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Liverpool took a giant step towards the semi-finals of the Champions League when they beat FC Porto 2-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final tie at Anfield on Tuesday night.
First half goals from Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino set the hosts on their way, but they were unable to find any more goals to put the tie out of reach ahead of the return in Portugal next week.
Despite the win and the clean sheet, the Merseyside outfit didn’t have it all their own way and manager Jurgen Klopp should have two major concerns ahead of the visit of Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
The 20-year-old has certainly been one of Liverpool’s best performers throughout the current campaign, but some of his displays in recent weeks have been a cause for concern – including this one.
The England international was replaced by James Milner early in the second half at Southampton on Friday having struggled to deal with the combination between Nathan Redmond and Ryan Bertrand.
While he impressed from an attacking point of view against the Portuguese giants on Tuesday, he once again struggled at the other end of the pitch with the visitors clearly targeting the area of the pitch between Alexander-Arnold and Dejan Lovren.
Klopp must decide whether it is time to take the youngster out of the limelight with keeping clean sheets surely the priority right now, and given the fact he will come up against an in-form Eden Hazard on Sunday.
Defensive issues
Talking of keeping the opposition out, it was something Liverpool managed on Tuesday – but only thanks to the wasteful finishing of Moussa Marega.
The 27-year-old striker had a plethora of opportunities to find the net at Anfield, and Klopp’s men would have been thankful that he had an off-night in front of goal.
While it wasn’t an issue against Porto, if the Reds give those opportunities to a better striker in the Premier League or the Champions League in the future then they will no doubt be punished.
Having also flattered to deceive for Shane Long’s goal and subsequent miss-kick early on in proceedings on Friday, perhaps some extra defensive work is needed on the training ground prior to welcoming Chelsea to Anfield.