Liverpool 0-0 Bayern Munich - 5 Talking Points, UEFA Champions League 2018-19

#3 Liverpool's makeshift centre-backs come up trumps

Fabinho led the Liverpool rearguard admirably in the absence of Virgil van Dijk

Fabinho is a defensive midfielder by trade. NOT a centre-back. You'd be forgiven for thinking, on the basis of this game, that he is a seasoned campaigner at the heart of the defence.

The Brazilian was superb - strong in the air against Lewandowski, perfect in his reading of the game, and just 100% when he slid in for tackles.

This was a potential problem area for Liverpool, with Virgil van Dijk suspended, and Dejan Lovren and Joe Gomez both nursing injuries.

Putting in a midfielder at the back is never ideal, but even more so when you put him in to partner a centre-back who doesn't inspire too much confidence on the best of days.

But, Joel Matip was imperious at the back too. He never backed down from the challenge of having to deal with Lewandowski, who despite a lack of impact on this game, could not be faulted for want of effort.

Even a series of Bayern corners was not going to be enough to overcome Matip and Fabinho, and that would have been a huge relief to Klopp. In recent games, the Reds had been a little bit more shaky while defending dead-balls, and in the absence of their most prized asset in those situations, it was critical that Matip and Fabinho stood up to the challenge.

Two particular instances from Fabinho stood out. One, an inch-perfect tackle in his own six-yard box to deny Lewandowski a shooting opportunity, and the other, a superb slide in to deny Coman who was just turning on the afterburners on the counter-attack.

The clean sheet means that Liverpool will still fancy themselves to get the job done in Munich, especially if they get the first goal, in which case Bayern would have to press the gas more, and leave themselves open to the Liverpool break.