Liverpool will face Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals after crushing Porto 4-1 away to seal a 6-1 aggregate triumph.
Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Virgil van Dijk netted for the Premier League leaders after they had held off the ambitions of Porto in the first half and then scored three times in the final half an hour.
It was not quite a repeat of the 5-0 rout Liverpool enjoyed here 14 months ago but by the final whistle the effect was just the same as Jurgen Klopp's side advanced with the minimum of fuss.
🔴 Liverpool 💪
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) April 17, 2019
⚽️ Mane
⚽️ Salah
⚽️ Firmino
⚽️ Van Dijk
🙌 It's 4-1 on the night and 6-1 on aggregate!#LFC #PORLIV #UCL pic.twitter.com/W6NO9m0ao5
Champions League odds (via Sky Bet)
Semi-final dates
- Spurs v Ajax
- Barcelona v Liverpool
*First legs on April 30/May 1, second legs on May 7/8
Opta stats
- Liverpool are the first English side to qualify for back-to-back Champions League semi-finals since both Chelsea and Manchester United did so in three campaigns between 2006-07 and 2008-09.
- Alongside fellow Portuguese side Benfica, Porto have been eliminated from six European Cup/Champions League knockout ties against English opposition, more than any other team (excluding finals).
- Liverpool are now unbeaten in their four European trips to Porto (W2 D2); the Reds have only visited Barcelona as many times in all European competition without suffering defeat.
- Porto have now been eliminated from six of their last seven quarter-final appearances in the European Cup/Champions League, including each of the last three in 2008-09 (Man Utd), 2014-15 (Bayern Munich) and 2018-19 (Liverpool).
- Each of the 18 Champions League goals Liverpool have scored and the 15 that Porto have conceded in the competition this season have come from inside the area.
- Porto’s Moussa Marega had 10 shots across this quarter-final tie with Liverpool without scoring; this after bagging in six straight appearances in the competition leading up to the first leg (15 shots, 6 goals).
- Only Steven Gerrard (21) has scored more European Cup/Champions League goals for Liverpool than Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, who have all moved level with Ian Rush on 14 goals each.
