Written by Lewis Thompson – @LewisGThompson
The Reds started the week with two of their biggest games of the season ahead of them. An away trip to Benfica would decide the first leg score of Liverpool’s Champions League Quarter-Final and the biggest game of the season so far, Man City vs Liverpool, would play a huge factor in deciding who lifts the Premier League trophy this season.
Just in case you’ve missed anything in the past week, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!
Monday 4th April
Liverpool celebrated Harvey Elliot’s birthday. Elliot turned 19 on this day and has already made 19 appearances during his LFC career so far!
Preparations started as Klopp got his men ready for the tough Benfica challenge in a live training session.
The Reds arrived in Portugal later that evening.
Tuesday 5th April
It was matchday as Liverpool knew that a few goals would give them a massive advantage going into the second leg at Anfield. Remember, the away goal rule does not exist in this season’s Champions League.
Klopp went full strength as Konate came into the backline for Matip, Trent made a return in defence, the midfield three consisted of Fabinho, Keita and Thiago with Salah, Mane and Diaz as a front three.
Goals from Konate and Sadio Mane gave Liverpool a 2-0 lead in the first half. Benfica got the next goal to make it 2-1, however, Luis Diaz added the third to seal the deal and hand Liverpool a 3-1 victory to take into the second leg.
Diaz received the Player of the Match whilst other standout performances came from Naby Keita for his consistent work rate and Alexander-Arnold for his excellent passes, specifically the one that created the second goal.
Konate became Liverpool’s 20th different goal scorer of the season; the Reds have scored a total of 119 goals so far.
The win also meant that Liverpool now had five consecutive Champions League away wins, starting back in September.
Thursday 7th April
Luis Diaz received a nomination for the Champions League Player of the Week whilst Sadio Mane earned a nomination for Goal of the Week in the Champions League.
Friday 8th April
The Reds were back at the AXA Training Centre to prepare for one of the toughest games of the season, Man City at the Etihad.
Saturday 9th April
It was the Birthday of Liverpool’s all-time Premier League goal scorer, Robbie Fowler. The LFC legend turned 47 on this day.
Alisson received his first-ever Standard Chartered Player of the Month for March. The Brazilian conceded one goal in the entire month keeping clean sheets against West Ham, Inter Milan, Brighton, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest.
Liverpool U18s beat Leeds United 10-3 in the Under 18s Premier League.
Sunday 10th April
It was Sadio Mane’s birthday and also matchday! The Reds had the chance to go back to the top of the Premier League, the only thing that stood in their way were Pep Guardiola and Manchester City.
It was also Liverpool’s all-time appearance holder, Ian Callaghan’s birthday.
With questions over who would feature in Liverpool’s front three, Klopp opted to go with Salah, Mane and Jota up top.
A deflected shot from Kevin de Bruyne made it 1-0 to Man City after just six minutes. However, it didn’t take long for Diogo Jota to find an equaliser. In the 13th-minute, brilliant play from Robertson and Trent set the Portuguese man up in the box to make it 1-1. Then, a couple of minutes before half-time Gabriel Jesus made it 2-1 to Man City to give City the advantage going into the second half.
Just like the first goal, it didn’t take Liverpool long to find a reply. Sadio Mane finished off a superb through ball from Mo Salah to make it 2-2 and send the away fans into madness.
Man City got close after Raheem Sterling’s goal was deemed to be offside, however, neither team managed to break the deadlock and an extremely entertaining game of football finished 2-2 after 90 minutes of play.
A game packed with class and talent with two of the greatest sides the Premier League has ever seen.
All in all, 2-2 was probably a fair result and both teams showed their qualities at times. Liverpool still remains one point behind Man City with seven Premier League games remaining.
Next up, the Reds play the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final at Anfield, then on Saturday it’s Manchester City again but this time it’s the FA Cup semi-final, and at Wembley!
Written by Lewis Thompson – @LewisGThompson
