With a result that deserves to be considered as one of their very best in their recent Champions League history, Liverpool dramatically made up for their home stalemate by producing a brilliant 3-1 win at the Allianz Arena, home of their latest conquests, Bayern Munich.
Like the Reds, Munich are five-time European champions, though Niko Kovac’s side showed relatively little semblance of these prestigious credentials.
With Liverpool qualifying for the Quarter-Finals of this year’s competition, this will be the first time since the 2008/09 that four English teams have reached the last eight.
Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, and Manchester City are also in the pot after seeing off their own respective competition.
Liverpool, under manager Jurgen Klopp, continue on their daunting task of competing on two fronts; trying to emulate their success of the previous season in getting to the Final, and trying to break their near three-decade Premier League hoodoo.
Over on English shores, the Reds are tussling with incumbent champions City for the title, having failed so far to win it in the Premier League era and not being declared English champions since 1989/90.
In the Premier League, Liverpool have eight fixtures left to play. Fortunately (?) they have already been knocked out of the FA Cup, meaning in total there’s the potential for 13 games before the season’s conclusion should Klopp’s side continue to progress in Europe.
Liverpool will now find out their fate on Friday 15th March, with the draw in Nyon, Switzerland, to see who will they will play in the next stage of the Champions League.
The two-leg Quarter-Finals are due to take place on the 9th and 10th April, and the 16th and 17th April.
The first meeting for Liverpool is due to take place in the week after an away trip to Southampton (St. Mary’s, Saturday 6th April). The return leg, whether at Anfield or afar is between an important home encounter with top-four battlers Chelsea, and a journey to South Wales against relegation threatened Cardiff City.
Should Liverpool see of their Champions League Quarter-Final opponents, the Semi-Finals are scheduled for 30th April or 1st May, the second leg a week later on 7th or 8th May.
A home visit from rock-bottom Huddersfield Town precedes the first leg, with a travel further north to Newcastle United on the following Saturday afternoon.
If they make their way all the way to the final two in Europe’s premier competition, Liverpool will have a relaxing, breathe-easy near-three week reprieve. There will be 19 days between their last domestic fixture, at home against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and the Champions League Final.
The Champions League Final takes place on Saturday 1st June at Atletico Madrid’s home ground of the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano in the Spain capital.
