Champions League: Premier League teams Power Rankings after First Legs
By Orri Benatar
Klopp’s attack mindset worked out brilliantly in Portugal, with a 5-0 win against Porto.
Liverpool fans waited for the moment for years. The Reds returned to Champions League knockout play, with a resounding victory over a decent Porto team.
Sadio Mane stepped up as the hero this time, with a hat-trick in the game. His goals, plus extra goals from Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino, added to the tally. These three guys cannot stop scoring.
Liverpool was the best team because the result was the most surprising. You’d expect United and Chelsea to draw Spanish sides with how defensive minded they are. Spurs drawing Juventus is surprising but it isn’t far-fetched.
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City beating Basel 4-0 is obvious. Liverpool smashing a team that makes the knockout round almost every year is surprising though.
Defensively, Liverpool has improved tremendously. Virgil van Dijk has added an element that Liverpool needed and Loris Karius is turning into a good goalkeeper. Still, Klopp and Liverpool’s future depends on that front three of Salah, Mane, and Firmino.
The more they score, the more Liverpool fans will sing and chant this song to the heavens. Could we hear it in Kyiv?