Liverpool beat Porto 2-0 in the Champions League quarter-final first leg at Anfield on Tuesday night to put the Reds in control of the tie.
* Video above from BT Sport; geographic restrictions may apply.
Jurgen Klopp‘s side beat the same opponents 5-0 in the round of 16 a year ago, but there was no repeat of that blistering performance in front of goal this time.
Even so, a clear gulf in quality saw the Reds take a two-goal advantage for the second leg and they’ll be favourites to progress, well-capable of scoring an away goal if needed.
At Anfield, Naby Keita scored a deflected goal early on, his second in as many games, before Roberto Firmino netted the second from close range after good build-up play down the right between Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The highlights video above, from BT Sport, not only shows the clinical edge the Reds had in that first half, but the fantastic approach play shown at times and the excellent atmosphere inside Anfield.
A few VAR reviews, the odd Alisson save and a disallowed strike from Sadio Mane meant the game was incident-packed for most of the first hour.
Although the second half was less eventful, certainly in terms of clear scoring chances, there was—as Klopp said in his post-match press conference—a certain maturity about the performance.
Liverpool have a number of big games ahead, starting with Chelsea in the Premier League at the weekend before the second leg in Porto, and this display showcased the awareness of that.
It could yet turn out to be a season memorable for years to come with a big finale, and the first-leg score at Anfield hints that the European half of the adventure could be set to continue for another round at least—though work remains for the second leg.
