Porto 1-5 Liverpool: Player ratings as Salah & Jones inspire easy win
Liverpool cruised to a comfortable 5-1 Champions League win over Porto in Portugal, with Mohamed Salah netting twice to take his Reds scoring run to six appearances in a row.
Liverpool were dominant throughout, controlling the game for large parts and rarely breaking a sweat at the back. Porto also didn’t help themselves and three of the five goals were the result of poor goalkeeping, which the visitors gladly took advantage of.
Salah broke the deadlock inside 20 minutes when he was first to react to a weak parry from Porto stopper Diego Costa. Curtis Jones had made the chance by driving forward from the left and unleashing a shot at goal when he cut inside.
A lapse in judgement from Costa later gifted Sadio Mane a second for Liverpool when he seemed to pull away from trying to intercept a low cross, giving the Senegal international an easy tap-in.
Diogo Jota saw a few openings early in the second half as the visitors looked to get out of sight, but it was Salah who made it 3-0. The Egyptian gratefully swept home a pass from Jones.
Porto gave themselves a glimmer of hope when Mehdi Taremi pulled one back with an impressive header, sparking a bit more life in the hosts.
That was extinguished almost immediately when a moment of madness from a woeful Costa 40 yards out of his goal gifted substitute Roberto Firmino a fourth for Liverpool. The Brazilian then got another to make it 5-1 after the ball dropped to him right in front of goal.
Here’s how all the Reds player got on…
Liverpool player ratings
1. Goalkeeper & defenders
Alisson (GK) - 6/10 - Could little to stop the Porto goal but otherwise had relatively little to do.
James Milner (RB) - 8/10 - Filled in for the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold and it was a like-for-like switch as his cross created the second goal.
Joel Matip (CB) - 6/10 - Never under too much pressure.
Virgil van Dijk (CB) - 6/10 - Largely comfortable all night.
Andrew Robertson (LB) - 7/10 - Didn't need inviting to get forward at pace.
2. Midfielders
Curtis Jones (CM) - 9/10 - Created the first and fifth goals with shots that dropped to other players, as well as two other actual assists.
Fabinho (CM) - 7/10 - Patrolled the midfield well, although might have done more to snuff things out when Porto got their consolation.
Jordan Henderson (CM) - 7/10 - Marked his 400th Liverpool appearance with a win. Went close with a free-kick in the first half.
3. Forwards
Mohamed Salah (RF) - 8/10 - Showed a predator's instinct to get the ball rolling by converting a rebound. Later netted a second to go ahead of Samuel Eto'o in the all-time Champions League scoring charts.
Diogo Jota (ST) - 7/10 - Asked questions of the Porto defence, particularly in the early stages of the second half. Probably could have scored.
Sadio Mane (LF) - 7/10 - Couldn't have asked for an easier goal, tapping in from close range in the first half.
4. Substitutes
Joe Gomez (RB) - 5/10 - Will think he could have done more to stop Porto from scoring.
Takumi Minamino (LF) - 6/10 - More minutes under his belt.
Roberto Firmino (ST) - 7/10 - Made the most of his time on the pitch with two gifted but well-taken goals.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (CM) - 6/10 - Replaced Henderson in midfield.
Divock Origi (RF) N/A
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