Liverpool vs Porto LIVE: Champions League result, final score and reaction tonight
Follow all the latest action as the Reds host the Dragons at Anfield
The pressure is off for Liverpool tonight as they host FC Porto in the Champions League, but it’s still all to play for as far as the visitors are concerned. The Reds won each of their first four group stage games to seal top spot and qualification to the last 16, while the Portuguese side sit in second with two games to play - just one point ahead of Atletico Madrid.
While some supporters would perhaps like to see the Reds rotate to an extent and preserve the first-choice stars who will have an inevitably busy run over the December fixtures, Jurgen Klopp’s chances of doing that are hampered by ongoing injuries, especially in midfield. They come into this match full of confidence and looking sharp after a thumping win over Arsenal at the weekend, with the Reds having lost just one game in all competitions this term.
Porto are not much worse than that, in fact, with just two defeats for themselves in 2021/22 - but one of those came against the Reds two months ago, when the the trident of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane each found the net in a 5-1 thrashing. Follow all the team news and match action as Liverpool host Porto below:
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Liverpool vs Porto
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, speaking to BT Sport:
“We could have been better. We could have been more calm in goal-scoring situations but we were a bit hectic. That’s ok, but you could see from the boys the desire to win the game. We were not here for an easy game. Anfield was sold out and that means we want to go.
“We won the game with two exceptional goals, especially Thiago’s - wow! All good.
“So many good things happened tonight. The team performance and individually. Some players could get minutes, rhythm, confidence. Nobody got hurt. We could bring the right players on. Milner got 15 minutes, Henderson got on, Robertson played minutes. The right players could get rested. For Trent and Virgil, it was important that they do not play constantly.
[On Tyler Morton’s full debut] “If you are in our squad you are a good football player. I would not throw a player in the game if they are not ready. Neco [Williams] we already know. With Tyler the world might have been surprised. Tyler did exceptionally well. I’m pleased for him that he could put a performance like that in at Anfield.”
Liverpool vs Porto
Jurgen Klopp, meanwhile, has improved his record over Porto while Liverpool manager to P6, W5, D1.
The aggregate score in those six games now reads 18-2 to the Reds...
The Liverpool manager is speaking now:
Liverpool vs Porto
Michael Owen says Liverpool are the team to avoid ahead of the knockout stages.
“If you go to Anfield you’ve got no chance,” the former Liverpool striker says on BT Sport.
PSG, Ajax, Sporting Lisbon, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Juventus have all booked their place in the draw this week.
Liverpool vs Porto result: Thiago pearler makes Tyler Morton’s Champions League debut a night to remember
Tyler Morton walked on, twisting his head ever so slightly to get a peek over his shoulder to a familiar spec. From his panorama of the Anfield pitch for his Champions League bow against Porto, the 19-year-old took in his previous vista of these nights under the lights: the front row of the Annie Road End.
Sitting alongside his dad and his brother, Morton used to marvel that even though “it wasn’t the Kop,” they had “an unbelievable view of the players.”
Now he was one of those footballers in a Liverpool kit, representing the club in the competition so threaded to its history.
Melissa Reddy reports on a perfect night for Liverpool, and for one 19-year-old midfielder in particular.
Thiago pearler makes Tyler Morton’s Champions League debut a night to remember
Liverpool 2-0 Porto: Second-half strikes from Thiago Alcantara and Mohamed Salah leave the Reds one game away from history as the first Premier League side to win all six group stage games in Europe’s top competition
Liverpool vs Porto
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Thiago, speaking to BT Sport.
AOC: “The manager said to approach it properly and we wanted to win the game. We made changes and it was important everyone came in and did a good job and carried on the winning ways. We were professional.
“You want to play as much as you can. Games in succession is how you get your rhythm back and where fitness comes from. T [Thiago] would say that too. It’s great having him back and it was important with Tyler [Morton] that we helped him with our experience. I thought the did really well.
“Milan is another game for us and it would be impressive to go through with six wins. It’s a great place to go and play football and we all dream of playing Champions League at the San Siro. I’m sure we’ll approach it the right way.
Thiago: “I’m happy to score the goal and it was important because I just came back from the injury. How the team played, how we defended, we are pleased for the young guys.”
Liverpool vs Porto: Player ratings
Liverpool won a fifth straight Champions League group stage game as they saw off Porto 2-0 on Wednesday night.
Otavio had the first big chance of the night but sent an effort wide of what was effectively an open goal.
Sadio Mane thought he had put the Reds ahead before the break when he ran through from Thiago’s pass and side-footed in, but a VAR check ruled it offside. Nothing stopped Thiago himself celebrating soon after the restart though, with a fantastic half-volley from distance finding the bottom corner.
Takumi Minamino also saw a strike ruled out for offside, before Mohamed Salah made it two amid a host of subs for the home side.
Click here to see how the players rated from the match at Anfield:
Player ratings as Liverpool beat Porto to keep 100% record intact
Liverpool 2-0 Porto: Thiago and Salah leave the Portuguese side waiting for the final gameweek in their search to reach the last 16
FULL TIME! Liverpool 2-0 Porto
Porto’s final act is to send a corner straight into Alisson’s arms - and that will be that!
Liverpool stay perfect in Group B with five wins from five. They scored a couple of brilliant goals from Thiago and Salah and were much-improved in the second half.
Really impressive performances, too, from Tyler Morton, Neco Williams and Takumi Minamino - as well as good minutes for Oxlade-Chamberlain, Thiago, Robertson, Henderson and Milner
Morton gets a big, big hug from Klopp, as well as from Harvey Elliott. Perfect night for Liverpool.
Liverpool 2-0 Porto
90+2 mins: Milner fizzes a shot from the edge that takes a deflection and sits up for Costa to collect.
Minamino then picks up the ball and tries to beat a couple of challenges in the area. He tries to find Henderson with a pass inside the box but it’s slightly over-hit.
That should be about that.
Liverpool 2-0 Porto
90 mins: Porto win a free kick in a decent position on the left - but they can’t beat the first man as Milner heads clear. That sums up their second half - they’ve been really poor.
There will three minutes added on.
Liverpool 2-0 Porto
87 mins: The life has been knocked out of Porto after those two Liverpool goals - but their spirits may have just been lifted by the fact that Atletico Madrid have conceded late on to AC Milan, who hold a 1-0 lead in the Wando Metropolitano in the other match in Group B.
It means Porto, Atletico and Milan will all be separated by just one point ahead of the final round of fixtures, as long as it stays that way.
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