Liverpool and Bayern Munich advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday with wins over Inter Milan and RB Salzburg on Tuesday.
Inter ended Liverpool’s year-long unbeaten record at home, as they won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Lautaro Martinez, but the Serie A champions went out 2-1 on aggregate.
Inter fans will be wondering how the last 30 minutes might have went if former Manchester United and Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez had not been sent off after two minutes after Lautaro’s goal for a second yellow card following his late challenge on Thiago.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said afterwards that Liverpool achieved their “main target” against a “really good side”:
“The difficulties we had were pretty close to what I expected, to be honest. Compliments to Inter, they are a really, really good side, set up for these kind of games,” Klopp said on BT Sport.
“So without playing brilliant, we had a lot of clear cut chances but we did not use them. They didn’t have that many but they scored a goal.
“I think over the two legs it is completely fine that we won one, they won one and we are through. That’s a fair assumption. In the end, of course, we could have done better against a side that makes life really uncomfortable.
“It was a very interesting game. Very open, a lot of things could have happened that didn’t. In the end, we lost the game, which obviously is not cool.
“We didn’t come here tonight to lose a home game. But again, respect to the opponent, they caused us a lot of problems. But if we use our chances from set-pieces, then we win this game, even if Inter is strong. We didn’t but we are through and that’s the main target.”
In Germany, some pundits thought Bayern was in danger of elimination after only drawing 1-1 at Salzburg. But Bayern put on a performance for the ages in a 7-1 win.
Bayern were led by Robert Lewandowski, who scored a record-breaking 10 minutes and 27 seconds hat-trick. The Polish striker had three goals to his name by the 23rd minute – the earliest anyone has ever completed a hat-trick in a Champions League game – as Bayern shook off their early nerves to crush Salzburg.
With the hat-trick scored on Tuesday, Lewandowski beat Marco Simone’s previous best of 24 minutes for Milan against Rosenborg in 1996.
The Pole has reached 85 Champions League goals in just 104 games, faster than Lionel Messi (107 games) and Cristiano Ronaldo (121) managed.
He is now the tournament’s top scorer with 12 goals this season and for a seventh successive season, Lewandowski has hit the 40-goal mark.
With just 10 minutes and 27 seconds between Lewandowski’s first and third goals, it was the fastest of the six hat-tricks the Pole has now scored in the Champions League.
“That was a statement win,” Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer told reporters.
“I think we started well and had the penalties and from there it just took off. We’re very happy with the performance today.
“I think we showed a different side of ourselves today and didn’t concede as many chances on the break.
“We were also more stable in defence, which obviously gives us hope that things can continue in that vein.”
