Bayern Munich legend Lothar Matthaus has issued a word of advice for his former club by advising them not throw everything they have at us.
The German told Sky Sports in Germany that: “0-0 is a decent result on the face of it but of course Bayern don’t have an away goal, and that’s all the more dangerous when you’re playing Liverpool, who carry a huge attacking threat”.
The Bundesliga leaders will be our hosts on Wednesday night in a fixture hanging intriguingly in the balance.
Matthaus also believes that, “Bayern have to find the right balance – don’t concede, and score one themselves, that’s all they need.
“But the balance is very important – and also very dangerous: a bit too attacking, and Liverpool can exploit that; too defensive, then that’ll maybe reduce Bayern’s own attacking threat.
“They’ve got to score a goal somehow, because I don’t believe that in a game like this you can aim for a 0-0.”, Matthaus added.
A place in the quarter-finals is up for grabs if we can overcome a Bayern side in rude health – 12 goals in three league wins means they’ll be very much up for this one.
The Reds are in Munich with dreams of downing a resurgent Bayern.
You won’t want to miss it! 👊 pic.twitter.com/5NXC5kih8U
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 11, 2019
That said, with so much pressure riding on this game, and away goals being so potentially pivotal, the second leg might force the Bavarian side to adopt a more calculated approach.
At least, that’s what Matthaus seems to be arguing for: “You start with a solid defensive game, in the same way they played in Liverpool, but definitely not too defensive.
“Firstly they’re playing at home, and secondly they’ve got to get a goal, but actually in recent weeks Bayern have been good at the back, compact, and that’s how you keep in check a strong attack like Liverpool’s.”
“You can’t throw everything at Liverpool from the start, no coach would be that crazy, because we know how strong Liverpool are, and that’s why the approach in the first leg was a bit more cautious than in other Champions League games.”
As last season’s finalists, teams are not only aware of our threat going forward, they’re having to change their entire game plan to face us.
Thanks to Jürgen Klopp, we’ve got a team that makes Bayern baulk and they should be scared.
Tomorrow night is about getting through to the quarter-finals by any means necessary – if it’s a score draw, then so be it. Come on, Reds!