Liverpool vs Bayern Munich: Why Naby Keita shouldn’t start the Champions League round of 16 tie

Liverpool vs Bayern Munich: Why Naby Keita shouldn’t start the Champions League round of 16 tie
Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita has shown sparks of excellent form in recent weeks as he edges towards becoming the player the club thought they had signed in the summer.The Guinean, 24, has taken time to settle and find his role within Jurgen Klopp’s team at Anfield but he’s now showing his progressive play and ambitious nature.3

Liverpool ace Naby Keita has been steadily improving this season.

But, despite this, a Champions League match against German giants Bayern might not be the best fixture for Keita to start in.He spent two seasons in the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig and faced them five times – four in the league and once in the DFB-Pokal.Keita, though, won’t have many good memories, despite suggesting in an interview with Bild he had the knowledge to topple the Bavarian behemoths.He said: “I know about Bayern’s strengths and how to play against them.”The statistics, however, don’t quite show this to be the case and Klopp may be wise not to risk Keita, who may have personal revenge on his mind. In the five matches Keita played against Bayern Munich, he won only once and lost four.His first game against them lasted just 45 minutes as he was hauled off at half-time with RB Leipzig 3-0 down having seen team-mate Emil Forsberg sent off.The second encounter was a nine-goal thriller in east Germany as Leipzig lost 5-4 thanks to two late goals from David Alaba and Arjen Robben.3

Keita attempts to tackle Robert Lewandowski

A third outing saw Keita’s worst moment as he was sent off for two bookable offences in a German Cup defeat, and while the fourth also saw Keita on the losing team.But the Liverpool star did at least find some joy in his final league match against Bayern as he netted the equaliser against them in Leipzig’s 2-1 victory last March.3

Keita celebrates scoring against Bayern last March.

Whether or not Klopp will pick his 52million man is yet to be seen but it’s certainly worth him being wary of his record against Bayern.

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