Liverpool were held in their Champions League last 16 tie with Bayern Munich.

An open-ended first half saw the Reds enjoy a host of chances but failed to convert them as Sadio Mane and Naby Keita both went closest for the hosts.

Matters did not improve in the second half, leaving Jurgen Klopp’s side with it all to do when they travel to the Allianz Arena for next month’s return leg.

Here were the key talking points from Anfield:

Henderson produces a true captain’s display

 

Jordan Henderson’s greatest flaw is simply that he is not Steven Gerrard.

Succeeding the man ranked as one of Liverpool’s greatest all-time captains, both in position and authority, has been a difficult cross for the midfielder to bear.

Henderson, however, is clearly made of sterner stuff than critics will give him credit as proven by display which his predecessor would have been proud of.

It was not just the clever and incisive passes through to the Reds’ misfiring front line which caught the eye but also his defensive duties in regularly tracking back.

Most notably he spared the blushes of Jurgen Klopp’s side when Sadio Mane and Naby Keita’s crossed wires allowed Serge Gnabry a chance to bear down on goal.

A lung-busting run to stop the Bayern winger in his tracks drew an approving roar from across Anfield. He may have won over a few of his detractors tonight.

…but Reds’ front line fails to fire

 

Mane’s early mistake was not the only blot on Liverpool’s attacking copybook.

He and the rest of Klopp’s usually fearsome triumvirate were incredibly off-key. All the usual traits were there but the finesse eluded the Senegal international.

A gilt-edged chance should have put last season’s Champions League finalists ahead in the tie. Instead, Mane fluffed his line with only Manuel Neuer to beat.

Mohamed Salah, too, should have caused Bayern’s defence more problems than his sum of a weak back-post header from a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross.

Liverpool’s attempts at goal broke into double figures before the interval but, crucially, boiled down to a pitiful two shots on target across the entire game.

They also failed to muster a notable second-half attempt until the 80th minute. It was a rare off-day for a trio which has flourished in games of this magnitude.

No Van Dijk, no problem

 

Suspension rendered Virgil van Dijk a mere onlooker for this game. Robert Lewandowski may as well have been joining him in the stands.

Liverpool’s defence, already decimated by injury, has not been without its talismanic centre-back since a breathless win over Manchester City last year.

Bayern’s attack were expected to have a field day without the Dutchman.

But a makeshift pairing of Joel Matip and Fabinho were able to nullify Lewandowski to the point that he became a glorified on-field spectator.

He failed to land a blow on Alisson’s goal despite the Reds’ no.1 again finding himself guilty of being caught in possession early in the first half.

Klopp will doubtless be relieved that Van Dijk’s absence is confined to this game, but his stand-in charges can take pride from weathering the Bavarian storm.

History shines through Anfield anticlimax

 

Neither side will consider this stalemate a victory in the grander scheme of the tie but Liverpool have history on their side as they target a place in the quarter final.

Their last meeting with Bayern in Europe’s elite club competition also ended in a first leg stalemate at Anfield, leaving Bob Paisley’s side with it all to do in Munich.

Everybody knows what happened next.

Klopp’s players may need to emulate their illustrious predecessors’ heroic performance when they step out at the Allianz Arena in three weeks’ time.

Unlike ‘Paisley’s Panzer Division’ of 1981, they will at least have a near full-strength squad to negotiate the task.