Liverpool see off Porto in the first-leg

Jurgen Klopp decided to make three changes going into the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Porto. He felt Jordan Henderson, Dejan Lovren and James Milner all deserved a place in the starting line-up against a Porto side with a strong defence, boasting recent Real Madrid signing, Eder Militao.

Liverpool were the firm favourites going into the clash and Naby Keita took just under five minutes to prove exactly why. He controlled the ball well before released a menacing shot, heading on target.

Eder Militao did his best to get in the way but it only served to confuse Iker Casillas in goal with a deflection that totally immobilised the Porto goalkeeper who could only watch as the ball landed behind the line of his goal.

Porto didn't seem to stand down as such, but the goal certainly spurred Liverpool on in their search for Champions League glory and they dominated both possession and noise around the stadium.

One goal is not the end of the world and Sérgio Conceição would have hoped that his side could shake it off and continue to compete. This was not the case however, as Liverpool had other ideas.

Captain Jordan Henderson slipped a lethal ball through the defence, slicing it in half to find Trent Alexander-Arnold. He continued the finesse by picking out Roberto Firmino perfectly at the left post who was left with a simple tap in which he wasn't going to miss to double Liverpool's lead.

It wasn't all plain sailing for the Reds however, as the referee called upon VAR to make a decision on a possible Porto penalty. Alisson leaped into the air to punch a cross behind for a corner, but Trent Alexander-Arnold, and his arm, got in the way before the ball went out of play.

After VAR deliberation, Porto's chance was denied and Liverpool were lucky not to be looking at 2-1 going into the break.

Klopp will have been pleased with his side's first-half performance and it would be up to Porto to change their approach if they wanted to make sure Liverpool didn't extend their advantage ahead of their second-leg in Porto, where the Reds would have the away goal advantage.

Liverpool maintained their dominance after the break but a few sloppy errors starting to creep into the Reds' defence. A couple of miscommunications between Alisson and his defence almost allowed Porto in. Not an ideal situation, since the Portuguese side had the away goal advantage.

Both sides made several substitutions to try and offer something different. Roberto Firmino came off for Divock Origi as the Reds attempted to find a third goal which would place them firmly in the driving seat in Porto for the second-leg.

Brahimi came on for the visitors and had an instant impact. The likes of Lovren and Henderson had to be fully focused as the French born Algerian began to cause a few problems on the left flank.

However, there wasn't enough time for him to have a decisive impact on the game and Liverpool saw out the first-leg with a dominant and convincing victory. They will take the away goal advantage to Porto where they will hope to continue their scintillating recent form.

They face Chelsea on Sunday in the Premier League beforehand though so it's a tough run of fixtures for the Reds. Porto might hope that the clash with Chelsea takes the wind out of their sails perhaps.