Georginio Wijnaldum is committed to Liverpool and has regained his calm against Bayern Munich – David Maddock

There was a moment in the first half, when Alisson's excellent distribution game seemed to inspire a collective panic within his team.

The pbadage became frenzied and stupid, the form and discipline of their pressing game was misplaced to the point of becoming nonexistent, and the possession was as ragged as the beard's wild beard.

Bayern felt the blood and entered the midfield with an energy that denied his reputation as a slow and aging team, pushing the locals home and forcing them to return the ball to an alarming frequency.

Jurgen Klopp could see it. He frantically gestured and shouted by his side to get the ball down, find space and calm and get out of a more and more dangerous medium.

This is the time when leaders must badume their responsibilities, and for those who are not paying attention this season, it is perhaps an unlikely person who reacted first, who gave the Germans reason to pause and to release their press.

Georginio Wijnaldum took the ball, with two men supporting him, turned and cleared a back almost the size of Kenny Dalglish to protect himself and repel the dangers, then sneak into space and advance with intent .

These are the little things that the Dutch do so incredibly well, taking the pressure under fire in the heat of the midfield battle, keeping the ball and breaking the lines. In fact, in terms of keeping possession of the ball as part of the challenge, there are few better ones in Europe at the moment.

This is not the glamorous stuff. It's not the talent of James Rodriguez that has been noticed, for example, but it's essential, as is his ability to read the game and be there, where the ball is, always at the right time.

Wijnaldum is a modern footballer, a thinker who understands the tactical plan and the performer for his teammates. Whoever can play – and have played this season – in any number of positions and plays every role with the same confidence.

Here, he was playing more ahead than this season, but he sometimes came back for help while Liverpool seemed about to break up, using his sense of position to bring Liverpool back into a game that they seemed to have lost control of. of.

Many will have noticed Captain Jordan Henderson's thunder – and important jousting – or Naby Keita's juggling skills. They certainly noticed the surprising night of Mo Salah's night and Sadio Mane's failures.

But his teammates will have noticed the crucial role played by Wijnaldum. Former Reds European Cup winner Phil Thompson summed it up beautifully, citing the Dutchman as being as useful as the legendary pre-game.

"We had a player, Ray Kennedy, the fans were always complaining about him, but we knew how good he was. Wijnaldum is identical and he should be first on the scoresheet.

"He has a great knowledge and awareness of where he is on the ground. He is a talented player in more ways than the silky talents of the players at the front. "

It has never been more important than in the first half of Tuesday night, when the match seemed to move away from Liverpool and the Dutchman had to fight through the battle zones.

But he and they emerged without yielding when it could have opened the floodgates. And this helped to restore at least a semblance of calm that allowed Klopp's men to gain a foothold in the match.

It was hardly vintage Liverpool. The Kop was almost dumbfounded at Salah's inefficiency for so long, given the lack of pbades throughout the match.

That said, much remains to be done in the return leg in Munich, where Bayern's weakness in terms of counter-attacks will be severely tested and this score may not be as disappointing as Anfield's score. Tuesday.

For this, they must thank Wijnaldum, as well as the indefatigable Henderson, as well as the improvised half-match fortune that remained strong despite their obvious discomfort.

And for that, Gini deserves the praise of Kop … and perhaps, just maybe, a recognition of the hard ground that makes him an unsung hero.