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WATCH: Liverpool Finishes Off Porto in Champions League Quarterfinals

Watch all the key plays as Porto hosts Liverpool in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.

Luis Miguel Echegaray

WATCH: Liverpool Finishes Off Porto in Champions League Quarterfinals
WATCH: Liverpool Finishes Off Porto in Champions League Quarterfinals /

Liverpool has had no problem finishing off Porto in the Champions League quarterfinals, building off its first-leg 2-0 aggregate edge with a 4-1 win in their second leg in Portugal on Wednesday.

First-half goals from Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino put Liverpool in full control in the first leg, and the clean sheet kept at Anfield meant that any goal scored by the Reds would give them the away-goals advantage, should a tiebreaker be called into action. That was never remotely close to being an issue, as goals from Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Virgil van Dijk punched Liverpool's semifinal ticket.

The game started with aggression for the host side, as Mexican Jesus "Tecatito" Corona, dribbling inside the box and passing defenders as if they weren't there, threatened Liverpool's goal with a fantastic effort from the right wing, but it went just above the bar. 

The dangerous Moussa Marega kept threatening both on the ground and in the air but could not make his efforts count early on. Liverpool knew the Portuguese side would bring pressure and numbers forward from the whistle, so it's strategy was to counter immediately after recovering the ball. Porto, however, was doing enough to contain the visitors in the first 15 minutes.

As the half developed, it was obvious that Porto was not taking its foot off the pedal as it kept searching for a goal. But Jurgen Klopp's side was doing just enough to sustain its lead as it tried to catch the opponent on the counter, which it did soon enough. Mane put the ball in the back of the net in the 25th minute, but it was originally called offside. After VAR review, however, the call was overruled and the goal stood. Just like that, Liverpool led 1-0. 

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With an aggregate deficit of three goals, Porto now had to score four in order to go through. It was probably thankful the half ended as moments before the referee called for the break, as James Milner almost scored a bizarre goal from inside the box but his unexpected attempt went wide of Iker Casillas's goal. 

The second half picked up the same rhythm from the first as Porto had to continue chasing the game and gambling with numbers in the final third, but Liverpool remained organized. Crosses kept coming, especially from the right wing, but none could connect as Alisson kept his clean sheet.   

Salah all but finished off Porto with an insurance strike in the 65th minute, finishing after a gorgeous set-up from Trent Alexander-Arnold played him through on goal.

Porto pulled one back through Eder Militao, salvaging some pride and pulling back within 4-1 on aggregate.

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Any thought of a miracle late comeback was erased soon after, though, with Firmino scoring off an assist from Jordan Henderson, with the two second-half subs combining to make it 5-1 on aggregate.

Van Dijk made it 4-1 on the day and 6-1 on aggregate in the 84th minute, as Liverpool piled on late to emphatically punch its ticket to the semifinals.

Here were the lineups for both sides:

Liverpool will face Barcelona in the semifinals, after the Spanish power finished of Manchester United on a 4-0 aggregate on Tuesday.

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Luis Miguel Echegaray
LUIS MIGUEL ECHEGARAY

Luis Miguel Echegaray is a reporter, producer and head of Latino/Spanish content with Sports Illustrated. He is also an adjunct professor at CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.

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