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First disappointment first. There was no Alphonso Davies for Bayern Munich in their Champions League clash with Liverpool on Tuesday.

And while the waves of dismay reverberated across Canada from its epicentre in Vancouver, the rest of the world was left wanting by a much-ballyhooed clash that ended in a flat, scoreless draw, completely bereft of the frenetic helter-skelter Liverpool offence that has rampaged through the Premier League.

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The latter sat just fine with Vancouver Whitecaps assistant coach Vanni Sartini. He was busy geeking out on the Reds’ remarkable defensive performance.

“I’m very focused on the defensive part of the game,” he said Tuesday from Los Angeles, where the team watched the game after training, part of their pre-season bonding.

“So when it’s a goalless draw, everyone is bored, but I’m pumped up.”

He watched as Fabinho, a defensive midfielder, stepped in for the suspended Virgil van Dijk in central defence, putting in a superlative showing on a makeshift and injury-riddled back line against one of the top strikers in the world in Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski.