LFC Foundation
LFC Legends in 10 Goal Thriller
Raising funds for charities associated with the Foundations of both clubs was the reason behind the game and it was a hugely entertaining afternoon as the two sides fought out a 5-5 draw with an Anfield legend scoring for FC Bayern and LFC's late equaliser coming from a surprising source.
Much of the focus was on Xabi Alonso, who was playing in his first match for 10 months having retired in May 2017 following his final appearance for FC Bayern. The Spanish playmaker appeared for Liverpool FC in the first half and then wore FC Bayern's colours after the break in front of a sold-out Anfield.
With player-coach Ian Rush in charge of the Reds and German legend Klaus Augenthaler – who marked Rushie in the 1981 European Cup semi-final – managing FC Bayern both sides fielded some of world football's most famous players with Steven Gerrard and Lothar Matthaus going head-to-head in central midfield. It made for quite a match.
In a frantic first-half it looked like Liverpool FC were going to run away with things. Dirk Kuyt headed home a fifth minute opener, Michael Owen pounced on a goalkeeping error to poach a second in the ninth minute and Robbie Fowler nudged a third over the line from close-range in the 17th minute to have Anfield purring.
But Der FCB aren't Germany's most successful club for nothing and by the 33rd minute they were ahead with Luca Toni, Paulo Sergio and Alexander Zickler, twice, all finding a way past Jerzy Dudek. A stunned LFC side recovered, though, with a deflected Fowler free-kick shortly before half-time sending the sides into the interval level at 4-4.
The second half wasn't as action packed – one or two of the lads on both sides appeared to be feeling their ages – and it looked like Alonso was going to give FC Bayern a victory when he curled home a free-kick past David James for a goal that also earned him applause from LFC fans despite it coming against their team.
However, in the 88th minute Norwegian full-back Bjorn Tore Kvarme fired home an equaliser into the roof of the Kop net and with just seconds to play Gerrard saw a rasping effort brilliantly tipped onto the crossbar by Uwe Gospodarek before Luis Garcia tucked home the rebound only for it to be ruled out for offside. It finished 5-5, which wasn't a bad result for Xabi!
“It’s always great to be back here, but it was such a special game for me playing the first half with Liverpool and the second half with Bayern. Both clubs are attached to my heart,” Alonso told liverpoolfc.com. “It was a great crowd, a full house, and the atmosphere was fantastic, like it always is here.”