Benfica 1-3 Liverpool: Reds in control of Champions League quarter-final

Liverpool will take a two-goal lead into the Champions League quarter-final second leg at Anfield but Jurgen Klopp says his side are “not in dreamland” after an important victory over Benfica in Lisbon.

Ibrahima Konate rose highest to head the visitors into the lead from a corner before Sadio Mane added a clinical second to dampen the mood at a lively Estadio da Luz in a dominant first half.

The home fans ramped up the noise again shortly after the interval when Konate’s mistake allowed sought-after striker Darwin Nunez to pull one back for the Portuguese outfit and make it a contest.

But the Premier League side will have a healthy advantage when they welcome Benfica in the second leg next Wednesday after Diaz added a late third with a composed finish after rounding Vlachodimos, who also denied Diogo Jota in the final moments.

“Coming here and winning an away game in the Champions League is tough. Obviously, Benfica fought for their lives,” said Klopp.

“We could have scored in the last minute – the fourth one would be nice but we’re not in dreamland here.

“It’s half-time, we know much more about our opponent, they will go for it again. They won at Ajax, they ground out all the results out in the group stage that they needed, so we are aware of the quality and now we have a nice game in between and then we will be ready again for Benfica.”

Perfect start to tough run for Liverpool

This was a near perfect start to a mammoth run of games for Liverpool that will define their season, with the return leg sandwiched between Sunday’s game at Premier League leaders Manchester City and an FA Cup semi-final against Pep Guardiola’s side six days later.

The Reds are chasing a historic quadruple and have already won the Carabao Cup this year, despite Klopp saying four trophies is not a realistic target and insisting winning just one other competition this term would be “outstanding”.

Their progress in Europe now looks set but it was not comfortable for the visitors until Diaz skipped round goalkeeper Vlachodimos to score his side’s third with three minutes to go.

Diaz, jeered throughout because of his history with Benfica’s domestic rivals Porto, was making his first Liverpool start in the competition but continued his seamless beginning to life with Klopp’s side and proved a threat throughout.

He had earlier been denied by Vlachodimos, who stopped Mohamed Salah adding a third before the break as well as keeping out Jota late in the second half.

Liverpool were completely in control early on and were already threatening before Konate was left unmarked to head in Andrew Robertson’s corner to score his first goal for the club.

The visitors then ruthlessly punished a poor touch from former Tottenham and QPR midfielder Adel Taarabt, as Trent Alexander-Arnold angled a superb ball into Diaz and the forward cushioned a header into Mane’s path to give him a simple finish.

Benfica, who upset an in-form Ajax side in the previous round, responded four minutes into the second half when Konate missed his kick from Rafa Silva’s low cross and 22-year-old Uruguay forward Nunez showed why he is so in demand with a composed finish from close range for his fifth goal in the competition this season.

That gave the home side belief and, buoyed by the intense atmosphere their fans created, Benfica suddenly looked a different team as Everton tested Alisson from range and Nunez failed to convert after breaking in behind the defence, instead going down under pressure from Virgil van Dijk only to see his penalty appeal waved away.

But it was Diaz who stole the show late on and Klopp’s attention will now switch to a huge game against City in the race for the Premier League title.

Player of the match

DíazLuis Díaz

with an average of 7.92

Benfica

1. Squad number9Player nameNúñez

   Average rating

   6.14

2. Squad number99Player nameVlachodimos

   Average rating

   5.80

3. Squad number49Player nameTaarabt

   Average rating

   5.78

4. Squad number5Player nameVertonghen

   Average rating

   5.69

5. Squad number2Player nameGilberto

   Average rating

   5.55

6. Squad number27Player nameRafa

   Average rating

   5.44

7. Squad number30Player nameOtamendi

   Average rating

   5.42

8. Squad number7Player nameÉverton

   Average rating

   5.41

9. Squad number88Player nameGonçalo Ramos

   Average rating

   5.41

10. Squad number28Player nameWeigl

    Average rating

    5.38

11. Squad number3Player nameGrimaldo

    Average rating

    5.36

12. Squad number11Player nameMeité

    Average rating

    5.34

13. Squad number15Player nameYaremchuk

    Average rating

    5.21

14. Squad number20Player nameJoão Mário

    Average rating

    5.20

Liverpool

1. Squad number23Player nameDíaz

   Average rating

   7.92

2. Squad number26Player nameRobertson

   Average rating

   7.83

3. Squad number66Player nameAlexander-Arnold

   Average rating

   7.54

4. Squad number4Player namevan Dijk

   Average rating

   7.53

5. Squad number5Player nameKonaté

   Average rating

   7.42

6. Squad number10Player nameMané

   Average rating

   7.39

7. Squad number3Player nameFabinho

   Average rating

   7.37

8. Squad number1Player nameAlisson

   Average rating

   7.37

9. Squad number8Player nameKeïta

   Average rating

   7.30

10. Squad number6Player nameThiago Alcántara

    Average rating

    7.19

11. Squad number14Player nameHenderson

    Average rating

    7.06

12. Squad number9Player nameRoberto Firmino

    Average rating

    6.97

13. Squad number20Player nameDiogo Jota

    Average rating

    6.94

14. Squad number11Player nameMohamed Salah

    Average rating

    6.93

15. Squad number7Player nameMilner

    Average rating

    6.92

16. Squad number12Player nameGomez

    Average rating

    6.84