Liverpool vs Porto LIVE: Champions League result, final score and reaction tonight
Follow all the latest action as the Reds host the Dragons at Anfield
The pressure is off for Liverpool tonight as they host FC Porto in the Champions League, but it’s still all to play for as far as the visitors are concerned. The Reds won each of their first four group stage games to seal top spot and qualification to the last 16, while the Portuguese side sit in second with two games to play - just one point ahead of Atletico Madrid.
While some supporters would perhaps like to see the Reds rotate to an extent and preserve the first-choice stars who will have an inevitably busy run over the December fixtures, Jurgen Klopp’s chances of doing that are hampered by ongoing injuries, especially in midfield. They come into this match full of confidence and looking sharp after a thumping win over Arsenal at the weekend, with the Reds having lost just one game in all competitions this term.
Porto are not much worse than that, in fact, with just two defeats for themselves in 2021/22 - but one of those came against the Reds two months ago, when the the trident of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane each found the net in a 5-1 thrashing. Follow all the team news and match action as Liverpool host Porto below:
Liverpool vs Porto
Jurgen Klopp on Takumi Minamino, who starts tonight after scoring his first Anfield goal against Arsenal on Saturday:
“Taki scored for us at the weekend after being on the pitch for a matter of seconds and I promise you there will not have been a more popular goalscorer in our group at that moment. You could tell that from all of our reactions.
“This is of course partly because we love him as a person. He has such a warm and generous soul. However, it was far more than just his endearing personality that made us so pleased. It was because of the attitude he shows and the contribution he makes day in and day out.
“Without question he is a person who helps set our standards. I cannot praise highly enough the level he shows in training. He takes the maximum possible from each session. He is a coach’s dream.”
Liverpool vs Porto
When Liverpool face Porto, we’ve become to expect two things: lots of goals and big Liverpool wins.
Under Klopp, the Reds have won 5-0, 4-1 and 5-1 against tonight’s opponents - although those hammerings have all come in Porto.
Those thrashings have largely made the return matches at Anfield a non-event - let’s hope that’s not the case tonight!
Liverpool vs Porto
Jurgen Klopp on 19-year-old Liverpool debutant Tyler Morton:
“Tyler represents everything that is great about young footballers at our club.
“He doesn’t need any more expectation placed on him, so I am not going to write a ‘love song’ here about what he is going to do in the game or what sort of player he is and might be. We will see on that and he will write his own story. But it is the person he is that makes him very special.
“He earned those Premier League minutes [against Arsenal] and in doing so set an example to the young players who will inevitably follow him. He is such a credit to himself and his family.
“His job now is to continue to lean in to the best personal qualities that have helped him to this point. That is all: be the same guy who treats each second with the first team as an opportunity to learn and be better.”
Liverpool vs Porto: Team news
Tyler Morton is handed just his second start for Liverpool, and it’s in the Champions League! What a moment for the 19-year-old midfielder.
He is one of four Liverpool changes along with Neco Williams - who also makes just his second start of the season - Ibrahima Konate and Takumi Minamino.
Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane start but Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and Diogo Jota are rested - or start on the bench, at least.
Alisson captains the Reds tonight.
Liverpool vs Porto: Team news
Liverpool: Alisson, Williams, Matip, Konate, Tsimikas, Morton, Thiago, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Thiago; Salah, Mane, Minamino
Porto: Costa; Mario, Pepe, Mbemba, Zaidu; Otavio, Uribe, Oliveira, Diaz; Taremi, Evanilson
Liverpool vs Porto
Elsewhere in Liverpool’s midfield, one player not wanting to be rested tonight will be Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has hit a run of form of late and will be desperate for another opportunity to impress Klopp.
Oxlade-Chamberlain had perhaps his best performance of the season in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Arsenal, his former team.
As Melissa Reddy writes, 28-year-old’s shot to re-establish himself at Liverpool has materialised following injuries to James Milner, Curtis Jones and Naby Keita.
Now, Oxlade-Chamberlain has the chance to aid Liverpool’s next stage of evolution. Can he take it?
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain reemerges for Liverpool refined by experience and adversity
The midfielder has fought back from the fringes and has the chance to aid Liverpool's next stage of evolution
Liverpool vs Porto
Indeed, Morton made his Premier League debut on Saturday in the closing stages of Liverpool’s resounding 4-0 win over Arsenal.
And has quick rise to the first team could continue this evening if he is handed a first Champions League appearance against Porto.
“I don’t know what will happen tomorrow night but the progress from Tyler Morton has been pretty impressive,” Klopp said this week.
“Tyler had the full pre-season with us, you could see his technical skills but how well educated and how well behaved young people are.
“He was not overly confident, let me say it like that, he tried to adapt a little bit to what the first team were doing.
“It was good, not spectacular, but good and then we had the game against Norwich where he came on the second half and played a super game, to be honest, that made all the difference.
“You could see the next day how the confidence level exploded overnight and I saw for the first time. He is in a good place at the moment. Pretty sure he would give the same answer! Now, let’s work from here.”
Liverpool vs Porto: Predicted line-ups
Could this be a possible Liverpool team for the visit of Porto this evening? Neco Williams, Ibrahim Konate, Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino could be some of those to benefit if Jurgen Klopp rotates his side, while academy prospects Conor Bradley and Tyler Morton could see some minutes from the bench.
Liverpool: Kelleher; Williams, Konate, Matip, Robertson; Fabinho, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Henderson; Salah, Origi, Minamino.
Porto: Marchesin; Corona, Pepe, Mbemba, Sanusi; Otavio, Uribe, Oliveira, Diaz; Taremi, Evanilson.
Liverpool vs Porto latest news
Ahead of the game at Anfield, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was asked about the possibility to rotate his team given the Reds are not only through to the last 16 already, but guaranteed top spot in the group. He acknowledged that he’ll be protecting players who need it, but ruled out fielding a total team of backups and youngsters and noted that fitness and injury risks throughout the squad would play a part in his decision-making.
“We always respect the competition but we have to think about ourselves and our schedule and the situation of our players first,” he said.
“In this time of the season, the medical department has a big hand in line-ups.
“It’s really easy to sit there, all the people who judge us, and say ‘leave him out, leave him out, leave him out’. If we leave them all out and play with a team that is not a Champions League team – we don’t have enough players for that, by the way – then nobody can get injured.”
Liverpool vs Porto latest news
Liverpool hammered Porto 5-1 on their own patch at the Estadio do Dragao in late September, a result which was the first loss of the campaign for Sergio Conceicao and his team. It was a humbling outcome and there were plenty of errors on show from the home side as the Reds ran riot - but ahead of the return fixture at Anfield, the Portuguese side’s manager feels they have now worked through those defensive shortcomings.
“It was some time ago that match. We have corrected our mistakes and we have worked on that,” he said.
“There were some problems in the positions but we analysed it thoroughly and we are focused on the match, it will be a different match. The match is what we make of it. We cannot control the strategy of our opponents but it won’t be significantly different from what they have been showing in recent weeks.
“We have our own weapons, our ambitions and we will go there not just for one more match but a match which will be decisive, crucial.”
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