[ad_1]
Jurgen Klopp said that he could not wait to lead Liverpool in the Champions League semifinal against Barcelona after watching his team crush Porto 4-1 on Wednesday in Portugal to complete a 6-1 win in their last match, tied.
On a wet night at Estadio do Dragao, Liverpool weathered a storm before scoring on its first attempt just before half an hour. Sadio Mane attempted to score a goal after a long overhaul of VAR.
Already in control of the match after a 2-0 win at Anfield in the first leg, Liverpool had eliminated Porto on the spot, but Mo Salah, his substitutes Roberto Firmino and Virgil van Dijk added goals after the first leg. pause.
Eder Militao comforted the host 21 minutes from the end, but it was another miserable night after his 5-0 loss to the same opponents on the pitch a year ago.
Liverpool now faces Lionel Messi's Barca, the club's first fixture since the last 16 games in 2006-07, which the Reds have won on goals away.
"I'm looking forward to seeing it, the news that there is a real football match between Barcelona and Liverpool is great," said Klopp, as his team gets closer to the final last year. .
"Being in the semifinals for the second year in a row is a big statement, I am really proud of the boys for what they did."
The night of Manchester City's quadruple bid, the dream of a double in the Champions League and Premier League remains alive for Liverpool and his supporters, whose spirit was not stifled by the bad weather on the banks of the Douro.
It was his 17th unbeaten match and his eighth consecutive win, although Barcelona will offer a much tougher test than Porto.
The first leg of this match will take place in two weeks and in the meantime, Liverpool will revisit its national priorities, with matches against Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town.
"Tonight we're in the semi-finals and we're playing Sunday against Cardiff, which will make it to my mind when I wake up tomorrow and not in Barcelona," said Klopp.
The matches were tight, so he made three changes to his lineup here after Sunday's 2-0 win over Chelsea.
Firmino and Naby Keita, who both scored in the first leg, were eliminated, as was Jordan Henderson.
They were replaced by Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner and Divock Origi, who made his first start in CL for the club. However, the Belgian played only the first half before giving way to Firmino.
He had barely touched the ball in Porto's onslaught in the early stages, provoked by a shot from Jesus Corona just above the bar in the first minute.
The host scored 13 attempts on goal in the first 25 minutes, but will regret not scoring while he was at the top.
"There was a great football atmosphere and Porto was so powerful and so difficult to manage," Klopp said.
"They needed an early goal tonight and did not score it.I am completely happy.It's only important to get through, and we managed."
The first goal was when Salah – his mockery lamented by the support of Porto who felt that he should have been sent off in the first leg – threw the ball into the six-meter zone for Mane to get his 22nd out of the campaign.
The offside flag was raised, but Dutch referee Danny Makkelie met with his video assistants before scoring the goal.
Porto knew his luck was lost and his fans still cursed Mane – he managed a hat-trick in Liverpool's win over the past 16 seasons.
Trent Alexander-Arnold released Salah and beat Iker Casillas in the 65th minute to score 2-0 before Porto regained his consolation shortly after Militao headed for Alex Telles' corner.
However, Mane missed the target after doubling Casillas, before Henderson put his team-mate Firmino in the third third of Liverpool in 77 minutes and Van Dijk nodded to complete the score.
"As at Anfield, our result was hard, especially with the first chances," said Porto coach Sergio Conceicao.
"If we had been more clinical, everything would have been different."
<! – enpproperty
[ad_2]
Source link