Champions League: Liverpool v Benfica: what stats and numbers say

Liverpool won 3-1 in the first leg in Lisbon – the Reds have gone on to win the competition in the previous two occasions in which they have won both legs in a European Cup/UEFA Champions League knockout stage tie against Benfica, doing so in 1977-78 and 1983-84.

Only two teams have ever won by more than one goal away to Liverpool in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League, however one of those instances was by Benfica (2-0 in 2005-06 in the Round of 16) – the other being Chelsea’s 3-1 win there in the 2008-09 quarter-finals.

Liverpool have won each of their last five games against Portuguese sides in the UEFA Champions League, scoring 16 goals and only conceding three times. Overall, they’re unbeaten in nine games against Portuguese in the competition since Benfica won at Anfield in March 2006 (W7 D2).

Liverpool have progressed from each of their last 12 ties in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages after winning the first leg, with their last – and only – elimination in this scenario coming in the 2001-02 quarter-finals against Bayer Leverkusen (1-0 in first leg, 2-4 in the second leg).

Benfica have only won one of their last nine away games in the UEFA Champions League (D3 L5), although that victory did come in the last round as they eliminated Ajax (1-0 last month). They have only won consecutive away games in the competition once previously, doing so in September-October 2011 under Jorge Jesus.

Liverpool are looking to reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the third time under Jürgen Klopp, which is as many times as the Reds had managed to do so in the competition prior to Klopp taking charge (2004-05, 2006-07 and 2007-08, all under Rafa Benítez).

Mohamed Salah has scored 14 goals in 23 appearances for Liverpool at Anfield in the UEFA Champions League – his next home goal will see him overtake Steven Gerrard (14) for the most goals scored by a Liverpool player at Anfield in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League.

Darwin Núñez has scored five goals in nine UEFA Champions League appearances for Benfica this season, while no player has ever netted more for the Portuguese side in a single season in the competition (Nuno Gomes with five in 1998-99).

Since the start of the 2017-18 season – Liverpool’s first under Jürgen Klopp in the UEFA Champions League – only Robert Lewandowski (54) has been involved in more goal-ending sequences of play than Mohamed Salah (46) in the competition.

Among players with 500 minutes played in the UEFA Champions League this season, Benfica’s Rafa has the highest average carry distance of any winger in the competition. The Portuguese has made 94 carries (moving 5+ metres with the ball) in total, covering an average of 13.9 metres per carry. (SuperSport)