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A brilliant goal from Thiago Alcântara and a Mohamed Salah strike made it from wins from five in the group stage

 Updated 
Wed 24 Nov 2021 17.10 ESTFirst published on Wed 24 Nov 2021 13.30 EST
Mohamed Salah (right) celebrates after scoring Liverpool's second goal with Jordan Henderson.
Mohamed Salah (right) celebrates after scoring Liverpool's second goal with Jordan Henderson. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Mohamed Salah (right) celebrates after scoring Liverpool's second goal with Jordan Henderson. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Thiago speak to BT Sport.

Ox: We wanted to approach it properly and win the game. We made changes and it was important everyone came in and did a job. You want to play as much you can. Games in succession is were the rhythm comes from, It was really good having Thiago back. Young Tyler, I thought he he did really well...It would be nice to go through with all wins. All of us dreamed of playing in the San Siro, that’s what we’re here to do.

Thiago: I have scored a prettier goal than that. The most important thing is how the team players. We are happy with the young guys and the experienced guys.

In the other game, Milan’s 1-0 win in Madrid makes the final matchday one hell of a festival of “as it stands”. Liverpool’s dominance has made it that way. Milan can go through if they beat Liverpool and Atletico and Porto draw.

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Liverpool 5 10 15
2 FC Porto 5 -5 5
3 Atletico Madrid 5 -3 4
4 AC Milan 5 -2 4

Full-time: Liverpool 2-0 Porto

Porto will rue missing some first half chances, mostly created by the brilliance of Luis Diaz. Once the second half started, Liverpool stepped it up and Thiago scored a goal for the ages with that surface-level drive. Salah, as is habitual, got one for himself. Job done, and Liverpool look unstoppable at the moment. Tyler Morton made a fine debut, too.

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp congratulates Tyler Morton on his performance. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
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84 min: Concecaio Jnr gets clattered by Milner the veteran reducer machine. Conceciao doesn’t look remotely bothered.

81 min: Andrew Chappell is back on the offside/VAR tip. Just checked. Here is the law”

(Law 11)

Offside position

It is not an offence to be in an offside position.

A player is in an offside position if:

• any part of the head, body or feet is in the opponents’ half (excluding the halfway line) and

• any part of the head, body or feet is nearer to the opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent

The hands and arms of all players, including the goalkeepers, are not considered.

“I couldn’t tell on the very limited time the VAR review image was on screen but it sure looked like they measured on his wrist which would make it contradictory to the Law regarding ‘hands and arms’ not being ‘considered’. There is a distinct difference between the broadcast images we are shown on Premier League vs Champions League broadcasts. At least with PL we get views as they are being checked, live as it were, and it would seem a longer time for the commentary team to discuss and look at it. I went back and checked on my feed. Mané’s arm was straight up and down, at the time, and the measurement was made from his shoulder right down his arm to this wrist and to the ground. It was just so hard to see that at first, one had to really lean right into the screen to see - Glad we got that sorted.”

If Andrew gets so exercised by an offside in a dead rubber then...he has a future in football officialdom.

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79 min: Morton stretches out a rangy leg and plays a pass out wide. Something of Stevie about him? Probably not a fair comparison to make, is it?

78 min: Marko Grujic comes on against his old club to some warm applause from that ever knowledgeable Anfield crowd.

76 min: Henderson goes under the wall and no Porto player acting as a draught excluder. He also goes wide, and is annoyed with himself.

Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson shoots at goal from a free-kick. Photograph: Molly Darlington/Action Images/Reuters
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72 min: Liverpool have scored two more more goals in their last 17 matches, the first English team to do that since Wolves in 1939. Some feat.

Some subs made, too. That was Salah’s last touch, and he goes off, to be replaced by Fabinho, as Origi replaces Mane.

Goal! Liverpool 2-0 Porto (Salah, 70)

Salah, of course. Seventeen goals in 17 matches, 10 in his last 10 in this competition. Henderson played him and you know the rest.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah doubles their lead. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Salah celebrates with his teammate. Photograph: Jon Super/AP
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69 min: Otavio, goes to the left, with his manager Sergio Concecaio going radio rental on the sideline. His boy Francisco is getting a fair earful from dad.

67 min: Something of a lull as all those subs set into place but Robertson sets off on a typically buccaneering run.

64 min: Porto sub: Concecaio, the manager’s boy, on and Taremi off. Oliveira also off and former Wolves player Vitinha on.

63 min: Liverpool looking for another, and finding spaces. Minamino has the ball in the net but his wide grin is quelled by an offside flag.

Here come the subs. Tsimikas and Thiago off, on come Robertson and Henderson, being nursed back into action after some recent knocks.

61 min: Liverpool changes imminent. But first Mane lifts a ball to Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose shot spins wide of the goal.

59 min: Brilliant from Diaz again, and his pass finds Evanilson, who runs into trouble. Porto have been wasteful. Alisson almost gets himself in trouble now, but Porto again fail to make anything of it.

57 min: Diaz gets a sniff but Minamino comes across to stop the danger. Then Diaz scampers through again and Alisson has to make a save. There’s an offside flag that looks marginal. Diaz dangerous once more.

54 min: It’s the Liverpool fans singing Allez Allez Allez now. Porto had their chances and now their hopes of getting out of the group are in trouble. It’s 0-0 between Atletico and Porto in the other game, by the way.

53 min: Sergio Concecaio is, again, raging. Nobody was stopping Thiago getting that shot in, even if it was a piece of brilliance.

Goal! Liverpool 1-0 Porto (Thiago, 52)

Thiago-ooooooooo!!!! A corner comes out and Thiago daisy cuts a beauty from the edge of the box. A mesmeric goal, and that’s probably put him well out of Barcelona’s price range.

A fine low shot from Liverpool’s Thiago Alcantara gives the home side the lead. Photograph: Molly Darlington/Action Images/Reuters
Thiago celebrates his goal. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
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49 min: Porto win a free-kick in a dangerous position; Alisson palms away with no conviction, the ball drops to Uribe and he turns and shoots wide. That was close.

48 min: Tyler Morton is a terrier in midfield. As Jürg said, he is no Fabinho but he’s certainly hard working and has some vision.

Liverpool’s Tyler Morton (left) beats Porto’s Mehdi Taremi in the air. Photograph: Tim Keeton/EPA
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47 min: Andrew Chappell emails in: “I may be wrong but was that offside measured at Manés wrist by VAR? I thought the interpretation is that it is measured at the armpit/end of short shirt sleeve?”

I’ll, er, level with you. I don’t know. And I don’t think many others do, either.

46 min: We are back underway. Jürgen Klopp has promised five subs this half so expect to see some changes soon. Porto make their way slowly to the field. Was the first half their chance to win this?

Half-time: Liverpool 0-0 Porto

Liverpool had a goal chalked off, and only just but they haven’t been at the races in this game at all. Porto have been dangerous and made the better chances but seem to lack the belief they will finish them off. So far, not a famous European night at Anfield.

42 min: Diaz spreads the ball to Otavio and Taremi is through. He should shoot but passes the ball into the centre. Morton clears, and Sergio Concecaio is doing his nut on the sidelines.

40 min: Porto were lucky not to be caught out; they had gone a bit easy oasy, and the lack of Pepe has left a hole in their defence. Uribe, meanwhile, is booked for pulling back Thiago, and will miss their final match with Atletico.

Goal ruled by VAR out for offside - it's back to 0-0

Mané was just a fraction offside. It was tight, very tight, but offside.

Liverpool’s Sadio Mane reacts after his goal is disallowed for offside. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/AFP/Getty Images
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Liverpool 1-0 Porto (Mané, 37)

It comes against the run of play from two players who have been quiet. Thiago’s pass mesmerises the Porto defence and Mané strokes the ball home.

Liverpool’s Sadio Mane slots the ball into the net. Photograph: Molly Darlington/Action Images/Reuters
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36 min: Luis Diaz speeds along, taking a few defenders with him, but nobody reads his pass. He’s a cut above, looks a superb player, and will no doubt be cashed in for a hefty whack sometime soon.

30 min: Kounate is booked for crashing into Joao Mario, and Jürg is not at all happy with that. It looked a cheap booking.

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