Van Dijk sees Liverpool secure the Champions League semi-final from the bench | Football

The Portuguese, who were responsible for the elimination of Ajax, knew that a very tough evening awaited them. At home, Benfica had to believe it with large numbers and that arrears had to be made harmless on Wednesday evening.

Van Dijk on the couch

That Klopp already had a lot of confidence in a good outcome prior to the game, was evident from the fact that he allowed a lot of players to rest. Virgil van Dijk, for example, started on the bench and Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson, Fabinho, Thiago Alcântara, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané also did not appear at the kick-off.

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Although Benfica’s assignment was already heavy on Wednesday evening, it became even bigger after more than twenty minutes when Ibrahima Konaté gave Liverpool the lead: 1-0. Still, Benfica thought he would come up with a lightning-fast answer via Darwin Núnez, but his goal was disallowed for offside. The equalizer came before the break. Goncalo Ramos put his team next to Liverpool again: 1-1 and as a result the teams went into halftime after an entertaining first half.

Firmino hurts Benfica

Ten minutes after the break, Roberto Firmino put an end to Benfica’s last glimmer of hope. He tapped the ball in at the far post and put his team back in the lead: 2-1. Not much later, he hurt the Portuguese even more by signing for the 3-1. Roman Yaremchuk did something in return on behalf of Benfica, but the damage seemed already done by then.

Yet the equalizer also fell for Benfica via Núnez and hope returned to Benfica for a while. In the last ten minutes the Portuguese needed two more goals, but Liverpool didn’t let it get that far: 3-3.

Liverpool played the top match against Manchester City (2-2) last Sunday. Saturday come The Reds Back in action against Pep Guardiola’s side in the FA Cup semi-final.