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Premier League title contenders Liverpool made the trip to Portuguese giants Benfica’s backyard for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Tuesday night.
The Reds, who had tasted defeat in their last three visits to Benfica, broke the unpleasant streak in style, securing a 3-1 win at the Estadio da Luz.
Liverpool got the ball rolling in front of a packed stadium. They were effortless in their passing and movement and troubled Benfica’s backline inside the opening five minutes. Andy Robertson’s cross from the left flank found Sadio Mane in the middle, but the Senegal international could not keep his header on target. Five minutes later, Mohamed Salah was played through on goal, but the Egyptian surprisingly failed to apply the finishing touch.
Their early pressure ultimately bore fruit in the 17th minute, when Ibrahima Konate headed the ball home from Robertson’s inch-perfect corner-kick. Seventeen minutes later, the Reds doubled their lead as Mane applied the finishing touch to Luis Diaz’s headed ball across goal.
Despite going two goals down, Benfica refused to throw in the towel and came at the six-time Champions League winners with everything they had. Four minutes into the second half, Darwin Nunez converted for the Portuguese outfit, capitalizing on a rare slip-up by first-half goalscorer Konate.
Having conceded, the Merseysiders suddenly became uncomfortable in possession and were affording Benfica an abundance of room. In the 60th minute, Brazilian star Everton got clean through on goal, but was heroically denied by Reds goalkeeper Alisson.
Jurgen Klopp made a triple substition, bringing on Jordan Henderson, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino to get a hold of the game. The Merseyside giants soon regained control of the proceedings.
In the final stretch of the match, the Premier League giants rediscovered their mojo and deservedly scored their third goal of the night through Diaz. The Colombian’s strike sealed a 1-3 win in Lisbon, giving the Reds a comfortable lead going into next week’s return leg.
The win was deserved but was far from comfortable for Klopp and Co. Below, we will take a look at five players who stepped up to secure a vital victory and two who made the whole ordeal surprisingly difficult.
Performed: Trent Alexander-Arnold
Keeping Trent Alexander-Arnold ahead of Robertson was a tough call, especially considering how great the Scot was from set-pieces.
However, the Englishman’s excellent first-half display and juicy long balls just about clinched it for us.
He was supremely confident in possession, expertly dispatched long balls all night long (11 out of 13), and didn’t allow Benfica forwards to dribble past him.
His best moment of the match came in the 34th minute when a glorious long-ball of his found Diaz inside the box. The Colombia international headed the ball in Mane’s path, who took care of the rest.
Underperformed: Thiago Alcantara
When on song, Liverpool central midfielder Thiago Alcantara is almost unplayable. He dominates the midfield, sprays passes in all directions, and never seems to run out of creative ideas.
Unfortunately, his performance on Tuesday night did not demonstrate any of the aforementioned traits.
He was very easily brushed aside by the Benfica midfielders. The Spain international lacked an end product in the final third and also ceded possession quite a few times.
Before being taken off in the 61st minute for Jordan Henderson, Thiago lost five ground duels, failed to make a key pass, and lost possession 10 times.
It was a bad day at the office for one of the most talented midfielders around.
Performed: Naby Keita
While the naturally gifted creative midfielder struggled to dominate proceedings, Naby Keita showed Benfica how it was done.
He was practically omnipresent on Tuesday night, creating quite a few chances and bagging the assist for Liverpool’s third goal scored by Luis Diaz.
In the 87th minute, Keita won the ball back in a dangerous area and played an inch-perfect pass in Diaz’s path. The Colombian made no mistake in finding the back of the net to restore Liverpool's two-goal cushion.
Apart from the crucial assist, Keita provided two key passes, won 10 duels, and registered eight recoveries.
Underperformed: Mohamed Salah
Premier League’s leading scorer (20 goals) Mohamed Salah has not looked at his best since failing to secure World Cup qualification for his country Egypt.
He cut a frustrating figure in the league clash against Watford last weekend and was far from impressive last night as well.
The Egyptian missed two one-on-one opportunities in the first half, was easily muscled out of possession, and even struggled to combine well with his teammates.
Before being subbed in the 61st minute for Diogo Jota, Salah lost five of his seven duels, ceded possession 22 times, and only attained 76.7 percent passing accuracy.
A worrying sign for Liverpool ahead of Sunday’s crucial top-of-the-table Premier League bout against Manchester City.
Performed: Luis Diaz
The undisputed star of Tuesday night’s show, Luis Diaz, was like a live wire from start to finish. He went for every ball, pressing tirelessly, and kept his cool when the time came.
Jurgen Klopp could not have asked for more from his January signing.
The Colombia international did ever so well to assist Mane for Liverpool’s second goal of the night. He brilliantly guided Alexander-Arnold’s long ball in the Senegalese’s path, allowing him to apply the finish from 10 yards out.
Diaz also scored his goal rather superbly in the 87th minute. Latching on to Keita’s pass, the former Porto man rounded the keeper before slotting the ball from a tight angle to secure a crucial win for the Reds.
