Stalemates in Europe: How did we not see a goal in Champions League?

Liverpool and Bayern played out to a goalless draw at Anfield [Courtesy]

Football fans around the world have been infuriated by the barren draws recorded in the Champions League matches that were played Tuesday night, February 19.  

Football faithful got less than what they bargained for after disappointing stalemates in what they expected to be ‘mouthwatering’ clashes considering the expensive goal-scoring machines fielded by the teams.

The four European giants in action fielded approximately 430 million pounds’ worth of attacking talent but still failed to find the back of the net.

In England, Liverpool and Bayern Munich played out to a 0-0 draw as the Reds were frustrated by Niko Kovac’s side, who used resilient defensive tactics to hold fort.

As the game progressed, it was Jurgen Klopp’s men who looked nervy due to the pressure that comes with playing such a high profile fixture at the Kop. Attacking duo Sadio Mane and Mohammed Salah attempted a couple of shots at goal but weren’t good enough to trouble Bayern’s German shot-stopper Manuel Neuer.

In another Champions League match in France, Barcelona forwards Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez failed to impress as they blew chances to take an advantageous lead back to the Camp Nou. The La Liga outfit dominated proceedings for better parts of the match. However, a stubborn Lyon defence never gave Messi and co the chance to operate at full strength.

Lyon players gang up on Barcelona's Lionel Messi [Courtesy]

Social media has been oozing with both nasty and positive reactions following the barren draws. Some fans are looking at the teams’ failure to score as a letdown while others are looking forward to the return fixtures for salvation.

Here are some of the reactions on social media collected by Game Yetu:

Barcelona's last four away games across all competitions:

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Struggling for goals on their travels. ="https://t.co/VlxK9jtGtm">pic.twitter.com/VlxK9jtGtm< — Mussa (@mozyinho) ="https://twitter.com/mozyinho/status/1098017786243284992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2019<

This has to be one of the most boring matchdays in history — °•Kwandoh????¹¹ (@Kwandoh_11) ="https://twitter.com/Kwandoh_11/status/1097978431130746886?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2019<

A match without goals is just sad.
Worse when 4 top teams are playing simultaneously and yet the game ends in a stalemate... A goalless one — THE ILLUSTRATOR (@LordCloud3) ="https://twitter.com/LordCloud3/status/1097988374047215617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2019<

No, certainly not... But I don't expect two highly anticipated games running simultaneously not to have any goal — THE ILLUSTRATOR (@LordCloud3) ="https://twitter.com/LordCloud3/status/1098000146384723968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2019<

Both games draw. Game on second leg! ="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LIVBAY?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LIVBAY< ="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LIVFCB?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LIVFCB< ="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UCL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UCL< — Visit Blue Planet (@VisitBluePlanet) ="https://twitter.com/VisitBluePlanet/status/1097978006298075136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2019<