A nice bit of play from Ramos and he appears to slink past Fabinho but the Liverpool midfielder recklessly takes him down. He’s lucky to escape a yellow, quite a generous decision from the referee. Benfica have a run forward of their own now. Everton is found in lots of space down the left by a Nunez flick.
Van Dijk doesn’t get over quick enough but ultimately the finish is disappointing from Everton as he finds the side netting. Not the first time Everton’s disappointed against Liverpool. The Reds draw first blood! Robertson swings in a corner and Ibrahima Konate rises high above everyone else to head the ball into the bottom right corner.
It is a free header and the Frenchman says thank you very much. It’s the first Champions League goal for the defender. This time it is Keita who has a free header on goal but he takes his eye off it and drives it into the ground and ultimately nowhere near goal. Poor effort.
Best chance yet for Benfica, with Otemendi looking a safe bet to nod home a left-sided corner but somehow making no contact at all. From nowhere it should have been 1-1. Nunez rounds Konate and then tumbles over; he won’t get the free-kick he seeks, but again that gets the crowd up.
Yeah, that’s probably tie over. But what a goal! Alexander-Arnold pings a *sumptuous* 50-yard ball over the defence to Diaz, who has the presence of mind to cushion a perfect header across to Mane … who finishes confidently.
The Goal of Sadio Mane for Liverpool in video ! ??#SLBLIV #LFC ? pic.twitter.com/EvZdoKhnVb
— Reds Report (@_RedsReport) April 5, 2022