UCL: Benfica 1-3 Liverpool: Clinical Reds take commanding lead
Liverpool took their chances to earn a 3-1 victory at Benfica in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg.
Liverpool had won all four away games in the competition this season and were quickly into their stride, Odisseas Vlachodimos thwarting Mohamed Salah early on before the Reds made the breakthrough in the 17th minute when Ibrahima Konaté headed in his first UEFA Champions League goal from Andy Robertson’s corner.
The difference in ruthlessness in the first half was summed up when Nicolás Otamendi glanced Benfica’s first chance wide and the visitors responded by doubling their lead shortly after, Sadio Mané tapping in after Luis Díaz had met Trent Alexander-Arnold’s raking pass with a cushioned header.
Home coach Nélson Veríssimo rallied his side at the break, though, and they prised a foothold in the contest in the 49th minute when talisman Darwin Núñez pounced after Konaté failed to cut out Rafa Silva’s cross.
Now it was Jürgen Klopp’s men coming under intense pressure, the Liverpool boss making an urgent triple substitution shortly after Everton was denied an equaliser by Alisson Becker.
The changes did the trick. The Reds regained their composure, soaked up further pressure from the home side, then struck late on when Naby Keïta slipped Díaz through the centre and the former Porto midfielder coolly skipped past Vlachodimos to add a crucial third goal.
