Benfica 1-3 Liverpool: A great result to take home for Klopp's team ahead

Game is over and the final score is Benfica 1-3 Liverpool. Here is the match report.

Match Report

Liverpool continued their merciless charge towards the quadruple with a 3-1 victory over Benfica in the first-leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday evening.

Whilst not the dramatically positive result that it would have been prior to the abolition of the Away Goals rule, Klopp's charges are now in comfortable control of the tie ahead of the return fixture on Merseyside.

The former Borussia Dortmund coach has been eager to dispel any talk of winning four trophies this season, however he will now be able to think ahead ever so slightly to a possible Champions League semi-final.

Benfica have overperformed in the Champions League this term, knocking out the heavily-favoured Ajax of Erik ten Hag in the previous round, however they were met with a huge step-up in quality when Liverpool arrived in Lisbon.

It took the Reds just 17 minutes to break the deadlock, with Ibrahima Konate scoring his first goal since signing for the Merseyside club in the summer.

A fine corner from Andrew Robertson found the former RB Leipzig defender inside the penalty area, and he headed the ball powerfully into the ground en route to the right-hand side of the net.

Liverpool's dominance was illustrated in the possession stats, and before long they had doubled their advantage, with Sadio Mane making it 2-0 after 34 minutes.

Adel Taarabt lost the ball carelessly before a stunning cross-field pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold found Luis Diaz in space, and the Colombian set Mane through with a clever assist.

Mane made no mistake, rolling the ball into the empty net created by Diaz's trickery, putting the visitors into what seemed an unassailable position.

The second-half began with Benfica looking to rescue something from the match, and they were given a lifeline where their prolific forward, Darwin Nunez, continued his excellent campaign.

Rafa Silva found Nunez free inside the penalty area, and the Uruguayan coolly slotted the ball beyond Alisson Becker and into the bottom right corner.

Benfica thought they had levelled the match on the hour, with Everton ratting a low drive towards the goal from inside the penalty area, only for Alisson to pull off a quite magnificent save.

Nunez would then have a penalty claim denied, with the forward going down under the pressure of a challenge from a defender, although there was very little contact.

Liverpool put themselves in a commanding position with just two minutes left to play, with Diaz scoring a third goal, and one which could well decide the tie.

The former Porto winger ran onto a clever pass from Naby Keita, and showed incredible composure to round the onrushing goalkeeper before sliding the ball into the net, capping off a perfect night for Liverpool.

Match Events

0' KICK-OFF! Who can win this match?

7' Salah misses a great chance!

16' GOAL! Benfica 0-1 Liverpool (Konate)

23' CLOSE! Vlachodimos denies Díaz’s effort

33' GOAL! Benfica 0-2 Liverpool (Mane)

39' Mane's foul

44' CLOSE! Vlachodimos denies Salah’s effort

48' GOAL! Benfica 1-2 Liverpool (Núñez)

57' Yellow Card! Thiago booked

59' What a save from Alisson!

62' Yellow Card! Taarabt booked

86' GOAL! Benfica 1-3 Liverpool (Díaz)

Line-ups

Benfica XI: Vertonghen, Taarabt, Otamendi, O. Vlachodimos, Gilberto, Álex Grimaldo, Rafa Silva, Weigl, Éverton, D. Núñez, Gonçalo Ramos

Subs: André Almeida, H. Seferović, Meite, Helton Leite, Mario, R. Yaremchuk, Lazaro, Radonjic, Diogo Gonçalves, G.Dias, Morato, Paulo Bernardo

Liverpool XI: Thiago, Alisson, Salah, Van Dijk, Mane, Fabinho, Robertson, Naby Keita, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, L. Díaz

Subs: Milner, Henderson, Matip, Firmino, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Minamino, Joe Gomez, Tsimikas, Jota, Kelleher, Curtis Jones, Elliott