BEVERLY HILLS, March 14, (THEWILL) – Sadio Mane recorded a brace in Munich to send Liverpool into the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions league, the second time in two successive seasons.
Virgil van Djik scored the third goal that made the Jurgen Klopp boys overcome the Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich 3-1 in the second leg of their Round of 16 match, despite a Joel Matip own goal that put the hosts on the score sheet.
The first leg at Anfield two weeks ago had ended goalless.
Liverpool now joined three other English Premier League teams, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham, at the quarter-finals stage of the UEFA league, the first since 2008/2009.
It is a bleaker picture in Germany as Bayern’s exit leaves no Bundesliga club in the quarters for the first time since 2005/06, as Borussia Dortmund and Schalke also bowed out in the last 16 — to Tottenham and Man City respectively.
This is the first time since 2011 that Bayern have failed to make the quarter-finals.
In the other qualifier, Barcelona trounced Lyon 5-1 aggregate to also reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
A 0-0 draw in France in the first leg last month meant Lyon always had a chance to make Barca nervous, but Messi’s sumptuously chipped penalty and a simple finish from Philippe Coutinho looked to have finished the tie before half-time.
Yet Lucas Tousart’s volley left Lyon one goal away from putting Barcelona out, only for Messi to take charge. He scored once more, before teeing up Gerard Pique and Ousmane Dembele to complete the victory.
Barca goes into Friday’s draw for the last eight as the sole Spanish representative. The last time Spain only had one team left at this stage of the competition was 2010.
The qualified teams for the quarter-finals of this season’s UEFA Champions League, after the final last-16 ties concluded on Wednesday are:
Barcelona (ESP)
Manchester City (ENG)
Manchester United (ENG)
Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)
Liverpool (ENG)
Juventus (ITA)
FC Porto (POR)
Ajax (NED)
Draw for quarter-finals and semi-finals will be held on Friday from 1100 GMT; unlike in previous rounds, there are no longer any restrictions on teams from the same country facing each other.
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