Jürgen Klopp has taken another step forward with Liverpool in the race for four titles.
Five days before the English championship summit at defending champions Manchester City, the Reds won 3-1 (2-0) in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals at Benfica Lisbon. Team manager Klopp’s team, which has already won the League Cup, is in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
Ex-Leipziger Ibrahima Konaté (17th), Sadio Mané (34th) and Luis Díaz (87th) scored the goals for the Champions League winner of 2019. After a mistake by Konaté, Darwin Nunez (49th) shortened the time .
Portugal’s record champions with ex-BVB star Julian Weigl, currently only third in the domestic league, are threatened with being eliminated in the quarter-finals again: Benfica have never reached the round of the last four in the premier class. Lisbon won its two titles in 1961 and 1962, when the competition was still called the European Champion Clubs’ Cup.
Konaté striking front and back
Klopp had changed his team six positions compared to the 2-0 win over Watford on Saturday. Also present was Mohamed Salah, who missed the first good chance to take the lead (11th).
Six minutes later, Konaté doubled it with a header from an Andrew Robertson corner. Mané extended the lead before the break.
Konaté brought Benfica back into the game. After the goal, the hosts pushed for an equalizer, but Luis Díaz restored the old distance.