Klopp praises Benfica keeper for denying Liverpool bigger lead

Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson (left) dives after vying for the ball with Benfica’s Nicolas Otamendi during the Champions League quarter-final first leg match in Lisbon. (AFP)

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp heaped praise on Benfica keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos for denying the English side a bigger victory after their 3-1 win in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday night. Liverpool took the upper hand in the tie as goals from Ibrahima Konate, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz earned them a comfortable victory in Lisbon and it could have been much worse for the Portuguese club. “We should have scored much more,” Klopp said. “I think, mainly because of their goalkeeper, credit to him. Their goalkeeper was probably the game’s best player. We played well, but he made a couple of really good saves.” Klopp said he was satisfied with the win and with their two-goal advantage ahead of next week’s second leg at Anfield. “It was a tough game but I expected it,” Klopp said. “They had these counter-attacks as they recovered the ball in the midfield that was a threat. It’s not always easy to keep the ball all the time. The further you go, the more risk you take. And they have really good players.” After Liverpool dominated the first half, Benfica made a game of it after the break at a packed Luz stadium, that roared their team back into the contest when Darwin Nunez scored in the 49th minute to make it 2-1. “It was tough when they scored because the crowd was there immediately because they knew that 2-0 is nothing, it’s nice but nothing more than that and we saw it after they scored. The game was much more open than we expected. That’s it. We won. Two goals up. Halftime. Not more, not less. It would have been nice to score another one, but let’s keep going. We have a good result, we know much more about our opponent going to the second game and are aware of their quality,” Klopp said. Liverpool will be confident of finishing the job at Anfield next week, with Klopp comfortable enough to take off Mohamed Salah, Mane and Thiago Alcantara after an hour. Salah, in particular, was surely being preserved for Sunday, when Liverpool face Manchester City in what could prove to be the decisive match in the Premier League’s neck-and-neck title race. The only disappointment was that Salah was unable to get on the scoresheet, with the Egyptian missing a handful of chances. Benfica are dotted between a Liverpool-City league and cup double-header, with the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley coming after the second leg next week, before Klopp’s team continue a crunch period with league games against Manchester United and local rivals Everton. Liverpool’s convincing victory may offer Klopp the luxury of rotating players again for the return leg next week. Klopp has been downplaying suggestions Liverpool could yet win an historic quadruple this term. But this contest demonstrated the gulf between the Premier League’s heavyweights and some of the old, European elite. Despite a 20-minute surge in the second half, Benfica were clearly second best. They came into the tie dreaming of inflicting another upset, having already seen off Barcelona in the group stage and Ajax in the last 16, and they began with the intent of under-dogs, as Alex Grimaldo stirred the crowd with a thumping, sliding challenge. But the initial exertion soon faded and Liverpool took control.