Jurgen Klopp helped Liverpool to their 14th quarterfinal appearance in the Champions League after the Reds managed to see off Porto in the Round of 16 of the competition this season. The 5-0 drubbing at Estadio do Dragao meant that Liverpool already had more than a foot in the next round, which then rendered the second leg of the tie at Anfield, completely inconsequential.
And that is how it panned out as the hosts were happy to play within themselves and were happy with the 0-0 to qualify for the next round. Sadio Mane, Danny Ings and Mohamed Salah came close but failed to break the deadlock. Here are the player ratings for Klopp’s men in this tie:
Loris Karius (6):
Had one real save to make as he was worked more by his teammates than the opponents.
Joe Gomez (6):
Had a couple of nervous moments where he was caught out by Waris but did well to keep the danger from his flank to a minimum.
Joel Matip (5):
Put Karius under pressure with a number of close back passes and was also troubled by Aboubakar, who got the better of him on the night.
Dejan Lovren (7):
One of his best games recently, where he not only won everything thrown at him but also made a superb block that helped his side to a clean sheet.
Alberto Moreno (5):
Caught out at the back far too many times as he left Liverpool vulnerable down his flank.
Jordan Henderson (7):
Looked lively all night as he was happy to carry the ball in the midfield. Also pinged a number of passes long, which helped switch play.
Emre Can (6):
Did nothing fancy as he stuck to his task and broke play and like Henderson, played a huge role in the switch of play.
James Milner (7):
Put in yet another superb performance in UCL and should have scored and picked up an assist as he was a constant threat to the Porto backline.
Sadio Mane (7):
Was the brightest Liverpool player in the game where he came close to scoring on more than a couple of occasions. Hit the bar in the first half and did well to keep Porto on their toes.
Roberto Firmino (6):
Should have scored in front of the Kop just before being subbed but that was the closest he got to as he was happy dropping deep and helping in build-up play.
Adam Lallana (6):
A few twists and turns that caught the Porto defenders out but never looked like troubling Casillas on goal.
Substitutes:
Danny Ings (6):
Was denied by Casillas late in the game but got half an hour under his belt which will do a lot of good for his confidence.
Ragnar Klavan (5):
Tried his best to gift Porto a goal.
Mohamed Salah (7):
Came on for less than 20 minutes but created more than everyone on the pitch, showing his class.
