England’s new Fab Four
Sadio Mane scored twice to send Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool into the Champions League quarterfinals with a 3-1 win at Bayern Munich in the second leg of the last 16 yesterday.
Mane opened the scoring with a delicate finish in the 26th minute and added Liverpool’s third in the 84th by heading in Mohamed Salah’s cross.
Serge Gnabry had forced an own goal from Joel Matip to equalise in the 39th, but Liverpool went ahead again through a corner when Virgil Van Dijk met James Milner’s cross with a thumping header in the 69th.
‘‘Scoring three is really difficult. Actually, we scored four because we scored the other one as well.
‘‘It’s a big step for us,’’ said Klopp, whose team lost in the final to Real Madrid last year. ‘‘We really are back in the landscape of international football.’’
After a scoreless first leg, Liverpool’s win puts four English teams into the quarterfinals for the first time since 2009. Manchester United, Tottenham and Manchester City also advanced.
It’s the first time since 2006 that there will be no German team among the last eight.
‘‘We deserved to lose today. Liverpool was the better team in two games. Today we were shown our limits,’’ said Bayern coach Niko Kovac.
Klopp, who previously coached Bayern’s old foe Borussia Dortmund, led the away fans’ celebrations after the final whistle.
‘‘I’m proud and happy, because this club deserves awareness again,’’ said Klopp, who also lost the final to Bayern with Dortmund in 2013 but said past disappointments played no role.
‘‘It’s not sweeter for me because it’s Bayern. I want to win for Liverpool and not to beat Bayern. It’s just a good moment for Liverpool and let’s enjoy that.’’
Also yesterday, Spanish giants Barcelona defeated Lyon 5-1 at home to progress with Lionel Messi scoring a double.
Barcelona started at an intense speed at the Camp Nou and rarely let up against Lyon as they reached the quarterfinals for the 12th season in a row.
Luis Suarez won a penalty when Jason Denayer was adjudged to have brought him down in the box and Messi kept his cool with a brilliant panenka to open the scoring on 18 minutes.
Uruguayan Suarez then teed up Philippe Coutinho for a tap-in to double the lead just after the hour mark.
Lyon struck through Lucas Tousart in the 58th but their hopes were quickly thwarted when Messi scored Barca’s third before Gerard Pique and substitute Ousmane Dembele added late goals.
‘‘When he’s at that level you almost can’t stop him,’’ Lyon coach Bruno Genesio said of Messi.