Liverpool played with Fabinho in his customary No. 6 role, leaving Nat Phillips and Ozan Kabak as the centre backs, and from the start this configuration looked far more comfortable with the Brazilian’s shielding of the defence and link up play as the Reds went forward reminding us all of the Liverpool of the last two seasons, when they won the Champions League and then the Premier League.
Liverpool had enough chances in the first half to put the game to bed, with Diogo Jota, in for the injured Roberto Firmino, finding himself in good positions on several occasions to open the scoring only to fluff his lines. His best chance fell on 45 minutes, when the ball broke to him on the edge of the six yard box, but with the goal gaping the Portuguese striker managed to shoot the ball the wrong side of the post.
The second half continued in the same vein, with RB Leipzig rarely threatening and Liverpool always looking the more likely; but the more the game went on the more concern grew that a goal from the Germans could turn the momentum – and there was a scare when a looping header from Alexander Sorlorth on the 67th minute hit the bar – only for all fears to end on the 71st minute when some classy combination play on the edge of the Leipzig area between Jota, Sadio Mané and Mo Salah ended with the Egyptian striker cutting in and stroking the ball into the corner of the goal.
Liverpool could relax and manager Jurgen Klopp brought on Divock Origi for Jota and Naby Keita for Thiago Alcantara and the two subs immediately combined on the 75th minute for Origi to send in a powerful curling cross from the right into the path of the oncoming Mané who couldn’t miss from two yards out. Game over.
Liverpool can now look forward to the draw for the quarter finals in 11 days time, with the first leg of the tie not due to be played for another month. By that time, it’s hoped Liverpool’s injury crisis would have eased and a clearer picture would have emerged of what part Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip and Jordan Henderson might play for the rest of the season. These players will be needed if Liverpool are to progress deep into the Champions League competition, since it’s hard to see the Reds lifting the trophy with Phillips and Kabak as the centre-back partnership.
