Football News: Liverpool v Porto - A Liverpool Perspective

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Liverpool v Porto

With Liverpool 5-0 up from the first leg it was never going to be anything but a stroll through to the next round but it was even more of a stroll than I expected. I think Jurgen Klopp was a bit surprised too, I am sure he would have believed they would have a go at some point in the game but they never really did. It was reminiscent of the games I remember growing up, which are why I have never liked European football, as they are so often tedious games of one side just playing keep ball.

I do have to say well done to the Porto fans, they were fantastic despite having no reason to travel in such numbers and support so well. Shame their players never showed half the heart they did!

Klopp - just put out a team to get through, though I would have liked to see a youngster come on, I can see why he was cautious with the bench. Klopp was thinking of keeping players in the first team squad match ready, which is just as important at this stage.

Karius - one slight error with him letting go of a ball he collected aside, he had another good game. Could just be that he might be good enough for the long term after all.

Gomez - looked really rusty, his passing was off, his crossing was poor and he struggled defensively. Once again he misjudged a ball in the air and let it go over him to a player behind him. It really showed that he has been missing for a few weeks now through injury.

Lovren - never looks comfortable beside Matip. Lovren always looks on the verge of panic when playing next to him. Luckily it never really cost us anything as he never made any really serious errors and he was there a couple of times to mop up errors from his defensive partner.

Matip - terrible last night. Even with the score at 5-0 he made me nervous! Defensively he is so slow and weak, constantly being caught out and giving the Porto forwards a sniff. Against better quality opposition he could have cost a couple of goals at least. If I never see him in a Liverpool shirt again I would not complain in the slightest, he is nowhere near good enough.

Moreno - slotted in well, more of the early season Moreno, rather than the one who appeared versus Sevilla. Though there were a few times he was edging forward too early and too far, not that it mattered as there was so little attacking intent from the Portugese team.

Milner - one of the better players on the pitch, though his final ball was a bit hit and miss. Overall though he was heavily involved in just about everything LFC did in the game.

Can - such a frustrating player. He does really good work and then ruins it all with a sloppy bit of play. Overall though he was much better last night than he has been most of the season.

Henderson - another of the midfield who had a good game, as the three of them utterly dominated the opposition. It does make you wonder if they were that good or Porto were just that bad? Or was it a bit of both?

Lallana - some of what he does is fantastic, he does seem like he has spent a lot of time trying to learn from Cruyff's teachings but has missed off the bit about taking as few touches as possible and moving the ball quickly. Some beautiful tight turns away from a marker is far too often followed by too many touches. At his best he moves the ball on quickly. Though he is just coming back to fitness so it will hopefully come back when he is back to his best.

Mane - gave their right back a torrid time and was unlucky not to score.

Firmino - watching Firmino makes me feel sorry for the opposition. He might make the odd error but he will harrass the opponents until he wins it back, sometimes it can be in far more dangerous positions than he originally turned it over. It must be so frustrating for a player playing against him to steal the ball in a bit of space only to find Firmino is in his face before he has time to do anymore than control it.

Subs:

Ings - gave Firmino the chance to rest when he came on in place of the Brazilian after 62 minutes. In a lot of ways he is the perfect player to provide cover as he has that same constant workrate, pressing and harrying players into errors. Desperately needs a goal though.

Salah - replaced Mane on 74 minutes and showed with his first touch just how good a player he is. Another one who was unlucky not to score. Just his arrival on the pitch caused mayhem and panic in Porto's defence as they were terrified of him.

Klavan - was brought on for Can in the 80th minute and had little to do defensively at all. I doubt he even had to break sweat as his only real task was to create passing angles for team-mates.

Written by Tris Burke March 07 2018 14:48:40