James Milner was made for nights like this one, and Jürgen Klopp seems to realise it. Even at 33 the midfielder’s desire and enthusiasm epitomise what Klopp wants to see in his players and Andy Robertson’s suspension probably saved the manager some agonising about whether or not to play the veteran in midfield.
Milner was straight in at left‑back, despite having reverted to a role further up this season, and a measure of Klopp’s confidence was that Alberto Moreno did not even make the substitute’s bench as insurance cover. No matter that Jesús Corona and Otávio are considered a tricky attacking combination on the right flank, Klopp put his trust in a blend of Liverpool’s upfield pressing and his feistiest competitor further back. It seemed to work well enough.
Milner comes with attitude and experience and showed the latter on Porto’s first attack when he drifted intelligently in from the wing to intercept an Alex Telles cross from the left that would otherwise have found the Liverpoolpenalty area unmanned.
It was a few minutes after that that Milner casually set up the opening goal, ostensibly appearing in the centre circle to tidy up a loose ball that had eluded Fabinho but effectively turning a nothing situation into a dangerous attack with a drilled first-time pass.
Almost without glancing up Milner picked out Sadio Mané in space on the left and from there Porto were always struggling to get back in time.
With a little more composure in front of goal Mohamed Salah might have doubled Liverpool’s lead before the mid-point of the first half, yet even if the Egyptian is not quite the goal machine he was this time last year he is still operating on plenty of credit and goodwill from the Anfield faithful.
When the home side were caught with too many men upfield after one of his early chances went begging, Salah took it upon himself to sprint the length of the field to keep pace with a Porto counter, eventually earning an appreciative ovation for overhauling Otávio on the edge of his own area.
The next time Porto threatened it was from a dummy free-kick routine that almost caught out the Liverpool defence as the ball was played out to the right rather than into the area, but once again Milner’s assurance helped out the defence. Despite receiving the ball under pressure he managed to hold on to it and keep opponents at bay until Virgil van Dijk arrived to offer a safe out ball.
When Liverpool did score a second it was the experience of Jordan Henderson that helped create it, the captain not only spotting Trent Alexander-Arnold’s run into the area from the right wing but delivering a pass of the utmost precision to allow the full-back and the eventual scorer, Roberto Firmino, to stay onside. In the old days the expression slide rule accuracy would have been involved, though there is no need for such arcanery in these times of VAR.
We must presume the remote arbiters checked the goal throughly from their bunker, for when Firmino arrived in the middle after starting the move he looked offside from a couple of replay angles, though the best, in-line, one showed him to be just behind the last defender and that seemed to satisfy the technical team.
There was no interruption for review, in any event, which was not the case when the game was momentarily held up a few minutes later when a half-hearted Porto appeal for a handball penalty was closely scrutinised. There was nothing in it, the ball was already out of play when it hit Alexander-Arnold’s arm shortly after Alisson had used his legs to foil Moussa Marega, though in fairness the VAR case was open and shut in less than a minute.
If this was not quite the emphatic statement Liverpool have come to expect on home European nights it should not be forgotten that the best performance in the last round was the one away from home after a goalless draw and that they stand on the verge of a second successive appearance in the Champions League last four. That is not to mention the small matter of Chelsea on Sunday and a resumption of the title race with Manchester City, because Klopp would actually prefer it that way.
“We are in a good position so far but so far are the important words,” he has said. “We are not more relaxed or more intense on certain matchdays than on others. When the whistle goes we must give everything, the intensity has to be the same at all times.”
Only time will tell whether Liverpool can keep that up until the end of the season, but in Milner and Van Dijk, Henderson and Salah, he has filled his team with players who do not appear to see any reason why they cannot.
The Guardian
Leave a comment