Benfica 1 Liverpool 3: Diaz, Mane and Konate put Reds in pole position for Champions League semis despite Nunez strike
IN a brilliant spell at the Stadium of Light, Jurgen Klopp’s team made things look so easy you would have thought they were playing Sunderland.
They led 2-0 with goals from Ibrahima Konate and Sadio Mane and were in total control.
The only variable was whether Liverpool were going to play Villarreal or Bayern Munich in the semi-finals.
After making life difficult for themselves by gifting Benfica’s Darwin Nunez a goal, Luis Diaz scored at the very end to restore a two-goal advantage.
And so, surely, it is tie over. It will be Liverpool who are off to Spain or Germany in the last four.
Klopp now has a few things to think about ahead of the title decider with Manchester City on Sunday.
But you can be sure that Konate will make way for Joel Matip and Jordan Henderson, also a surprise substitute, will return to the heart of Klopp’s midfield.
Even so, the midfield of Thiago Alcantara, Naby Keita and Fabinho were in absolute control for that first half – along with the back four – and Klopp’s changes looked spot on.
Benfica went into the game with a helping hand from their former manager, Bruno Lage.
The Wolves boss sent his old club all the Liverpool data from their clash at Molineux in December which only resulted in a Divock Origi’s 90th minute winner.
But apart from constant diving, Benfica failed to make a nuisance of themselves in the final third.
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It is funny when you think Mo Salah and Sadio Mane were the deadliest of enemies in a World Cup play-off just a week earlier.
But here they were combining brilliantly and could have had a goal each but Konate put them ahead.
It was unbelievably-bad defending from a team at these stages of the tournament. Andy Robertson’s out-swinging corner was decent enough.
But Konate was able to attack the ball and head the ball onto the ground and into the net without any sort of challenge from Brazilian forward Everton.
Sadio missed a free header and Otamendi wasted a similar chance by failing to make contact.
And Otamendi was left to rue this as Liverpool went straight up the other end to score.
It was made possible by a brilliant, intelligent diagonal pass towards Diaz who was deep in enemy territory but not near enough to score with a header.
Instead, he nodded the ball into the path of Mane who had the easiest of chances from a few yards out.
Diaz was all smiles and little wonder as the player was playing for Porto until January and is not massively popular around these parts.
Mane did not even bother to celebrate, which is the sort of thing strikers do when they score a fifth at home to a League Two side in the Carabao Cup.
Alexander-Arnold delivered another class pass to unleash Salah. Liverpool’s number 10 of a few weeks ago would have buried the chance but here, he gave the keeper an easy save.
Benfica had a few chances but their finishing was poor and Alisson was not tested until he was left to pick the ball out of the net.
Konate was the clear culprit and it was really poor as he failed to clear a cross from Rafa Silva.
Instead the ball went straight through his legs and Nunez took one touch before dispatching a shot into the corner with Alisson not standing a chance.
Nunez had a chance to level but delivered a dreadful header and Alisson pushed away a a decent drive by Everton.
Seeing the momentum of the game changing, Klopp made a triple substitution with Henderson replacing Thiago, Jota for Salah and Firmino for Mane
Nunez appeared for a penalty after claiming he had been shoved over by Virgil van Dijk. While it was not a penalty, van Dijk was silly to stick his arm out in front of the Uruguayan.
And then with just three minutes left, Diaz had the last laugh.
What a brilliant signing he has been since arriving in January and it is unheard of to see a player adjust to the Premier League in the middle of the season so quickly.
Yet he read the clever pass from Keita, rounded the keeper and stuck into the empty net.
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Klopp, who had been looking tense, was all smiles as he high-fived assistant Pep Lijnders.
They will not admit it but the quadruple is still on.