April 13, (THEWILL) – Liverpool qualified for the UEFA Champions League semifinals with a thrilling 3-3 draw against Benfica on Wednesday, completing a 6-4 aggregate victory.
Jurgen Klopp benched heavy hitters Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thiago, Andy Robertson, and Fabinho ahead of this weekend’s encounter with Manchester City.
Early on, Liverpool did their best to keep possession, but Benfica’s threat on the break was obvious. Everton’s attempt from range was not far from Alisson’s top corner, thanks to a run from the dangerous Darwin Nunez.
Both Nunez and Everton threatened to score, but it was Ibrahima Konate, one of the Reds’ substitutes, who opened the scoring. After 20 minutes, the centre-back jumped highest from a corner to repeat his performance from the previous week and put Liverpool ahead.
Nunez almost immediately put the ball in the back of the net with a beautiful chip over Alisson for the equaliser, but VAR correctly called the goal out for offside.
The pressure from Liverpool grew stronger as the half progressed. Before a last-ditch stop from Jan Vertonghen denied Roberto Firmino at point-blank range, Diaz drew a fantastic save from Odysseas Vlachodimos.
Benfica went down the other end and scored a few moments later, thanks to that important block. In the 32nd minute, Gonçalo Ramos thundered past Alisson and survived a lengthy VAR check to tie the game up.
With a brilliant interception, Alex Grimaldo saved a potential Diaz goal, before Naby Keita gave the final highlight of an intriguing first half by firing wide from range.
Firmino scored ten minutes after the break thanks to a slew of errors from the Benfica defence. Vlachodimos fumbled a straightforward save, and Jan Vertonghen’s poor clearance let the ball fall to Jota, who joyously tapped the ball home.
Liverpool’s top guns, Salah, Fabinho, and Thiago, entered the game shortly before the hour mark, and they combined to cause difficulties for the Benfica defence almost immediately.
Firmino scored the third goal 65 minutes into the game. The Brazilian was awarded another straightforward finish from close range thanks to some poor Benfica defending on a Kostas Tsimikas free-kick.
After that goal, Liverpool appeared to have gained entire control of the game, but Benfica grabbed one back through Roman Yaremchuk, who needed yet another VAR check to validate his excellent counter-attacking strike.
Nunez escaped another VAR check with eight minutes left to square things up, and he pulled a brilliant save from Alisson moments later with a vicious shot from range.
Benfica kept pushing for what would have been an astonishing victory on its own, but Liverpool managed to slow down the game’s pace.
There was still time for two more VAR checks, though. Late in the game, Sadio Mane and Nunez both had the ball in the back of the net, but the busy assistant scratched both of them after video review.
Liverpool’s unrelenting schedule carries on until the weekend, when they face Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, with little time to reflect on their progress in Europe’s top competition. Meanwhile, Benfica must rapidly recover from their setback before facing arch-rivals Sporting on Sunday.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
