Liverpool beat Porto in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

Goals: Keita 5', Firmino 26'.

Liverpool took an early lead with a quick transition from defense to attack. James Milner, playing left-back, made a one-touch pass from his own half to Sadio Mane. The Senegalese striker took a touch before passing the ball inside to Roberto Firmino. The Porto defenders failed to close down Liverpool's striker, allowing him to control the ball and then release it to Naby Keita. The shot deflected off Oliver Torres and went into the top corner of the net, leaving Iker Casillas helpless.

Having scored early, the home team played quite comfortably. They maintained constant pressure on the opponent's penalty area while Porto were quite confident in their counter-attacks, but that wasn't enough to overcome Liverpool's defense with Virgil van Dijk's excellent coverage. Mohamed Salah had a chance to score when he intercepted a back pass from a Porto midfielder. His good shielding allowed the Egyptian forward to get past Felipe, but his gentle shot went wide of the goal.

However, not long after that, Liverpool scored their second goal following a well-rehearsed passing sequence. Firmino tapped the ball in from close range after a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Liverpool striker had dropped deep in this situation, and the Porto defense completely overlooked his movement.

Liverpool had a few minutes of loose play after scoring their second goal. They nearly paid the price for a mistake when they allowed Moussa Marega to go one-on-one with Alisson. But the striker, who has the third-highest number of goals in the Champions League after Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski, didn't have enough power to beat the goalkeeper. In the subsequent corner, Marega turned and volleyed inside the box after his teammate won the second ball, but the shot was too weak and lacked the necessary force.

At the start of the second half, Mane put the ball into the Porto net, but the referee disallowed the goal due to offside. Overall, Liverpool comfortably controlled possession for the remaining 45 minutes of the match. Despite being two goals down, the visitors played cautiously and without rushing. Porto's focus prevented Liverpool from creating further scoring opportunities, and Jurgen Klopp had to bring on strikers Divock Origi and Daniel Sturridge in an attempt to find another goal.

Despite receiving numerous passes from his teammates, this was a disappointing match for Salah. Three days after reaching 50 goals for Anfield with a solo goal against Southampton, the Egyptian striker failed to score. His dribbling attempts were easily neutralized by the Porto defense. Salah's poor form was partly to blame for Liverpool's inability to score despite dominating possession.

Porto had their best chance in the second half when Marega once again found himself one-on-one with Alisson after a through pass from a teammate. This situation was quite similar to Liverpool's opening goal. However, the Porto striker's left-footed shot was inaccurate. Besides this chance, Marega also had a shot from a tight angle, forcing Alisson to make a save.

In a game where the home team had to play defensively, Marega performed quite well and constantly troubled the Liverpool defense, even when facing the most expensive and arguably the best center-back in the world right now, Van Dijk. Porto's inability to score was disappointing for the Portuguese team considering the chances they created. But the 0-2 defeat is not a disaster for Sergio Conceicao's team. Porto's performance towards the end of the match showed they are confident they can turn the tide in the second leg on April 17th.