"World-class tonight, exceptional performance" - Liverpool fans thrilled with 27-year-old star's performance against Benfica 

Liverpool secured a hard-fought 3-1 away victory over Benfica in the first leg of the UEFA quarterfinals. While Ibrahima Konate, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz all got on the scoresheet, Liverpool fans were thrilled with the performance of 27-year-old midfielder Naby Keita.

The Guinean international had a wonderful game in the center of the park for Liverpool and capped off a fine evening with an assist for Luis Diaz in the dying stages of the game.

Much was expected from Naby Keita when he arrived from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2018 for £52.75m. However, a combination of form and fitness concerns had seen the midfielder drop down the pecking order.

Keita has managed to stay fit this season, however, and Liverpool are now starting to see the best of the 27-year-old. Fans and pundits on Twitter could not contain their excitement after a brilliant performance by Keita.

Here are some of the best tweets about Naby Keita's performance in the game against Benfica last night:

"Benfica fought for their life" - Jugen Klopp satisfied with tough 3-1 victory for Liverpool

SL Benfica v Liverpool FC Quarter Final Leg One - UEFA Champions League

Liverpool went in at the break with a comfortable 2-0 lead but Benfica made life difficult for the visitors in the second half. The home side started the second half in dominant fashion and got a goal back through Darwin Nunez in the 49th minute.

However, Liverpool held on and added a vital third goal thanks to some excellent play from Naby Keita. The Guniean midfielder won the ball back and released Luis Diaz, who calmly went around the goalkeeper and slotted in from a tight angle.

Speaking about the game, Klopp told BT Sport:

"Coming here and winning an away game in the Champions League is tough. Benfica fought for their lives, we gave them a little bit too much but they deserved the goal as well, even though we could have defended better - they had counter attacks, it is not easy to keep the ball all the time. They have really good players."

Liverpool next face Manchester City in a crucial Premier League encounter on April 10. Only one point separates the two sides at the top of the table and the clash could go a long way in deciding the Premier League title race.

It will be interesting to see if Naby Keita starts the game after his heroics against Benfica.