Liverpool beat Porto - key talking points
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Updated 10/04/2019 at 08:01 GMT
Liverpool secured a 2-0 win in the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Porto. Here, Ben Grounds looks at five key talking points from a routine night at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp, Manager of Liverpool celebrates victory with Mohamed Salah of Liverpool after the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final first leg match between Liverpool and Porto at Anfield
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First-half strikes from Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino mean the Reds head to Portugal for the second leg in a commanding position to reach the semi-finals for a second year running.
Let's reflect on a straightforward evening for Jurgen Klopp's side...
Keita helps Liverpool overcome nervous start
Not even two minutes had elapsed when Moussa Marega met Otavio's deflected shot to fire wide after both Virgil van Dijk and Alisson had produced nervous first touches to give the Portuguese side plenty of early encouragement.
But on Liverpool's first foray, Milner found Mane in space down the left, and after the Senegalese worked the ball into Firmino's feet, Keita was on hand to fire past Iker Casillas for his second goal in as many games.
Keita experienced good fortune, with his shot deflecting off Oliver Torres to wrong-foot the veteran Spaniard in Porto's goal, but he showcased his new-found confidence to release Firmino moments later, only for the Brazilian to see his shot blocked.
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Naby Keita strikes to put Liverpool ahead after five minutes
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Keita was singled out as having experienced mixed fortunes in the 3-1 win over Southampton, with his goal cancelling out Shane Long's opener, but the midfielder was full of energy and enthusiasm having retained his place for the first leg.
His ball retention remained unpolished, while a careless lunge on Tiquinho Soares after 13 minutes meant he was fortunate to avoid an early booking.
But in the same way Klopp bided his time with blooding Fabinho at the base of his three-man midfield, so the German would appear to have nurtured Keita into his best position further forward, as part of Liverpool's high-pressing style.
Salah's struggles return
Amazing what a goal can do. Mohamed Salah looked a man unchained following his brilliant solo strike on the south coast at Southampton, but what drew the biggest cheer from the first half at Anfield was his lung-bursting run to thwart a Porto counter-attack as Soares was crowded off the ball by the back-tracking Egyptian.
Salah is a player whose body language has always painted 1000 words, and during his mid-season travails, he was guilty of trying too hard to match last season's exploits having been edged out of the Ballon d'Or.
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Mohamed Salah reacts to missing a glorious chance in the first-half
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Midway through the first-half, he was presented with a golden opportunity to double Liverpool's lead, as he pounced on a stray back-pass to get in front of defender Felipe, but he showed none of the composure that helped him to a return of 44 goals last term, dragging his shot comfortably wide of Casillas' left-hand post.
In a comical second-half sequence, Salah had two shots in the space of a minute, but both failed to trouble Iker Casillas - the first struck the back of Firmino, the second clipped the heels of Henderson and trickled harmlessly wide.
Salah was rightly named man-of-the-match in his last Premier League game, but suggestions that he might be arriving close to his best are premature on a night when the more he tried, the more nothing came off.
Henderson in form of his career
The importance of Jordan Henderson to this Liverpool side was underlined during a tense opening hour against Southampton, but after the former Sunderland midfielder was introduced, it was his cute headed pass that released Salah for the Reds' second, and it was he who put the seal on the victory with a fine finish having arrived late in the box.
Henderson's strike was from Firmino's pass, and the pair clearly look like they enjoy playing with one another.
Having laid the ball off to the Liverpool captain in the 26th minute, Firmino continued his run into the box, and was the beneficiary of a brilliant pass from Henderson behind the Porto defence to allow Trent Alexander-Arnold the simplest of tasks in laying the ball on a plate for him to notch his third Champions League strike of the season.
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Jordan Henderson captained the Liverpool side with distinction on Tuesday
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Henderson has often come in for unfair criticism - his early withdrawal in Liverpool's 3-1 win over Bayern Munich in the second leg of the previous round left many believing the side were better after his departure - but the 28-year-old has returned to enjoy possibly the best form of his career.
It was in Montenegro a fortnight ago where Henderson began his recent purple patch, coming on for the final 26 minutes to impose himself with an excellent pass to release Raheem Sterling for England's fifth.
The continued maturity of Fabinho in understanding what Klopp expects from him, especially against inferior opponents, has allowed Henderson to judge when to become a fourth forward - and he showed once more that he is more than just a willing runner.
Porto live up to their billing
They were viewed as the side everyone wanted to be drawn with in the last eight, and despite their surprisingly upbeat start, Porto's deficiencies were soon exposed in this unforgiving environment at the sharp end of European competition.
There was a slice of good fortune about Keita's opener, of course, but having been lucky not to fall 2-0 behind after Salah's gilt-edged chance, they simply couldn't cope with the intensity of their opponents.
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Moussa Marega wastes a good chance to drag Porto back into the tie
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But at the interval, Porto could reflect on two very presentable opportunities of their own, with both falling to striker Marega. The Mali international ought to have reduced the arrears after 30 minutes, but Alisson got down to block his shot from 15 yards out with his feet.
In the second period, there was one worrying moment for Virgil van Dijk and Alisson as the pair almost got into another mix-up with Marega lurking, but by the end, the Portuguese champions were happy to limit the damage to the scoreline on Merseyside.
But without an away goal to reward their vocal travelling supporters, they will need to be far more adventurous and clinical in the return leg if they are to have any chance of repeating their fine comeback in the previous round against Roma.
Señor Lahoz shows the value of VAR
Antonio Mateu Lahoz is widely regarded as one of the best match officials in Europe, and with the Spaniard accustomed to using VAR, here he showed why it pays to have a man in the middle who knows how to implement it.
At half-time during the Tottenham vs Manchester City game, Rio Ferdinand was far from impressed at the decision to award the visitors a penalty after Raheem Sterling's shot hit Danny Rose's lower arm.
The former Manchester United defender said: "You need people in that box who have played the game. These people do not understand football!"
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Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz looked at home with VAR
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But while there were several incidents in the match at Anfield that led to Lahoz being advised to refer to replays pitchside, he demonstrated that it is ultimately the referee who has the final call.
The words "clear and obvious" are often used in such cases, and Lahoz correctly elected not to award Porto a penalty in the first-half when Alisson's attempts to punch clear a cross ricocheted off Alexander-Arnold's arm.
Similarly, he was right to check that Sadio Mane had fractionally drifted into an offside position before volleying home Henderson's cross as Liverpool were denied a third.
The only slight blot in his copybook came in the final six minutes when Salah was somewhat fortunate to escape at least a caution for a late challenge on Danilo, with the Porto captain caught on the shin by his opponent's studs.
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