Niko Kovac has congratulated Liverpool for beating Bayern Munich 3-1 on Wednesday night and explained how Jurgen Klopp’s side “exposed” his outfit’s limitations.
Sadio Mane’s brilliant opener was cancelled out by Joel Matip’s own goal before half-time but Virgil Van Dijk’s first Champions League goal for the club meant Bayern then had to score two more. Mane converted a far-post diving header late on to seal the tie.
Kovac, whose Bayern side went top of the Bundesliga at the weekend after scoring 13 goals in their last two matches, could only praise their opponents.
“We were up against very, very strong opponents. I’d like to congratulate Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp, ” Kovac said.
“They were the better team over the two matches. We kept the contest open until Liverpool’s second goal. You saw a set-piece can be decisive in a match like this.
“They closed us down well. We didn’t manage to play calmly and set up (Robert) Lewandowski, that’s why it was a deserved defeat.
“Our opponents attacked very early and at a high pace. We tried to use our full-backs to attack.
“We didn’t succeed because our opponents did a really good job, whereas we didn’t have our best day.
“Liverpool are a top team. They were finalists last year and are among the top teams in the Premier League. They exposed our limitations.”