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As it happenedended

Liverpool vs Porto, Champions League - as it happened

Re-live all the action from Anfield

Liam Corless,Tom Newman
Tuesday 06 March 2018 15:15 EST
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Adam Lallana showed what he can add to Liverpool’s attack
Adam Lallana showed what he can add to Liverpool’s attack (Getty)

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Liverpool host Porto at Anfield in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, with the hosts' 5-0 first-leg lead giving this game the feeling of a formality to be completed, rather than a true contest for quarter final progression.

Jurgen Klopp’s side gave a stunning performance over 90 minutes at the Estádio do Dragão just under a fortnight ago, ending Porto’s 21 game unbeaten run at home with ease through goals from Liverpool’s eclectic trio of Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane, who bagged a hat-trick.

Liverpool’s first-leg performance has given them a seemingly unassailable lead to take back to Merseyside, and one senses it might require some ‘Istanbul’ antics of a Portuguese origin to turn this tie back around for Porto.

Since being demolished at home in the first leg, Porto have returned to winning ways domestically, though the task posed by playing Liverpool at Anfield may prove to be a stretch too far for Sérgio Conceição’s side.

Follow the game below with our live blog:



Match preview

It’s a big game for...

Mohammed Salah. Liverpool’s Egyptian talisman collected his third Premier League player of the month award on Monday, and Tuesday’s contest presents yet another chance for the likely recipient of the PFA Players’ Player of the Year Award to prove himself on the biggest stage of domestic football. Goals have not been hard for Salah to come by in 2017/18, with six in the UCL to date, and he could well add to this tally in a potential demolition of Porto at Anfield.

Best stat...

Liverpool have scored more goals than any other team in this season’s Champions League (28), including 25 in the past five games.

Remember when...

Liverpool ran riot in the first-leg of this tie with an exhibition of fierce attacking prowess? Any excuse to watch these goals again...

Player to watch...

Sadio Mane. After scoring a hat-rick in the first leg in Portugal, Mane will be looking to add to his UCL goal tally at Anfield, currently boasting six goals in 2017/18. He will be brimming with confidence, having also scored in consecutive Premier League games since the victory over Porto just over a fortnight ago.

Past three meetings...

Porto 0 Liverpool 5, Champions League, February 2018

Liverpool 4 Porto 0, Champions League, November 2007

Porto 1 Liverpool 1, Champions League, September 2007

Form guide...

Liverpool: WDWWWW

Porto: WLWWWW

Odds…

Liverpool to win: 13/25

Draw: 16/5

Porto to win: 6/1

PSG boss Unai Emery is under massive pressure to produce a result tonight and he had this to say about his side's chances in yesterday's pre-match press conference:

"You play a game with your head and your heart. Tomorrow the heart will be the most important thing.

"And we will be playing with 12 players tomorrow because we will have the backing of the crowd.

"Our team, even without Neymar, is able to beat the best Real Madrid team."

Liam Corless6 March 2018 19:29

Cristiano Ronaldo warms up ahead of kick-off 

Liam Corless6 March 2018 19:32

Here's a little reminder of how things stand going into tonight's two matches.

Real Madrid lead PSG 3-1 on aggregate after last month's first leg while Liverpool lead Porto 5-0.

Our primary focus in this blog will be PSG vs Madrid but we'll also be chucking in all of the important updates from Anfield as Porto look to produce the biggest shock ever in the history of the world. Like, ever.

Liam Corless6 March 2018 19:38

The players are in the tunnel at the Parc des Princes and kick-off is just five minutes away! Don't go anywhere.

Liam Corless6 March 2018 19:41

PSG's supporters hold a banner aloft that reads 'Together we will do it' 

Liam Corless6 March 2018 19:43

1' - We are underway in Paris!

Liam Corless6 March 2018 19:48

5' - The opening stages here have been fairly uneventful but both teams are zipping the ball around superbly.

PSG are perhaps just edging it at the moment but there really is very little in it.

Liam Corless6 March 2018 19:53

8' - Cristiano Ronaldo has looked lively in these opening stages for Madrid.

He's just had the first shot of the match from distance but it was well blocked by a PSG defender.

Liam Corless6 March 2018 19:56

PSG's Kylian Mbappe is challenged by Real Madrid's Lucas Vazquez 

Liam Corless6 March 2018 19:58

12' - Huge chance for Madrid!

Marco Asensio finds Cristiano Ronaldo with an outstanding long pass and all of a sudden Madrid have a two-on-two situation on the edge of the PSG penalty area.

Ronaldo holds the ball up before finding Karim Benzema, whose left-footed shot deflects behind for a corner.

That's the best move of the match so far.

Liam Corless6 March 2018 20:01

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