Liverpool progress after entertaining 3-3 draw with Benfica

Liverpool confirmed their place in the UEFA Champions League semi-final with an enjoyable 3-3 draw against Benfica at Anfield.

The Reds' two-goal lead allowed Jürgen Klopp to rest seven players, a luxury for a Champions League quarter-final. Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané, Virgil van Dijk, Thiago, Fabinho, Andy Robertson, and Trent Alexander-Arnold all made the bench.

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For a brief second Benfica thought they might have equalised instantly when Darwin Núñez was played through and chipped the ball over Alisson but the Uruguayan was offside. 

There were suspicions of offside when the visitors did equalise. Gonçalo Ramos hit a fierce effort that had the Liverpool goalkeeper beaten again. VAR checked the goal to confirm that the 20-year old was onside to make the score 4-2 on aggregate.

The Reds took the lead in the game again ten minutes into the second half. Former Spurs defender Jan Vertonghen’s poor clearance fell to the path of Diogo Jota who crossed the ball in for Roberto Firmino to tap home. 

The Brazilian made it 3-1 soon after. Tsimikas was again the provider as his freekick looped to the back post where Firmino was on hand to kill off the tie with the score now 6-2 on aggregate.

Roman Yaremchuk pulled another goal back for Benfica, although it was originally ruled out for offside. But VAR stepped in to decide that the Ukrainian – who did well to keep his composure and round Allison to lot home – had in fact stayed just onside. 

The assistant referee made the same mistake – an easy one to make – for Benfica’s equaliser. Núñez once again found space behind the Liverpool backline and his curling finish showed exactly why so many clubs have been linked with the Uruguayan in recent weeks. VAR stepped in once more to make it 3-3 on the night and 6-4 on aggregate. 

But that wasn’t the end of offside goals. Sadio Mané had the ball in the net after Mohamed Salah’s ball just before full-time but this time the decision wasn’t overturned.

Big Picture: Benfica gave a valiant effort and leave the Champions League with their heads held high after scoring three fine goals at Anfield.

Liverpool meanwhile continue to progress in another competition and set-up an intriguing tie with Villarreal who have earned a reputation for defeating the odds in Europe.

xG: Liverpool (1.90) 3-3 (1.01) Benfica

Another #UCL semi-final for Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool 👊#UCL pic.twitter.com/IDDumprOhA

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 13, 2022