Benfica 1-3 Liverpool Champions League Quarter Finals HIGHLIGHTS: Reds secure well-fought first leg win

UEFA Champions League Live, Benfica vs Liverpool: Read the UCL highlights of the BEN vs LIV match from the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England.

Luis Diaz scored the third goal for Liverpool to increase its lead to two goals against Benfica in the UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal first leg.

Welcome to Sportstar's highlights of the UEFA Champions League 2021-22 quarterfinal clash between Manchester City and Atletico Madrid being played at the Estadio sa Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.

This was Neeladri Bhattacharjee bringing you the pre-match buildup minute-by-minute updates of this high-voltage clash. That was all for the night. Thanks for tuning in and take very good care of yourselves.

Match Report:

Follow the other Champions League fixture here : Manchester City vs Atletico Madrid LIVE

 

12:15 am: What are the coaches saying?

Nelson Verissimo, Manager, Benfica: "We have to recognise that Liverpool is a team with great collective and individual competence, with a great coach, and that will force us to be at a very high level in both games. It's going to be a tricky tie but, as I said with Ajax, it's going to be 50-50." "We can suppress Liverpool's strengths. Like any team, they have weaknesses that we can take advantage of. We have a defensive process in which we will have to have great competence. It's going to be tough, but we can share the game tomorrow then count on our fans, who will be able to inspire our team for a great European night." Juergen Klopp, Manager, Liverpool: "I think about us being on top of our game. That's the plan for all the games. You try to improve in general. Benfica may not be where they want to be in their league, but it's a tough opponent." "We need desire, mentality and excitement. You can't buy that. You have to mature as a player, as a coach and as a team. You judge things calmer in the future. That is experience. We have played games before when we were 1-0 up and we were still running like mad. I want my players to think in the right way." "We all know one failure, one little misstep, and at least one competition can be gone. That's no problem for us; we're just ready for the next challenge."

11:33 pm: Starting Lineups out!

Benfica Starting XI: Odysseas Vlachodimos (GK), Gilberto, Nicolas Otamendi, Jan Vertonghen, Alex Grimaldo, Julian Weigl, Adel Taarabt, Rafa Silva, Goncalo Ramos, Everton Soares, Darwin Nunez

Liverpool Starting XI: Alisson Becker (GK), Trent Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Virgil Van Dijk, Andrew Robertson, Naby Keita, Fabinho, Thiago Alacantara, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Luis Diaz

11:10 pm: Predicted Lineups:

Benfica Predicted XI (4-2-3-1 Probable) — Odysseas Vlachodimos (GK), Gilberto, Nicolas Otamendi, Jan Vertonghen, Alex Grimaldo, Julian Weigl, Adel Taarabt, Rafa Silva, Goncalo Ramos, Everton Soares, Darwin Nunez

Liverpool Predicted XI (4-3-3 Probable) — Alison Becker (GK), Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil Van Dijk, Andrew Robertson, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago Alacantara, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz

MATCH PREVIEW

Facing another free-flowing attack, Benfica will take on Liverpool in the Champions League likely betting on the same defensive formula that worked so well against Ajax.

Benfica hosts Liverpool in the first leg of the quarterfinals on Tuesday in Lisbon, with the English club bringing another attacking-minded squad similar to Ajax’s.

Liverpool has the competition’s fourth-best offense, while Ajax had the third-best attack after being held by the Portuguese team in the last 16.

Benfica’s low defensive block and quick transitions worked well for a 3-2 aggregate win against Ajax, putting the team back in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2016.

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After a 2-2 draw in the first leg in Portugal, Benfica comfortably sat deep in the return leg. Ajax had more touches and crosses than almost any other team in the round of 16, but could not get past a Portuguese defense that played with several players behind the ball.

Ajax only got two shots on target from 16 attempts, while Benfica scored on its only attempt on goal — Darwin Núñez’s 77th-minute header that secured the 1-0 victory.

“We knew we were going to suffer and we did,” Núñez said after the match.

Benfica, a two-time European champion, is near the top in defensive statistics in the Champions League this season, including in clearances and tackles. The team also resorted to solid defending and quick transitions to defeat and help eliminate five-time European champion Barcelona in the group stage.

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Benfica had to contain a red-hot Sébastien Haller against Ajax. Now it will have to stop the likes of Mohamed Salah, Digo Jota, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané.

Liverpool’s only loss in this season’s Champions League came in the second leg against Inter Milan in the last 16, when — like Ajax — it dominated possession but couldn’t get many attempts on target in a 1-0 setback at home. It was still enough to advance after a 2-0 victory in Italy in the first leg.

Benfica is hoping for a repeat of its triumph over Liverpool 16 years ago, when the team eliminated the then-defending champions with a 1-0 win at home and a 2-0 victory in England.

“It’s possible to repeat history,” former player and current Benfica director Simão Sabrosa, who scored one of the goals in England, told BTV. “Of course it’s scary to look at Liverpool’s team, but we start at 0-0 and 11 against 11. And playing at home we will have a great support from our fans.”

Liverpool got the best of Benfica in the Champions League quarterfinals in 2010, advancing after losing 2-1 in Lisbon and winning 4-1 at home in the return match.

This time, Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp will have a full squad available for the first time since he took charge of the team in 2015.

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Benfica hasn’t gone past the quarterfinals since 1990, before the new Champions League era had begun. The closest it got to the semifinals recently was in 2016, when it was eliminated by Bayern Munich in the last eight.

Benfica coach Nélson Veríssimo is expected to count on all of its players for Tuesday’s match, including Morocco international Adel Taarabt, who had been out injured.

Benfica started this year’s Champions League campaign in the third qualifying round. It had been unbeaten in nine straight matches in all competitions before losing at Braga in the Portuguese league on Friday.

( via AP )

Where can you watch the match?

Watch UEFA Champions League 2021-22 Quarterfinal: Benfica vs Liverpool – LIVE on SONY TEN 2 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) & SONY TEN 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels on March 10, 2022, from 1:30 am IST. It will also be live streamed in the OTT Platform, Sony Liv and JioTV.