UCL: Porto vs Liverpool 1-3, easy life for the Reds, now the semis against Barcelona
MATCH PREVIEW:
- Two of the three teams that lost their first leg by 2+ goals in the Last 16 of the Champions League this season managed to turnaround the tie in the second leg; with Manchester United knocking out Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus defeating Atletico Madrid.
- FC Porto have lost the first leg of a Champions League/European Cup knockout tie by 2+ goals on six previous occasions, and on all six of those occasions they have been eliminated from the competition.
- Liverpool have never lost a European match against FC Porto in seven previous encounters (W4 D3 L0), keeping three successive clean sheets against them.
- Porto suffered their heaviest ever home defeat in European competition against Liverpool in last season’s Champions League, with the Reds winning 5-0 in a last 16 tie.
- Since the start of last season, Liverpool have won three of their four away Champions League knockout games, only losing to Roma in last season’s semi-final (4-2).
- FC Porto are the only remaining side in the Champions League to have won 100% of their home games in the competition this season (4/4). Indeed, Porto last won five or more straight home games in the competition between October 1998 and December 1999 (run of six).
- Liverpool have progressed from all nine of their previous two-legged European ties under manager Jurgen Klopp (four in the 2015-16 Europa League, one 2017-18 Champions League play-off and four Champions League knockout stage ties since the start of last season).
- Sadio Mané scored a hat-trick for Liverpool against Porto at Estádio do Dragão in last season’s Champions League; only Luiz Adriano v Bate Borisov and Cristiano Ronaldo against Atlético de Madrid have ever scored more than one hat-trick against an opponent in the Champions League, while no player has ever scored two away from home against one club.
- Since the start of the 2017-18 tournament, Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino has both scored and assisted in five different Champions League matches, more than any other player in this time.
- Moussa Marega has scored in all four of FC Porto’s home Champions League matches this season.
LIVE COMMENTARY: