FC Bayern were compact and turned in a strong team display, holding Liverpool to a goalless draw in Tuesday's Champions League last sixteen first leg. "We did a really good job in terms of tactics, physicality and mentality. Everyone worked for one another," commented a pleased Niko Kovac after the match. "The lads gave it everything," Hasan Salihamidzic said in praise of the team. The sporting director was "satisfied but not euphoric" after the match.
Reaction to Liverpool v Bayern
Niko Kovac: "It's really top-notch to assert ourselves like this here. We did a really good job in terms of tactics, physicality and mentality. Everyone worked for one another. That's the approach. It isn't so easy here but we achieved our goal today. We were all there for one another today. If everyone's focused you get rewarded."
Hasan Salihamidzic: "We turned in a good display. The lads gave it everything, they were focused. Maybe we should have attacked here and there to create chances. You get punished for small mistakes. The team kept their cool in defence. We move on now. It'll be really fierce. We're glad, we're satisfied with the result but not euphoric. The whole team display was top-notch."
Manuel Neuer: "We knew what awaited us of course. Liverpool have quick players up front. We cooperated well and were compact. We wanted to achieve a good result. It's a pity that Liverpool kept a clean sheet too. It's always good to score a goal on the road, but maybe we lacked a few percent up front because we were so busy in defence. Our position isn't so bad. Before the match we would have said a goalless draw is okay."
Javi Martínez: "It's a dream to play at Anfield. I'm satisfied with the team display and with my personal performance too. But we're talking about 180 minutes, there's a second match in Munich. We haven't achieved anything yet. We must give it everything and win in Munich. We kept a clean sheet against strong opponents, we can be satisfied."
Mats Hummels: "We can be satisfied with every single player's performance. We were disciplined and put the coach's instructions into practice. The main thing was to neutralise our opponents' strengths today, we did an outstanding job in this respect. We wanted to neutralise the pace of their attacking trio. I think the chances are 50-50 now. We must win at home. The situation is okay. We'd have accepted it beforehand. No team likes to travel to the Allianz Arena."
Jürgen Klopp (Liverpool coach): "There was a big ballyhoo before the game but it ended in a goalless draw. It's not the result we dreamed of but we can work with it. Bayern were extremely focused, they made life difficult for us. But we made life difficult for ourselves too and often gifted the final ball to Bayern. Their last line did a really good job. Both teams played a lot at the back and waited for mistakes. We have to accept it. It's 0-0, and we can play once more."
Joel Matip (Liverpool): "Bayern are a superb team, they're among the best teams in Europe. Not everything worked out today, but we kept a clean sheet and are confident ahead of the return leg. Of course we wanted to win. Everything's possible, it's not a bad situation for us. Both teams created chances."
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