We therefore know the first two guests at the table of the eight best European teams for the 2021-2022 season. And we can’t say we’re really surprised by the identity of the guests… Already a winner in the first leg at the Giuseppe-Meazza stadium (2-0), Liverpool confirmed their ticket despite their loss at Anfield Road (0- 1). Hanging in Salzburg for the first leg (1-1), Bayern Munich did not procrastinate for very long to correct their Austrian neighbor (7-1).
What you must remember
The dress code for this first evening of the round of 16 second leg was quite simple: red outfit required… Not much to say about the Allianz Arena in Munich where a Salzburg very quickly overwhelmed saw all the colors against the Bayern, led among others by an excellent Kingsley Coman, involved in all good Bavarian deeds. A hat-trick from Lewandowski, a double from Müller, goals from Gnabry and Sané brightened up the evening for the Munich fans.
In Liverpool, on the other hand, there was a little more suspense between Klopp’s men and those of Inzaghi. With their two-goal lead, Van Dijk’s teammates contained the few Italian inclinations for an hour with a vigilant Alisson. But after hitting the uprights twice and largely dominating the start of the second period, the English had some scares.
The fault of Lautaro Martinez, author of a jewel from outside the law in the middle of the skylight. Reduced to ten after opening the scoring because of the expulsion of Alexis Sanchez, the Milanese did not however manage to push a Liverpool who had become very feverish in extra time.
Man of the evening: Robert Lewandowski
On waivers (admittedly favorable) after their first leg draw in Salzburg, Bayern Munich was able to count on their serial scorer Robert Lewandowski to quickly take shelter. The Polish striker only took ten minutes to get a penalty that he took care to transform himself with a flat foot on the left side to give the advantage to the Bavarians. His tenth goal of the season in eight games in the competition behind the unexpected metronome of Ajax Amsterdam Sébastien Haller (11).
Bis repeated eleven minutes later with a copy-paste of the best Fifa player of the year 2021 (and vice-Ballon d’Or) to take Köhn again on the wrong foot. And just 120 new seconds to leave Haller in the rearview mirror following a huge scramble between the Austrian goalkeeper and his central defender Wöber to score quietly in the empty goal.
Lewandowski 3 – Salzburg 0 in 23 minutes, the fastest hat-trick after the kick-off of a match in Champions League history (a minute better than Marco Simone with AC Milan against Rosenborg in 1996). Hat…
The number: 1
For the first time this season, Liverpool lost on their lawn. Before its defeat (without consequence on the qualification) against Inter, the English club had a record of 14 wins and 3 draws at home, in all competitions. Victorious in their first seven Champions League games, Salah’s partners even remained on 12 consecutive successes (including the League Cup final won against Chelsea, 0-0, 11-1 on penalties).
