Steve Nicol thinks Liverpool were “atrocious” in their 3-1 victory over Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
After five successive European defeats away from Anfield, Jurgen Klopp’s side – losing finalists last season – came good when it mattered to beat the German champions in the Allianz Arena to secure a place in the last eight.
Sadio Mane’s brilliant opener was cancelled out by Joel Matip’s own goal before half-time but Virgil Van Dijk’s first Champions League goal for the club meant Bayern then had to score two more. Mane converted a far-post diving header late on.
Despite the positive result, former Reds defender Nicol thought Liverpool‘s play on the ball was “as bad as I’ve ever seen.”
“I would love to say that Liverpool came and were just too clever and sat in a great spot,” Nicol, who played 343 league matches for Liverpool, said on ESPN FC.
“But the truth is that I don’t think Bayern knew what they wanted to do.
“Clearly in the first leg they sat and gave nothing away.
“But at home, and the reason we all thought they were favourites, you’d expect them to be pushing again, but they didn’t. They didn’t go forward, they just sort of sat and waited.
“If you look at the stats, the only reason they had more possession was because Liverpool kept giving them the ball.
“That had nothing to do with what they were doing.
“Liverpool on the ball in this game overall, I thought they were atrocious.
“I thought they were as bad as I’ve ever seen.
“But it goes to show you stats don’t mean anything, and the only thing that matters is the scoreline, and Liverpool won 3-1.”
