In the first leg at Benfica, Konate had headed the opener, and Liverpool’s tall center-back tormented the Portuguese side with his aerial abilities once more in the 21st minute. Liverpool, on the other hand, didn’t waste any time in flexing their muscles. Ironically, it was a guy named after Liverpool’s arch-rivals Everton who threatened early for Benfica, curling a long-range shot narrowly wide. Klopp made seven changes from his side’s 2-2 draw with Premier League leaders Manchester City on Sunday, opting to rest his key players ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Pep Guardiola’s side at Wembley.Īfter a pre-match minute of silence to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster on Friday, Liverpool’s much-changed line-up took a while to get into their stride. That would bring them one step closer to a historic clean sweep of all four major trophies in a single season. In the semi-finals, Liverpool will meet Villarreal of Spain, with the Reds aiming to reach their 10th Champions League final and win their seventh trophy in the competition.ĭespite Villarreal’s remarkable wins over Bayern Munich and Juventus in the previous two rounds, Liverpool will be heavy favourites to reach their third Champions League final in five seasons. However, Benfica’s Roman Yaremchuk and Darwin Nunez scored to offer the visitors hope of an incredible comeback before Liverpool restored order. The contest appeared to be all but gone when Roberto Firmino scored twice after the break.

Liverpool took the lead through Ibrahima Konate, but Goncalo Ramos equalized late in the first half.

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