Bayern Munich's scoreless draw with Liverpool was thrilling

It is not often that a 0-0 draw can generate the intensity and excitement that we saw when Bayern Munich faced off against Liverpool at Anfield, but the atmosphere and speed of play on the pitch was electric.

Heading into the contest there were many reasons to think that Bayern could at least be a contender to suffer the same fate as Borussia Dortmund, who was thoroughly beaten in a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur last week.

But something happened on the way to Liverpool exerting itself on Bayern...the Bavarians reached into their bag of tricks to stifle the normally overpowering Liverpool offense. Niko Kovac achieved a few great things in managing to go toe-to-toe with the Premier League power (even if he caused Jurgen Klopp to meltdown).

1. Kovac's defensive strategy frustrated Liverpool

Bayern was far more conservative than normal -- and rightfully so. Liverpool thrives on pressuring the opposing back line until it eventually cracks, but Bayern avoided that by receiving outstanding performances from Mats Hummels, Niklas Sule, Joshua Kimmich, and David Alaba. Hummels was masterful, while Kimmich proved that he was fully capable of being a defensive force when he wants to shrug off the urge to push forward at all time. Alaba, as always, was just stellar and Sule limited his mistakes and played confidently.

The backline was bolstered by Javi Martinez (more on him below) and a concerted effort from wings Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry to track back.

2. Martinez had a game for his career highlight reel

The Spaniard was phenomenal and played his defensive midfield role to perfection. Martinez was smart and aggressive -- and totally disruptive to Liverpool's attack. It is not a secret that Martinez is no longer the first choice for Kovac, but to have a veteran able to pull out that type of performance on-demand is invaluable to a team like Bayern.

The Post-game Fallout

- The return leg won't be easy. Already without Thomas Muller thanks for a red card against Ajax, Kimmich will now miss the contest thanks to yellow card accumulation. Should Liverpool even score one away goal, Bayern's task will be enormously difficult.

- One thing that Kovac should explore is replacing James Rodriguez with Leon Goretzka. Goretzka sustained an ankle injury, which prevented him from playing yesterday, but his physical and aggressive style would seem to be a better fit than James for the return leg. At times yesterday, James was simply not effective enough and seemed uneasy about the pace of the game. The Colombian star has his qualities, but Liverpool might just be a bad matchup. Ideally, Muller would have been available to help get the best out of Robert Lewandowski, but that ship sailed when the German international received his infamous red card for the high kick on Ajax's Nicolás Tagliafico.

- With Kimmich out for the return leg, the right back position will likely be filled by erstwhile veteran Rafinha, who has been a solid fill-in. If disciplined, Rafinha can match Kimmich's defending, but he cannot provide the same potent offensive skills as the German.

- Bayern's Gnabry and Coman created chances, but need to be more clinical in the final third. The potential for great things is there (as evidenced by the production of each player this season), but Kovac will need his talented duo to start to be more efficient with regard to the team's quest for a quality end product and that will come will better decision-making, shot accuracy, and field vision.

In Summary

Bayern showed that it can handle an offensively gifted team like Liverpool, but will have to be even better in the return leg. Kovac and his staff will have roughly a month to strategize a way to win outright or at least score two goals and hold Liverpool to no more than one. It will not be easy. Liverpool is going to have Virgil van Dijk and Dejan Lovren back and healthy and the squad overall will be extremely motivated to show that it cannot be throttled down by any squad.

Bayern will have to find a way to break Liverpool's improved backline, while also maintaining its defensive discipline if it wants to have any chance of moving on. It will be a challenge for sure, but one thing is certain: If the excitement and intensity can at least rival what we saw at Anfield, it will be the fans who walk away the true winners.

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