The good news for Liverpool is that the situation is salvageable, when it really might not have been. The bad news is that they were distinctly second best for the first three-quarters of the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Nobody who saw their second‑half collapse away against Juventus in the playoff round could be confident that Galatasaray are a team capable of squeezing the life out of the second leg. There is a nervousness about them at the back, a persistent sense of misfortune about to strike, but going forward they are breezy, quick and fun. Their only regret will be that, having taken an early lead through the former Wolves midfielder Mario Lemina, they did not add a second goal to give them more to defend at Anfield.
Arne Slot had acknowledged that his side struggles to create chances from open play, but this really was an indictment of long-throw Britain, set‑plays seeming their only route to goal – although it should be a matter of concern to all English sides just how often the Spanish referee saw an offence amid what Premier League viewers have come to regard as the routine buffeting of a crowded six‑yard box.
“Every corner or free-kick if we only look at a Galatasaray player the referee gave a free-kick,” said Slot, contrasting that to a shirt-pull on Virgil van Dijk that went unpunished in the tangle that led to a Liverpool goal being disallowed. “It’s safe to say we were not the only one impressed by the atmosphere today.”
And it will be a different game at Anfield. Other crowds whistle but none do so with quite the unanimity, ferocity or pitch of the Galatasaray crowd, which is all the more impressive when you consider the breathtaking nature of the walk up the hill to the Ali Sami Yen, which stands above Vadistanbul like a great citadel, protected on all sides by lanes and lanes of intersecting motorway.
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Bayern hit Atalanta for six
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Bayern Munich put one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals by sweeping aside Atalanta 6-1 in a powerful demonstration of why the German giants are one of the favourites to win the competition. In front in the 12th minute in Bergamo through Josip Stanisic, Bayern are all-but through following a stunning brace from standout player Michael Olise and further strikes from Serge Gnabry, Nicolas Jackson and Jamal Musiala.
Bayern have lost just once at home this season and Tuesday’s marauding display, which came with Harry Kane and Jamal Musiala both starting on the bench, left Atalanta with basically no chance of progressing. A blockbuster tie against one of Real Madrid or Manchester City awaits Bayern in the next round, save for a historic collapse in next week’s second leg in Munich.
“That was the kind of performance we wanted. We were dangerous right throughout the match,” said Kompany to Prime Video. “We’ve got talent and quality in the team… So it’s no surprise when the lads deliver like this.”
For Atalanta it will be a comeback too far after the thrilling way they got past Borussia Dortmund and into the last 16, and their elimination would end Italy’s participation in the Champions League for this season. Being knocked out by European royalty is not disgrace for the traditionally tiny club punching way above its weight over at home and abroad the last decade. But it was a chastening night for both Raffaele Palladino’s players, who were applauded off by their vociferous support both at half-time and the final whistle, and Italian football.
“You can’t say anything other than compliment Bayern.. unfortunately it didn’t go as we’d hoped and we have to accept the defeat,” said Mario Pasalic, who scored the hosts’ consolation goal in stoppage time. “We just have to try to play the second leg with a bit of pride.” AFP
Slot had spoken of how taken aback he had been by the noise when Liverpool lost at what is now known officially as Rams Park in October, and said he hoped his players would be more used to it this time around. But it is probably not a noise you can get used to, a blood-curdling sound that leaves your ears ringing even in those blessed moments of relief when the home side had the ball.
Not that were many of those in the first five minutes in which Galatasaray looked distinctly anxious, repeatedly giving the ball away around their own box. But, as Slot has complained repeatedly this season, Liverpool have a habit of conceding to the first meaningful attack their opponents have, and so it was again. “Their first attack led to a corner and you have to give credit that when they get a chance they play it like it’s the last chance of their lives,” Slot said. “It’s something we can learn from: sometimes we treat chances like we’ll get 10 chances more.”
In September, it was with pace on the break that Galatasaray troubled Liverpool; this time it was the old vulnerability to set plays that undid them. Somehow as Gabriel Sara’s corner found Victor Osimhen at the back post, he was being marked by Alexis Mac Allister, a four‑inch height difference magnified by the Nigerian’s great leap. Osimhen headed across goal and Lemina nodded in.
The early lead meant Galatasaray could play in just the way that suits them, counterattacking at great pace down the flanks and crossing for Osimhen. The former Napoli striker is the great favourite of the home fans, something reflected in a pre‑match tifo honouring his mother, who died when he was still a child. It is easy to see why he is so popular. There are very few centre-forwards in the world with such a complete range of skills and it is frankly baffling that his agent got him into a contractual situation where none of the major western European clubs would sign him.
It could have been far worse for Liverpool. Giorgi Mamardashvili, in for the injured Alisson, made a handful of good saves, and Osimhen seemed to have doubled the lead but he was denied by a generous decision from the video assistant referee that deemed Baris Yilmaz to have been offside in the buildup, forcing Ibrahima Konaté into an ill-judged back‑pass. But what VAR giveth, it taketh away and Liverpool soon had a goal of their own ruled out, the ball apparently striking Konaté’s arm twice as it was bundled over the line from a Dominik Szoboszlai corner, although there may also have been a foul on Van Dijk.
There were chances for Liverpool in the final quarter, but this was Galatasaray’s night. “I don’t think it’s possible that so many things can go against us as they have in the last two games [against Galatasaray],” Slot said.
One goal may not be enough.
