Last week Liverpool put one foot into the Champions League semi-finals with a 2-0 win over Porto at Anfield. But with the two sides heading to Portugal for the second leg, the tie is far from over.
Porto will be looking to avenge their humiliating 5-0 loss at the Estadio do Dragao in last year’s Champions League while Liverpool will be looking to make back-to-back semi-finals for the first time since the 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons.
Both sides will be high on confidence having picked up key wins as they battle for their respective league titles over the weekend. Liverpool moved back into top spot with a 2-0 victory over Chelsea and Porto remain level with Benfica after a 3-0 win over Portimonense.
Last week I spoke to @infofcporto to get his thoughts ahead of the first leg. Now a week on I’ve spoken to them again to get their reactions to the game at Anfield and thoughts on the return leg in Portugal.
To start off, what were your thoughts on the first leg?
We were very happy. Not because of the result, but because we felt that the team did everything in their power to win the game. With a bit more luck we think we would have won last week’s game.
How do you feel about the result?
The result, although not the best, gives us hope that with the support of our fans and with our players at 100% we can overturn it in the Estadio do Dragao.
Who impressed you during the most for both Liverpool and Porto?
For Liverpool, Jordan Henderson for sure. Always very calm with the ball and sure of what needed to be done. Great midfielder, one of the best in England for sure.
For FC Porto, Bruno Costa. He hasn’t been getting loads of minutes this season and it was as a surprise when he came on for Oliver. A good surprise may we say. He had a couple good dribbles and passes, always calm on the ball, the future looks bright for him.
Porto will have a tough task to progress to the semi-finals. What must they do to better Liverpool?
Porto had a hard time defending the space in the back of the defence and Liverpool players could easily enter the back of our defensive line. The secret will lie in overcoming the midfield and Firmino to make passes to that zone and make our defenders more alert to these situations. In the offensive moment, the secret to success is to be able to resist the pressure of Liverpool, which has caused us many problems and exploit the backspace of the centre backs.
Can you see Porto turning this around?
As we said before, it is very difficult, but with the support of our fans and with players at overall strength, everything is possible!
How do you see this match playing out?
We imagine FC Porto will come in with everything, following their game idea, trying to score an early goal, in order to gain the encouragement to get through to the semi-finals.
How will Sergio Conceicao line up his side?
Slightly difficult to say what will be the starting eleven of FC Porto after the preview press conference of Sergio Conceicao, but we would bet on: Casillas; Militao, Felipe, Pepe, Telles; Danilo, Herrera; Otavio, Corona, Brahimi; Marega.
