any means an easy opportunity to convert, but had Mané hit it anywhere on target it probably would have gone in.

The 0-0 draw will suit Bayern Munich just fine, now having secured that exact result in its last three trips to Anfield. Liverpool, which lost all three away matches in the Champions League group stage, will need to find a way to get a win or a scoring draw to advance. The Reds’ only goal away from Anfield in the group stage came in a 2-1 loss at PSG. 

Liverpool vs Bayern Munich Highlights — First Leg

Most of the first half was spent wondering which goalkeeper would fuck up first, and it was nearly Alisson. 

But both sides also created their own opportunities, starting with this chance for Mo Salah. 

Later in the half, the ball fell kindly to Mané, who scuffed his attempt wide with only the keeper to beat. Maybe he should've tried a bicycle kick. 

Liverpool’s passing in and around the Bayern box was mesmerizing at times, but there wasn’t any end product. 

The second half began with more of the same. This time it was Salah’s turn to mishit horribly from a good position.

Gnabry’s fingerprints (footprints?) were all over the match on both ends, not just on the cross Matip and Alisson combined to deny. He had this second-half chance fly just off target and not long after tracked back to deny Mané a shot on goal. 

The closest Liverpool came in the second half was this Mané header, which Manuel Neuer parried wide. 

Alas, it was two matches without a goal in the Champions League on Tuesday as Barcelona also failed to score in its trip to Lyon. 

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