Liverpool have one foot in semi-final after victory over Porto

Liverpool 2-0 Porto: match report

Liverpool took care of business in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Porto much like they did last year against the same side in the last 16. With a blistering start and the kind of energy Jurgen Klopp's side have trademarked as their own.

Klopp was forced to rotate his defence with Joel Matip, who was replaced by Dejan Lovren, carrying a slight knock into the game. Fabinho and Naby Keita continued in midfield after starting together against Southampton and they didn't disappoint.

Keita had the home side ahead after five minutes when Firmino played it to him from just inside the penalty area's left-hand side and his deflected effort flat-footed Iker Casillas.

The memories of last season's 5-0 in the last 16 were flooding back to Porto on 26 minutes when Trent Alexander-Arnold squared to Firmino, who tapped home from point-blank range.

Liverpool looked like they could score at will and while Porto were keeping their hosts on their toes with a potent counter-attack, they failed in the final third time and again. That was due to Liverpool's sturdiness in defence and a lack of composure when those rare chances did fall their way.

In the second half, we saw a more proactive Porto side and a slightly more cautious Liverpool one. But that didn't prevent Klopp's men creating chances. They kept Porto at arm's length and were more picky when pushing men forward as they elected to prioritise a clean sheet rather than searching for more goals.

Sadio Mane scored but it was ruled out for offside and Salah had two efforts that would have at least troubled Casillas blocked by his own teammates.

Felipe wanted a penalty when a cross came in from the right and Alexander-Arnold held him off the ball. He chased Mateu Lahoz but there was no reward as the referee had made up his mind. That came after Lovren caught the ball with his shoulder and we needed VAR to decide if it should be a penalty. It decided against awarding the spot kick too.

Despite those couple of chances, Liverpool largely bossed affairs and will need to keep their house in order and little more to make their fifth semi-final since 2004-05.

Liverpool vs Porto live online: match updates

Liverpool vs Porto live online: preview

It's the second year in a row that Liverpool have met Porto in the knock-out stages of the Champions League with the Portuguese side succumbing to Klopp's scintillating side in that first leg when they lost 5-0 at home before restoring a smidgeon of pride by holding the Reds to a 0-0 draw at Anfield. This year, in Klopp's third season as the manager, Liverpool might be even better and while Porto are locked in their own domestic league battle with Benfica, it will be an upset if they can manage to overcome Salah, Mané, Firmino and co.

Liverpool will play with home advantage in the first leg and will be hoping to build an advantage before the return leg. Mo Salah looks to be back to his goalscoring best after a late winner against Spurs followed by another late strike against Southampton at the weekend. While the goals weren't flowing for the Egyptian prior to his recent run, Jordan Henderson says he played his best football during his drought. Liverpool are without Andrew Robertson (out) while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Joe Gomez are unlikely to feature. Meanwhile, Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk and Georginio Wijnaldum are all carrying knocks but should be fine to start with that game against Southampton taking place on Friday with sufficient recovery time for their aches.

Porto are going to have to do this the hard way. Alex Telles is questionable and Pepe, Vincent Aboubakar and Héctor Herrera are all out. They will be relying on Iker Casillas to steady the ship by harnessing all the experience he has earned deep in the Champions League during his stellar career. They will also need their top scorer Tiquinho Soares in top form in an effort to give Sérgio Conceição's side an away goal and something to build on in the return leg.