In the early morning of Beijing time today (6th), the first leg of the 2021-22 Champions League quarterfinals began to compete. With goals from Cornart, Mane and Díaz, Liverpool took the lead in a 3-1 away win over Benfica.
As the official designated "gift package" for the Quarter-finals of the Champions League, Benfica is definitely a good arrangement for Liverpool, which is about to usher in the second battle of the military city. Despite the rain of debris at the Stadium of Light, the Reds continued the tradition of the Klopp era of triumphing in Portugal. Only this time it was smaller than the previous three games against Porto, but in the first half of the near-crushing, Mane, who was close to Drogba's goal record, especially Luis Díaz, who scored a successful pass, made it easier to win. Perhaps the only thing to blame is Salah's continued slump and Konat's senseless gift-giving.
Despite the pre-match statement that "I didn't think about what the result of tonight was for a second", Klopp still "lived" a little in the starting lineup: Thiago, who performed well in the last round of the Premier League, partnered with Nabi Keita for the first time in 2 years, although due to injury problems, the two did not say that they started, and there were few opportunities to play at the same time. The control effect of the two commanders was immediate, and throughout the first half, under the methodical combing of the two men, Liverpool's wing attack was able to confidently and boldly output, and Alexander Arnold and Robertson went deeper behind the enemy lines to carry out a series of blasting operations. After Konat's corner kicks topped the top and Yusei Robertson equaled the season's highest assist production (13), Arnold's backcourt was precisely guided, and Díaz copied Bergkamp's leaning header assist in the 1998 World Cup quarterfinals, paving the way for Mane to push the empty goal. It was Senegal's 13th goal in the Champions League knockout round for senegalese strikers, two goals ahead of Salah and just under-represented by Drogba among African players. Six goals against Porto and Benfica also made Mane the player with the most goals against Portuguese clubs in the history of the Champions League.
Throughout the first half, Liverpool, which created 6 chances, completely "took" the home team, but unfortunately, Salah, who was fed to the mouth by his teammates several times, still could not get out of the slump. The Reds No. 11 first wrapped up a little slower in front of goal, missing a similar opportunity to Mane, and then a low shot from a small angle also brushed off the upright. While the Egyptians are eager to make a contribution, their willingness to take the initiative to pass the ball to their teammates has decreased significantly, and there is very little communication after missing the opportunity. For the first time since October 2020, the Egyptian has failed to score away from home in the Champions League. And Díaz, who is more eager to fight, is also too hasty when dealing with single knives and long-range shots. In the first 45 minutes, Benfica goalkeeper Vlahodimos became the busiest of the game, and Benfica could only rely on the front of the striker Darwin Nunez to earn a few chances that were not considered opportunities.
With a two-goal lead at halftime, Liverpool inadvertently set a record of 19 consecutive half-time clean sheets, the last time the Reds conceded a goal at half-time was in the FA Cup against Shrewsbury; during 19 games, Liverpool only conceded 15 goals, from last season to the end of last year's poor defense, finally came to an end. However, just after the switch, the Reds' defensive line deserted: when Rafa Silva broke through the cross on the right, Van Dijk and Konat had already guarded the front and back points, but the latter let the ball pass between his legs when he broke the line, and Nunez, who was particularly diligent in the first half, smiled behind him.
Nunez has scored 28 goals in 35 games this season, not only the U23 player who has scored the most goals in the top European league this season, but also equaled compatriot Cavani in 2011-12 in five Champions League debut seasons, but "Dazo" spent 701 minutes while Núñez only used 483 minutes. In addition, Núñez's five goals were distributed in the group stage and two rounds of knockouts, and the opponents of the city included Barca, Bayern, Ajax and Liverpool, and the four teams won the Big Ear Cup 21 times. But after the game, Núñez did not have much joy with the goal, complaining more about his physical contact with Van Dijk in the penalty area, but was ignored by referee Manzano.
One South American is full of life, and the other is obviously not willing to be left behind. At the end of the game, the Benfica defense, which was chasing points with all its strength, was empty, Keita sent a straight plug in the counterattack, Díaz in the center position quickly counter-inserted, and the goalkeeper who passed the attack pushed the empty goal after the goalkeeper, and the Colombian completed the first goal of the Champions League after the transfer, and also ended the previous difficult birth against Benfica. When playing for Porto, Díaz only scored 1 goal and 1 assist in 7 games against Benfica, and this time contributed 7 games in 1 game, and the best of the game was deserved.
England star Owen, who commented on the match, said: "Benfica eliminated Ajax in the last round, proving that they can win in adversity, but this time Díaz directly killed the game and got a solid result for the team. Klopp, while a little unhappy with the team's laxity at the start of the second half, was happy enough about the result: "Benfica fought for survival, we gave them a bit more chances, they deserved to score. The opposing goalkeeper may have been the best player on the pitch and we could have rewritten the score to 4-1 in the last minute, but we weren't dreaming after all. ”
Wen | Yang Jian
Edit | Peppery Soup