Liverpool made a statement of their intent in this season's Champions League by defeating Bayern Munich 3-1 in their own stadium on Wednesday night. Jürgen Klopp's side found the balance they needed between defence and attack to see off the Bundesliga giants and reach the quarter-finals. View our pick of some of the best images from a memorable victory for the club in the gallery below...<doc-sep>Once you have subscribed we will use the email you provided to send you the newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the newsletter email. "We had a strong opponent and we have to congratulate Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp," Niko Kovac said after his side’s 3-1 defeat on Wednesday night. “They were better in these two matches and we deserved to lose.” This was a magnanimous response from the Bayern Munich boss, who conceded his team were second best over the course of the two legs and deserved to go out before the Champions League quarter-finals. Make no mistake about it, despite Liverpool’s quality, this was an embarrassing result for Bayern. The German giants were firm favourites at the Allianz Arena, where they hadn’t been beaten since October, and their fans expected a victory. However, a brace from Sadio Mane and a header from Virgil van Dijk sent the visitors into the next round instead. Following such a disappointing night, Bayern Munich showed their class with an Instagram post congratulating Liverpool for their victory. Alongside several images from full-time, Bayern wrote: “Nothing but respect between the Red Titans! Congrats, @liverpoolfc. 🔴“ Liverpool fans have appreciated Bayern’s message and the German club have now gone up in their estimation. Here are some of the responses from Liverpool fans over on Reddit. @Clandestine2015 wrote: “Bayern are a great club and they always are class.” @Mikeed2000 added: “German clubs always seem to show a bit more class than others.” @TIBIDI said: “German clubs should be an example in many, many ways to the rest of Europe. especially transfers and the way they involve the fans with big decisions is admirable.” Meanwhile, @laddkemtonius wrote: “Big Bayern fan, can’t be upset you guys are great, hope you win everything and next year we see you in the final instead :)” It’s nice to see such mutual respect between two clubs and both sets of supporters after such a big European tie. Bayern have set a perfect example of how a big club should conduct themselves after going out of the Champions League. News Now - Sport News<doc-sep>Jürgen Klopp declared Liverpool's emphatic 3-1 victory over Bayern Munich a 'big step' in the team's development as they surged into the quarter-finals of the Champions League. After a goalless first leg at Anfield three weeks ago, the Reds opened the scoring midway through the first half through a wonderful Sadio Mane finish. The German champions were given hope, however, when Joel Matip inadvertently turned the ball into his own net 12 minutes later, meaning the teams went in at the interval on level terms. But it was to be Liverpool’s night at the Allianz Arena and Virgil van Dijk’s commanding header put them back in front before Mane glanced in a third late on. It propelled the Reds into Friday’s draw for the tournament’s last eight - and it was a performance Klopp was gushing with praise for following the conclusion of the contest. Read on for a summary of what the boss, who also offered an update on Jordan Henderson's injury after the captain was forced off early on, had to say in his post-match press conference… On Liverpool’s performance and victory… I see it the same like all the boys in the dressing room, like how everybody sees it who is with us: it is a big night. We had a change early and we wanted to play more football than we did in the first half, so we changed that for the second half and it was much better. We scored an outstanding goal in the first half - an outstanding goal, wow. Conceded one as well, but I think after 45 minutes everybody knew it will not be easy for Munich; it’s possible, but will not be easy. How I see it is that is important information in a football game for an opponent, who were full of confidence before the game. We had to try to impress and we did that. The second half, I was really happy - not only because we scored two goals, but because we played football - how mature it was, how strong we looked, how good we defended. Bayern have so much quality, unbelievable - they are quick on the wings, strong everywhere, hard challenges and all that stuff, good in the last line, sensational goalkeeper - and we impressed them. That’s a massive thing for us. Watch: Extended highlights from the Allianz Arena On Van Dijk’s display… It was brilliant. He was involved in the goal of Bayern as well, so what a night! What can I say? I could write a book about his skills, his strength, how much I like him, what a fantastic person he is. He is so young, already so mature, really strong, all good. Virg knows he can play better than he did tonight; we can play better than we did tonight. Tonight we played - especially the second half - as good as necessary and as possible. It is so important that you stay in a game, that you are really stable, that you really have real answers to all the questions, that you can change things, that you can use different tools. There was a pass from Trent in the second half that went through all three lines, more or less, to Bobby, he turned and he couldn’t finish the situation off but it was just [brilliant]. We had so many good football moments, especially in the second half, and I like that - that we developed in the game so much. It’s so important. It is a difficult place to come and not a lot of teams have on their cards an away win at Munich. We have that now and that’s cool. Difficult but cool. On Bayern’s confidence coming into the game because of their excellent Bundesliga form… It is a different competition, a different moment, a different pressure situation. You have three or four days for a game like this and you forget the league in these moments. It’s not about scoring six in the last game, maybe there is a little feeling inside somewhere confidence-wise, but on the other hand they knew it was a different cup of tea tonight and that we are a really good opponent. That’s what we were. Scoring three here is really difficult, really difficult. Actually, we scored four because the other goal we scored as well! It’s massive, a big step for us - a big, big, big one for us. We will see what we can do with it, but it is still fantastic sign that we again set a mark for LFC, for this wonderful club, that we really are back on the landscape of international, top-class football. We all think that’s where this club belongs and tonight we proved it a little bit. In the moment, you can hear it, I am really happy about the result and the fact we are through. It is not that I expected it - I knew we had a chance, but I didn’t expect it would happen, that it really would work out. The boys made it happen and that’s brilliant, absolutely brilliant. On whether beating Bayern away represents a significant step towards the level he ultimately wants Liverpool to get to… Yeah, that’s what I mean. There are some places in world football that whichever team, if Man City comes here, if Barcelona comes here, if Real Madrid comes here, it’s not that they expect to win. They know it’s a very, very tough place to come. This club has always outstandingly strong football teams and they have now, but we kept them as often away from our goal as possible. I don’t know about the statistics but my impression was that there were not too many difficult situations in and around our box. That’s a massive sign, the first step to winning a game like this: it’s not about playing your best football, free-flowing, that’s not possible against this quality. You cannot use your speed, really, because the other team is quick as well. It’s not a massive advantage so you have to find different ways [and] tonight we found them.<doc-sep>After Liverpool stylishly progressed to the Champions League quarter-finals by beating Bayern Munich 3-1, we picked out 10 top stats to emerge from the victory at the Allianz Arena. Since the start of last season, no player has provided more Champions League assists than James Milner’s 10. Sadio Mane has now scored seven away goals in the Champions League for Liverpool – more than any other player for the club in the history of the competition (including the European Cup). Mane has scored 69 per cent of his Champions League goals in the knockout stages of the competition (9/13). Of players with at least 10 goals, only Ivica Olic (7/10 – 70 per cent) has a higher such percentage in Champions League history. The Senegal international’s brace at the Allianz Arena made it 10 goals in his last 10 Liverpool appearances. The Reds are now unbeaten in their last eight matches played in the Round of 16 of this competition, winning six and drawing two, with only one goal conceded. Watch: Extended highlights from the Allianz Arena Liverpool have won their last four European ties after playing the first leg at home, the victory over Bayern following Champions League wins against Manchester City and AS Roma last season and Europa League success over Manchester United in 2016. Jürgen Klopp has a 100 per cent record in two-legged European ties as Liverpool manager, this his ninth success. In his overall managerial career, he has won 16 out of 20. The Reds have found the net at least twice in 15 of their last 23 European fixtures. Virgil van Dijk scored his first ever Champions League goal on his 19th appearance in the competition. The centre-back became the first Liverpool player to both score and assist in an away Champions League knockout match since Craig Bellamy against FC Barcelona in February 2007.<doc-sep>
Liverpool's win over Bayern Munich will give the club a "massive boost" in the Premier League title race, says Tim Sherwood. Sherwood said the maturity shown by Jurgen Klopp's side, who beat Bayern on away soil for the first time, would help them build momentum in a tightly-fought race for the Premier League crown with nine games to go of the league season. Liverpool had gone into the game having won only one of their five previous games and with the lead in the title race surrendered to Manchester City, questions were asked whether the Champions League was an unnecessary distraction for Klopp's side. 0:45 Klopp says his side are back on the international football landscape following their 3-1 win against Bayern Munich in the Champions League But Sherwood told The Debate the "shot in the arm" the win in Munich would give his side was irreplaceable, saying: "You're meant to want to win every football match you take part in. "If you tell your players we're not going to try because we're putting all our eggs in the Premier League basket, well it's difficult enough to win any tournament especially when Man City are around in both. "So have a go at trying to win everything. That's what they're doing and this will give them a massive boost going into the league campaign. Image: Virgil van Dijk's header, which fired Liverpool back in front, ultimately put the tie beyond Bayern "We've got a little bit of a break now, with internationals, and I think it's a massive shot in the arm for the club. They will think they can go away and win anywhere now." Former Liverpool defender Phil Babb echoed Sherwood's sentiment and said their run to the quarter-finals, while fighting for the domestic title, was down to the Reds' new-found ability to prioritise results over performances. Image: Jurgen Klopp celebrates leading Liverpool to a 3-1 victory at Bayern Munich He said: "It's a progression. They got to the final last year, maybe they've got a score to settle with that. They just seemed to be grinding out results. It doesn't have to be a brilliant performance, they're just doing it right. They're so well-drilled defensively, and you can always rely on the front three. "Henderson got injured tonight but Fabinho came on and did a great job, it wasn't pretty, he was breaking up play any time they tried to get on the ball, he was there fouling and being a nuisance. But that's all it took to play against an under-par Munich side. "I just think this result, away from home is going to give Liverpool that extra impetus to crack on for the rest of the season."