Liverpool put one foot into the Champions League semi-finals following Ibrahim Konate, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz scored in their 3-1 win over Benfica in Lisbon, in the first leg of the quarter-finals.
And the English team needed 17 minutes to advance through defender Konate, who headed from close range following a corner kick.
Jurgen Klopp’s team pressed for a one-sided victory in the first half, during which Mohamed Salah, Diaz and Naby Keita missed dangerous opportunities.
Mane doubled the score following a superb header from Luis Diaz in the 34th minute.
The Portuguese team’s start was promising following the break, and Dario Nunez reduced the difference by exploiting a fatal mistake from the French Konate, who failed to clear a cross 4 minutes following the start of the second half.
The hosts gained confidence in the packed Lochs stadium and looked for a draw.
But the Colombian Diaz, the former Porto striker who never lost once morest rivals Benfica, added the third goal in the 87th minute from a counter-attack, taking advantage of Keita’s pass.
Diogo Jota might have widened the difference in overtime, but Benfica goalkeeper Odesias Vlachodimos prevented him from scoring the fourth goal in a one-on-one opportunity.
The 27-year-old Greek goalkeeper made at least five dangerous attempts to prevent Liverpool from winning an even bigger victory.
“Benfica fought for his life, we gave them a lot but they also deserved the goal, although we might have defended better,” said Klopp, manager of Liverpool.
He concluded: We know a lot regarding our opponent, they beat Ajax, we are aware of their quality and we have a good match once morest them, but we will be ready once more.
Andy Robertson, left back for Liverpool, said: “It was a difficult match but we created a lot of chances to score more goals in the second half and we didn’t succeed.” We retreated and allowed them to return to the game with the support of their fans.
He added, “Luis Diaz received a nice reception from the beginning and played once morest an opponent, but he made the difference with a beautiful goal along with two more goals, and we hope to complete the task.”
Liverpool faced pressure in some periods, especially from Nunez, the Portuguese league’s top scorer, who proved to be one of the most prominent rising strikers in Europe. And constituted a constant threat to goalkeeper Alisson Becker, who withstood the pressure.
