Fabinho is going to stick to dancing over knee slides as Liverpool took one important step toward the Champions League semi-finals, but all eyes now start to turn to what is to come on Sunday.
Although the Man City game draws ever closer, there was only one opponent on the Reds’ mind on Tuesday night and that was Benfica.
A side Liverpool looked to have swatted away with ease in the first half, with Ibrahima Konate and Sadio Mane making good of the domination where it mattered most.
Then it appeared as though a team of doppelgängers took to the field for Liverpool as the composure and authority from the first 45 was nowhere to be seen.
A Konate blunder allowed the hosts back into the contest before Luis Diaz struck late to ensure Jurgen Klopp‘s side returned to Anfield with a two-goal advantage up their sleeve.
“We wanted to keep it tight and unfortunately we didn’t manage to do that,” Andy Robertson told BT Sport. “They obviously got a goal, which lifted the crowd, lifted them and they started winning balls, we started getting a bit sloppy and things like that.
“The third goal was big but there’s definitely still work to do.”
Liverpool have one foot into the semi-finals but as Robertson noted, the job is not yet done. But that didn’t mean the team could not celebrate their latest win.
The Reds were in high spirits and while Sadio Mane joked that he is “still friends” with Virgil van Dijk for now, Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Robertson enjoyed a late-night recovery session:
And after a far from gracious knee slide to celebrate Konate’s goal, Fabinho has taken note of sticking to pulling out the dance moves in the future:
Noted. ??
— Fabinho (@_fabinhotavares) April 5, 2022
Speaking of Konate, he was delighted with his first goal for the club and recognised that with mistakes comes valuable lessons:
But the overwhelming feeling after the 3-1 win was that it is still only a job half done, but a certain league fixture on Sunday already has the Reds’ attention:
While Liverpool could certainly have had more goals to their name at the end of the 90 minutes, the result is a valuable one ahead of the reverse fixture next Wednesday.
For now though, attention shifts towards the huge game at the Etihad on Sunday – a decisive one in the title race and if you have a flutter of nerves already, you’re not alone!
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