Bayer 04 completed the dress rehearsal the weekend before the match at Anfield in style. Following the 4-2 win away at FC Kaiserslautern, the lead over second-placed Borussia Dortmund was extended to four points on matchday 29. For the quarter-final against Liverpool, whose 2-0 victory over Charlton Athletic saw them maintain top spot in the Premier League, Klaus Toppmöller had declared it to be an exhibition match after the ups and downs in the two group stages. But, of course, the continuing success of his team change things. "We will have our chances in Liverpool," said a confident Michael Ballack. And Toppmöller also saw "a good chance of going through to the semi-finals over the two legs." The Liverpool matchday programme showed there was respect for the "aspirin bombers", as Leverkusen were called, in the city on the River Mersey. "Bayer are possibly the most underrated quarter-finalists," warned Dietmar Hamann, the Germany international playing for the Reds. Toppmöller told his team to expect uncompromising opponents: "It's a man's game here." Toppmöller believed it would be a battling encounter at Anfield where the Werkself had to manage without the suspended captain Jens Nowotny. He was replaced in the back four by Carsten Ramelow. Thomas Brdaric was sidelined through injury. For Liverpool, who won the UEFA Cup, the FA Cup and the English League Cup the year before, the first leg of the quarter-finals was match number 200 on the European stage. And, up to that point, the Reds had never lost to a German team.
The Werkself had learned their lesson in the 4-1 defeat away to Arsenal in the second group stage and were intent on not conceding at Liverpool. And not to walk straight into a trap as in London – the Toppmöller group stuck to the maxim of safety first. As the Reds also initially played cautiously at their own ground, the encounter did not get anyone to their feet in the first half. A shot from Emile Heskey (8') went past Jörg Butt's goal by as much as a header from Vladimir Smicer (42'). At the other end, Leverkusen's attack mainly foundered on Liverpool's giant defenders Stephane Henchoz and Sami Hyypiä. The latter put the hosts ahead out of the blue just before half-time. The otherwise alert Diego Placente failed to intercept the ball from a Danny Murphy corner, Michael Owen was able to whip the ball back from the byline into the middle where Hyypiä only had to stick his foot out to score (44'). After the restart, the 44,000 spectators saw a more attacking home team who posed the greatest threat with moves involving John Arne Riise including a overhead kick (60') and another effort shortly after that saved by Butt (60'). Otherwise, the visitors’ solid defence kept it tight at the back. The only good chance for Leverkusen was missed by Michael Ballack from as Ze Roberto pass when he was unmarked (67').
The emotional climax came before kick-off. Immediately after a minutes silence for the ‘Queen Mum’, who had passed away four days before at the age of 101, the crowd started singing, "You'll never walk alone" – the legendary Liverpool song was really moving on that evening. And there was another touching moment: The Anfield crowd gave Liverpool's coach Gérard Houllier a great reception on his comeback. Five months before, he had to undergo a life-saving operation following a heart attack. Now the 40,000 plus fans sang “Olé, olé, Gérard Houllier” when he returned to his place in the dugout for the first time. The former French coach passed away in Paris at the age of 73 in December 2020.
After initial problems with the burly but agile Emile Heskey, Lucio improved over the course of the game and proved to be the best Leverkusen player on the night. "The way he dealt with everything after the break was absolutely world class," enthused Bayer 04 general manager Reiner Calmund.
"Huge compliments to the lads for this performance," said the injured Thomas Brdaric in praise of his teammates. "We'll turn it round on Tuesday." Klaus Toppmöller was not quite so happy after the game: "There's no question the 1-0 defeat in Liverpool is a crap result." And the coach specified what he was particularly annoyed about: "The goal came out of the blue and we were half asleep. We didn't do enough in the first half. We definitely wanted to get a goal here and not scoring really hurts." His Liverpool colleague Gérard Houllier said: "It's great to be back. It was a special evening for me." Reiner Calmund described the first half as a "game of chess for specialists," but was confident looking forward to the second leg: "For me, the chances are 50-50."
For the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, Sami Hyypiä was "a man mountain from Finland," and the key man on the pitch. "The 1.92 metre tall central defender hoovered up all the balls whether they reached him on the ground or in the air and he cleared them out of the penalty area with gusto." The Rheinische Post was also impressed by the match winner: "The Finnish giant Sami Hyypiä, with his chiselled features making him a candidate for the role of the bad boy in a James Bond film, was relentless in clearing the English team’s penalty area and he scored the winner just before the break." But the Leverkusen performance also earned recognition in the newspaper. "The structure was right with the Bundesliga league leaders. Toppmöller’s tactical formation with a packed midfield did not suit the reigning UEFA Cup winners. The Kölnische Rundschau was not impressed with the first half: "The match was mainly played in the neutral area of midfield, which probably only thrilled experts with coaching badges." The Kicker summed up the 1-0 win for the Reds as follows: "An overall deserved win for the somewhat more lively Liverpool team. Bayer were compact in defence but were not prepared to take risks as they usually do."
Liverpool: Dudek – Carragher, Henchoz, Hyypiä, Riise – Hamann, Murphy, Gerrard, Smicer (Berger 75’) – Heskey, Owen (Litmanen 69’)
Bayer 04: Butt – Sebescen, Lucio, Ramelow, Placente – Schneider, Ballack, Bastürk, Ze Roberto – Neuville (Zivkovic 66’), Berbatov (Kirsten 76’)
Goals: 1-0 Hyypiä (44’)
Booked: Carragher, Hyypiä – Lucio, Ramelow
Chances: 4-1
Corners: 6-4
Referee: Anders Frisk (Sweden)
Attendance: 44,000 (sold out)
Well over 1,000 Bayer 04 fans did not want to miss the chance of the unique experience at Anfield and they joined the Werkself for the second trip to England. Many of them spent the hours before kick-off with an individual Magical Mystery Tour in search of the Beatles, looked in at the legendary Cavern Club or kitted themselves out at the Liverpool fan shop on Williamson Square with fan merchandise of the English club. Up to nine million viewers (27.4% of the viewing figures) watched the match in Germany on RTL.
The second leg of the quarter-finals in Leverkusen was played on 9 April 2002 just six days after the 1-0 defeat in Liverpool. The other quarter-final first legs saw Manchester United win 2-0 at Deportivo, FC Bayern beat Real Madrid 2-1 at home and Barcelona lost 1-0 away to Panathinaikos.
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