WATCH: Liverpool Beats Porto in UCL 1st Leg; Keita, Firmino Score
Thanks to goals from Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino, Liverpool defeated Porto in their Champions League quarterfinal first leg at Anfield on Tuesday.
It was a solid, resilient display against the Portuguese side, which, despite the hard work, failed to break down a well-organized host. The game wasn't perfect for Liverpool, but it was enough to enter the second leg with confidence and more importantly, a two-goal cushion without having conceded any away goals.
Porto began the game aggressively and pushed the hosts in the opening minutes. But despite the intent, Liverpool scored first through Keita. He scored on a deflected shot after a great pass from Firmino, who saw the ball from Sadio Mane's great work on the left wing. It was Keita's second in two matches after not having scored for Liverpool in his first season with the club.
In the 21st minute, Liverpool nearly grabbed a second after a defensive mishap gave Mohamed Salah a great chance to score, but Iker Casillas made it difficult as the Egyptian star took his shot wide and failed to capitalize. Regardless, Porto was vulnerable and chances were coming for Jurgen Klopp's team.
And minutes later, Liverpool made it 2-0 as Trent Alexander-Arnold picked up a ball from Jordan Henderson and crossed it for Firmino.
Moments later, VAR came in use as Alexander-Arnold committed a handball after defending inside the box, but after review, the defender was off the field of play when it happened. The half ended with Sergio Conceicao's team perhaps feeling slightly more confident as Liverpool had to deal with a few half chances in the last few minutes before the break, but it all came to nothing as the host remained in control as the main official blew the whistle after the first 45.
Once the second half kicked off, Liverpool looked to finish off its opponent as Mane thought he had grabbed the third goal after he put the ball in the back of the net after a free kick into the box, but the linesman correctly raised his flag for offside.
As the game reached the 75th minute, Liverpool continued its domination by pressing everytime Porto regained possession but the visiting team stayed firm on its strategy of playing out wide and had a few chances as Moussa Marega took a shot from the right but it was not enough to bother Alisson Becker.
As we reached the end of the game, Salah was probably lucky not to receive a booking after a harsh tackle on Danilo. Luckily for the Liverpool star, he escaped what could have been at least a yellow.
Porto ended the game well, pushing for a precious away goal, but Liverpool held on and ended the first leg with a two-goal advantage.
Here were the lineups for both sides:
The second leg of their quarterfinal will take place in Portugal next week, with Porto welcoming Liverpool to the Estadio do Dragão on Wednesday, April 17.
