Porto 1-4 Liverpool (1-6 agg): Five things we learned as front three seal semi-final berth

Liverpool secured their passage to the Champions League semi-finals for the second year running, beating Porto 4-1 in the second leg and 6-1 on aggregate.

The Reds advance to play Barcelona in the semi-finals.

Here’s five things we learnt from tonight’s match:

Anonymous in the first 25 minutes, Sadio Mane only needs a sniff.

Liverpool hadn’t even created a chance in an opening which involved more dogged defending than fluent attacking. But when Mo Salah dug out a cross in the box to the back post, you just knew Mane would reach it. Brilliant anticipation, as he stabbed the ball home beyond the helpless IkerCasillas. An absolute clincher for Liverpool – Mane’s 22nd goal of the season.

A goal not too unlike the one he scored in last year’s final, was the final dagger to Porto, and sent Liverpool a step closer to this year’s showpiece. Liverpool didn’t create another opportunity until first-half stoppage time… but at this level, it’s not whether you create chances, it’s whether you score your chances. And after Mane’s goal made it 3-0 on aggregate, giving Liverpool a crucial away goal, Porto were not scoring four. The Senegalese international missed an open goal in the second-half, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt with an opportunity he created all by himself.

Jurgen Klopp said pre-match that Divock Origi was starting not because of an injury to Roberto Firmino, but because the Belgian had showed “fantastic form for weeks and months already.” It was his first Champions League start, and he hadn’t played more than 17 minutes in any of his previous four appearances in the competition. And boy did it show.

Quiet throughout the first-half, the 23-year-old’s occasional surges down the left brought nothing other than a bunch of clumsy fouls and frustrated teammates. Granted, he performed his defensive work diligently, and granted his fresh legs did give Liverpool an outlet at times. But a somewhat pointless outlet if you can’t retain possession, no? Perhaps a tad harshly, but unsurprisingly, Origi was hauled off at half-time for Firmino. Origi was hopefully watching the way Firmino seamlessly linked midfield to attack, showing that a sumptuous first touch is often more vital than fresh legs. The Brazilian took his headed chance with aplomb, too.

An opportunity missed for Origi, who despite his Merseyside derby heroics in December, is yet to convince the majority of Liverpool fans. No sign of that “fantastic form” here, Jurgen.

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As you might’ve expected, Porto came out all guns blazing. With Moussa Marega and Yacine Brahimi running in behind with Otavio and Jesus Manuel Corona in support, Liverpool were on the ropes. And basically, Porto did everything but score.

In the first 20 minutes, Porto had a total of eight shots, but couldn’t make them count. Veteran defender Pepe, returning from suspension, was a constant threat from set-pieces but could not convert, and Marega was, much like the first leg, guilty of squandering some decent chances. The Mali international huffed and puffed, but Porto’s top scorer in the Champions League couldn’t convert. After a clever effort early on, which Alisson saved easily, Marega squandered an opportunity on the volley, and failed to strike the ball cleanly on countless occasions when shooting on the turn. His link-up play was again his best asset, but at this level, that is simply not enough.

After a 25 minutes which Porto dominated, Sadio Mane’s predator-like finish a minute later, originally given offside but awarded as a goal after a VAR check, knocked the stuffing out of the Portuguese champions. And they never recovered.

After a barren run where he didn’t score a goal in eight games, Mohamed Salah scored again and the Egyptian now has three goals in four games. But it was the clinical nature of tonight’s strike which will please Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool fans in equal measure.

Played through one-on-one with Iker Casillas after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defence splitting ball, Salah was cool, calm and collected in stroking the ball home. He also set up Sadio Mane’s opener with great inventiveness in the box.

The somewhat bizarre inclusion of Divock Origi unsettled Liverpool as an attacking force in the first-half. But Roberto Firmino’s introduction at half-time restored the normal attacking threat – and Salah was at the heart of it. After a match-winner against Southampton, and a stunner against Chelsea, last season’s player of the year is well and truly back, just when Liverpool needed him most.

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Liverpool’s defensive resilience gives them extra edge

You can’t help but notice some similarities between this season’s Champions League campaign for Liverpool and last season’s. The Reds needed to win their last group game against Napoli to advance to the knockout stage, much like last year against Spartak Moscow. They comfortably beat Porto, in both 2018 or 2019. And, well, their fast, incisive attacking play remains a threat to any team in Europe.

But what has undoubtedly improved, not just in Europe but domestically too, is the Reds’ ability to shut out teams. The signing of goalkeeper Alisson, an inevitable addition after Loris Karius’ disastrous performance in last year’s final, has solidified a defence which was shaky last season.

That, alongside the incredible form of Virgil Van Dijk (who scored tonight) and the consistency of Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, has made Liverpool a much tougher nut to crack. Then again, there is no greater test than a two-legged clash with Lionel Messi and Barcelona. We’re in for a cracker in two weeks’ time.