Late scare but Firmino keeps Liverpool's quadruple quest firmly on track 

Jurgen Klopp may not want to even mention it but relentless Liverpool are still very much in the hunt for four pieces of silverware  

On the stretch: Liverpool's Roberto Firmino has an attempt on goal as his side held off Benfica at Anfield. Picture: Peter Byrne/PA Wire.

LIVERPOOL 3 BENFICA 3 

THE quadruple remains on, however much Jürgen Klopp may refuse to countenance it, and two goals from Roberto Firmino last night were enough to help ensure the Champions League portion of that unprecedented Herculean task continues.

There was unnecessary late drama, as Darwin Nunes scored the sixth goal of the evening, after 82 minutes, with a superb finish when clean through on the keeper; a goal ruled out on the field for offside but allowed by the VAR.

That made a thoroughly entertaining game all-square although the hard work had been done by Liverpool in the first leg, allowing Klopp to focus on other targets as his side won this quarter-final 6-4 on aggregate.

The league title contest, and the weekend visit to Manchester City, saw Liverpool emerge unscathed, with a draw that left Klopp one point behind his rivals but with plenty of milage left in the season.

And Saturday sees the great north-west adversaries meet once more, this time at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final.

Those were the areas which have occupied the Liverpool coach since that masterful first leg display and, it should be noted, any time a club can cruise through to the semi-finals of the Champions League with the bare minimum of effort, then that club can be considered to be in rude health.

There Villarreal, and not, surprisingly, Bayern Munich, await Liverpool; a task that is placed in context by the fact that the Spanish side has already lost twice to Manchester United in the competition’s group stage this season.

Klopp will not appreciate the thought, but the Champions League draw could not have opened up any more invitingly for his side.

Klopp had made what appeared a calculated gamble, starting just four of the XI he named in Sunday’s thrilling draw at City, but it was a calculation that looked particularly well-advised after 21 minutes.

That is how long it took for his side to score the opening goal and open up a 4-1 aggregate lead. It came from Konate and in almost identical fashion to the goal he scored in last week’s first leg in which his opening goal set the tone for a dominant evening for his side.

Again, it came from a left-wing corner, although this time it was Kostas Tsmikas, deputising for Andy Robertson, who took it, rather than the Scotsman.

But, as was the case last week, Konate rose powerfully, above former Premier League defenders Nicolás Otamendi and Jan Vertonghen, to power in an unstoppable header from seven yards.

Five minutes later, it took a spectacular save from Odisseas Vlachodimos to turn away an even more spectacular attempt from Luis Diaz and on the half-hour, Firmino might have doubled the lead with a header, only for Vertonghen to deflect his corner over.

But the visitors survived that spell and, with Liverpool’s unfamiliar defensive line-up trying to master their patented high line, were able to pull a goal back on 31 minutes that at least threatened to make the night interesting.

James Milner failed to dispossess Diogo Goncalves, as a Benfica move funnelled through central midfield, and his perfectly-timed through ball allowed Goncalo Ramos to ghost clear and beat Alisson with a powerful finish from the edge of the area.

At least the goal made the long trip from Lisbon worthwhile for the large contingent of travelling fans who had also played their part in a moving pre-match tribute to the victims of the Hillsborough tragedy, with the 33rd anniversary taking place on Friday.

That added an extra layer of emotion to what was already promising to be one of those celebratory Anfield European nights and it took a well-timed interception by Gilberto, sliding in to beat Diaz to the ball as he looked poised to convert Firmino’s cross, to stop the home side taking a lead into the break.

But it took just ten minutes of the second half for the dam to finally break and Benfica to concede again, after their keeper had blocked Diaz and Vertonghen inexplicably squared the ball sideways to Diogo Jota. The Portuguese drilled in a dangerous cross to the far post where Firmino arrived at speed to force the ball in.

Ten minutes later, the Brazilian had his second, and Liverpool’s third, as he made a superbly-timed run to meet Tsimikas’s free-kick and volley in from eight yards.

There was another moment to savour for the boisterous Benfica fans after 73 minutes when Joe Gomez played onside Ukrainian sub Roman Yaremchuk who rounded Alisson and slotted in his team’s second consolation of the night.

Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson 6; Gomez 6, Konate 7, Matip 6, Tsimikas 8; Keita 7, Milner 6 (Thiago 58, 6), Henderson 6 (Fabinho 58, 6); Jota 7 (Salah 57, 6), Firmino 9 (Origi 90), Diaz 8 (Mane 66, 6). 

Substitutes (not used): van Dijk, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jones, Robertson, Kelleher, Alexander-Arnold, Elliott.

Benfica (4-2-3-1): Vlachodimos 5; Gilberto 6 (Dias 90), Otamendi 5, Vertonghen 4, Grimaldo 6; Taarabt 6 (Joao Mario 66, 7), Weigl 6; Goncalves 6 (Yaremchuk 45, 7), Ramos 6 (Bernardo 78, 6), Everton 7 (Almeida 90); Nunez 8. 

Substitutes (not used): Leite, Meite, Seferovic, Lazaro, Radonjic, Alvaro, Morato.

Referee: S Gozubuyuk (Netherlands) 7 Ends