UCL 2022 Liverpool - Benfica match facts

Liverpool are well placed to reach a third UEFA Champions League semi-final in five seasons as they welcome Benfica to Anfield holding a 3-1 first-leg advantage.

• First-half goals from Ibrahima Konaté – the defender's first for Liverpool and first in the UEFA Champions League – and Sadio Mané put the visitors in charge in Lisbon and, though Darwin Núñez halved Benfica's deficit early in the second period, a late Luis Díaz strike gave Liverpool a two-goal cushion for the concluding leg of this quarter-final.

• The English club have now won eight of their nine games in this season's competition while Benfica have recorded only three victories in their nine outings since the start of the group stage, although they earned a famous away win at Ajax in the round of 16.

• While Benfica are in the last eight for the first time in six seasons – and have gone no further since 1990, losing all four of their previous UEFA Champions League quarter-finals – Liverpool have reached this stage for the fourth time in five seasons, although their 2020/21 campaign ended at the same juncture.

• This is one of two quarter-finals between former European Cup winners, Chelsea's tie against Real Madrid the other.

• The winners of this tie will play Villarreal or Bayern München in the semi-finals.

Previous meetings
• The most recent of the sides' ten meetings before this tie came in the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, when Benfica came from behind to win 2-1 in the Lisbon first leg before Liverpool turned round the tie with a 4-1 victory at Anfield in which Fernando Torres scored twice. Óscar Cardozo was on target in both legs for the Portuguese side.

• Benfica ended Liverpool's reign as UEFA Champions League holders in the 2005/06 round of 16. Luisão, now a club director, scored the only goal of the first leg in Lisbon six minutes from time before Simão (36) and Fabrizio Miccoli (89) secured a 2-0 win on Merseyside.

• The sides' other three ties all came in the European Cup, and all in campaigns in which Liverpool went on to reach the final. In 1984/85 Ian Rush's hat-trick in the second round first leg proved crucial as Liverpool won 3-1, progressing despite a 1-0 loss at Benfica; the Reds finished as runners-up to Juventus in that season's competition.

• Rush had also scored in both legs of the 1983/84 quarter-final between the clubs, the English side winning 1-0 at home and 4-1 away, Ronnie Whelan scoring twice in Portugal, and going on to beat Roma in the final.

• Holders Liverpool beat Benfica in the 1977/78 quarter-finals en route to retaining the trophy, a 2-1 away win preceding a 4-1 home victory. That was their first tie against Portuguese opponents.

Form guide
Liverpool
• Liverpool have won 11 of their previous 16 European Cup quarter-finals:
2020/21 Real Madrid L 1-3 (1-3 a, 0-0 h)
2018/19 Porto W 6-1 (2-0 h, 4-1 a)
2017/18 Manchester City W 5-1 (3-0 h, 2-1 a)
2008/09 Chelsea L 5-7 (1-3 h, 4-4 a)
2007/08 Arsenal W 5-3 (1-1 a, 4-2 h)
2006/07 PSV Eindhoven W 4-0 (3-0 a, 1-0 h)
2004/05 Juventus W 2-1 (2-1 h, 0-0 a)
2001/02 Bayer Leverkusen L 3-4 (1-0 h, 2-4 a)
1984/85 Austria Wien W 5-2 (1-1 a, 4-1 h)
1983/84 Benfica W 5-1 (1-0 h, 4-1 a)
1982/83 Widzew Łódź L 3-4 (0-2 a, 3-2 h)
1981/82 CSKA Sofia L 1-2 (1-0 h, 0-2 a)
1980/81 CSKA Sofia W 6-1 (5-1 h, 1-0 a)
1977/78 Benfica W 6-2 (2-1 a, 4-1 h)
1976/77 St-Étienne W 3-2 (0-1 a, 3-1 h)
1964/65 Köln W 2-2, Liverpool won on coin toss (0-0 a, 0-0 h, 2-2 n)

• The Reds are in the UEFA Champions League for the 14th time; this is the ninth season in which they have reached the quarter-finals.

• Liverpool enjoyed a faultless record in this season's group stage having won 2-1 against AC Milan on Matchday 6 to conclude their perfect Group B campaign. Liverpool had opened with a 3-2 win at home to Milan before beating Porto (5-1 a, 2-0 h) and Atlético de Madrid (3-2 a, 2-0 h).

• The Merseyside club made it four away wins from four games with a 2-0 victory at Inter in the round of 16 first leg, going through despite a 1-0 loss at Anfield.

• Liverpool were one of three teams who won all six group games this season, along with Ajax (Group C) and Bayern (E), although they were the only one of the three who made it seven successive victories in the round of 16 first leg before their run was ended by Inter. Milan (1992/93), Paris Saint-Germain (1994/95), Spartak Moskva (1995/96), Barcelona (2002/03), Real Madrid (2011/12, 2014/15) and Bayern (2019/20) have all previously recorded six wins from six in a UEFA Champions League group stage; only Bayern went on to lift the trophy.

• This season was Liverpool's 14th UEFA Champions League group appearance; they have only failed to progress to the last 16 or further three times.

• This is Liverpool's fifth successive campaign in the UEFA Champions League proper, all under Jürgen Klopp; runners-up to Real Madrid in the 2017/18 final, they claimed their sixth European Cup at the expense of Tottenham with a 2-0 victory in the 2018/19 final.

• Liverpool's last two UEFA Champions League campaigns have ended in defeat against clubs from Madrid. Dethroned by Atlético in the 2019/20 round of 16 (0-1 a, 2-3 h aet), they lost to Real Madrid in last season's quarter-finals (1-3 a, 0-0 h).

• Klopp's side had finished first in Group D on 13 points, ahead of Atalanta, Ajax and Midtjylland, before beating Leipzig 2-0 in both legs of their round of 16 tie with both games played in Budapest.

• Liverpool have won six of their last nine UEFA Champions League matches at Anfield (D1 L2).

• Champions of England for the 19th time in 2019/20, their first league title since 1990, Liverpool finished third in the 2020/21 Premier League.

• This is Liverpool's fourth game against Portuguese opponents this season. The English club won 5-1 at Porto on Matchday 2, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino both scoring twice and Sadio Mané once, before second-half goals from Thiago Alcántara and Salah secured a 2-0 Matchday 5 win at Anfield.

• The 2-0 second-leg loss to Benfica in the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League round of 16 (0-3 aggregate) is Liverpool's only defeat at home to Portuguese visitors (W8 D3).

• Liverpool have now won their last five games against Portuguese opponents, scoring 16 goals and conceding three, and are unbeaten in eight matches (W6 D2) since a 1-0 loss at Braga in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League round of 16 (0-1 agg).

• Liverpool's record in two-legged ties against Portuguese clubs is W7 L2. Their last knockout tie against Portuguese opponents was also their only meeting against a club from the country in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, a 6-1 aggregate win (2-0 h, 4-1 a) against Porto in their victorious 2018/19 campaign.

• Liverpool have been victorious on aggregate in all 35 of the UEFA competition ties in which they won the away first leg including against Inter in this season's round of 16 – that was only the fifth time in those 35 ties they had lost the home second leg. The Reds have won 3-1 in the away first leg on four previous occasions in UEFA competition, most recently in the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League against Kaunas in the second qualifying round (2-0 h) and CSKA Sofia in the third (0-1 h) – the latter fixture the only one of those four second legs they failed to win and in which they conceded a goal.

• Liverpool's record in five UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W4 L1:
4-2 v Roma, 1983/84 European Champion Clubs' Cup final
3-2 v AC Milan, 2004/05 UEFA Champions League final
4-1 v Chelsea, 2006/07 UEFA Champions League semi-final
4-5 v Beşiktaş, 2014/15 UEFA Europa League round of 32
5-4 v Chelsea, 2019 UEFA Super Cup

Benfica
• Benfica's European Cup quarter-final record is W8 L9:
2015/16 Bayern München L 2-3 (0-1 a, 2-2 h)
2011/12 Chelsea L 1-3 (0-1 h, 1-2 a)
2005/06 Barcelona L 0-2 (0-0 h, 0-2 a)
1994/95 AC Milan L 0-2 (0-2 a, 0-0 h)
1989/90 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk W 4-0 (1-0 h, 3-0 a)
1987/88 Anderlecht W 2-1 (2-0 h, 0-1 a)
1983/84 Liverpool L 1-5 (0-1 a, 1-4 h)
1977/78 Liverpool L 2-6 (1-2 h, 1-4 a)
1975/76 Bayern München L 1-5 (0-0 h, 1-5 a)
1971/72 Feyenoord W 5-2 (0-1 a, 5-1 h)
1968/69 Ajax L 0-3 replay (3-1 a, 1-3 h, 0-3 n)
1967/68 Vasas W 3-0 (0-0 a, 3-0 h)
1965/66 Manchester United L 3-8 (2-3 a, 1-5 h)
1964/65 Real Madrid W 6-3 (5-1 h, 1-2 a)
1962/63 Dukla Praha W 2-1 (2-1 h, 0-0 a)
1961/62 Nürnberg W 7-3 (1-3 a, 6-0 h)
1960/61 AGF W 7-2 (3-1 h, 4-1 a)

• Benfica are yet to win a match in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals (D3 L6).

• The Eagles have lost their last four European Cup quarter-final ties, and seven of the last nine.

• The Lisbon side won two, drew two and lost two of their Group E games this season, both victories coming at home – 3-0 against Barcelona on Matchday 2 and, decisively, 2-0 against Dynamo Kyiv on Matchday 6 – while they shipped nine goals in losing both games against Bayern (0-4 h, 2-5 a). They also drew 0-0 at both Dynamo and Barcelona.

• In the round of 16, Benfica twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at home against Ajax – who had won all six of their previous games in this season's UEFA Champions League – before Darwin Núñez headed the only goal of the second leg in Amsterdam to seal progress.

• Third in the Portuguese Liga in 2020/21, nine points adrift of champions Sporting CP, the most recent of Benfica's 15 previous UEFA Champions League group stage campaigns came in 2019/20 – their tenth in succession.

• Two seasons ago Benfica bowed out after the group stage for the third year running, finishing third in their section behind Leipzig and Lyon with seven points, ahead of Zenit on head-to-head record. They went on to lose 5-4 on aggregate to Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Europa League round of 32.

• Benfica began their 2021/22 European campaign in the third qualifying round, where they won 2-0 both away and at home against Spartak Moskva. They then edged out PSV Eindhoven in the play-offs (2-1 h, 0-0 a) in a repeat of the 1988 European Cup final they had lost on penalties to the Dutch club.

• Benfica's 2020/21 UEFA Champions League campaign lasted a single match, a 2-1 defeat at PAOK in the third qualifying round. They went on to finish second in their UEFA Europa League section behind Rangers before losing 4-3 on aggregate to Arsenal in the round of 32, a 1-1 draw in Rome preceding a 3-2 loss in Piraeus with both games played at neutral venues.

• The defeat at Bayern on Matchday 4 is one of only two Benfica losses in their last 11 European games outside Lisbon (W3 D6). The victory at Ajax ended a winless run of eight away matches in the UEFA Champions League proper (D3 L5), since a 3-2 victory at AEK Athens on Matchday 2 in 2018/19; the Eagles have not conceded in five of their six European games on the road in 2021/22 (W2 D3).

• The Lisbon giants have reached seven European Cup finals, winning the trophy in 1961 and 1962 but losing on their five subsequent appearances, most recently against AC Milan in 1990.

• Those meetings with Arsenal in the 2020/21 UEFA Europa League round of 32 were Benfica's last games against an English club before this tie.

• The Portuguese club's record in two-legged ties against English opposition is W5 L8, with victories in two of the last three.

• Benfica have won just 11 of their 39 matches against English clubs (D7 L21), losing European finals to Manchester United (1968 European Cup, 1-4 aet) and Chelsea (2013 UEFA Europa League, 1-2). Their 18 UEFA encounters in England, including that 1968 final at Wembley Stadium, have yielded just four wins and 12 losses, although they have won two of their last three matches on Merseyside, also beating Everton 2-0 in the group stage of the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League.

• Benfica have lost the first leg at home in UEFA competition on five previous occasions, and went on to an aggregate defeat four times including the most recent, against Chelsea in the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals (0-1 h, 1-2 a). Their only aggregate success was against Dinamo Bucureşti in the first round of the 1999/2000 UEFA Cup (0-1 h, 2-0 a). This is the first time they have lost the home first leg 3-1.

• Benfica's record in four UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L2:
4-1 v Torpedo Moskva, 1977/78 European Champion Clubs' Cup first round
5-6 v PSV Eindhoven, 1987/88 European Champion Clubs' Cup final
4-1 v PAOK, 1999/2000 UEFA Cup second round
2-4 v Sevilla, 2013/14 UEFA Europa League final

Links and trivia
• Have played in Portugal:
Diogo Jota (Paços de Ferreira 2013–16, Porto 2016/17 loan)
Luis Díaz (Porto 2019–22)

• Jota lost both games against Benfica with Paços de Ferreira – scoring in a 3-1 home Portuguese Liga loss on 20 February 2016 – and drew both with Porto. His goal earned Porto a 1-1 home draw against the Eagles on 6 November 2016.

• Díaz was unbeaten in his seven games for Porto against Benfica (W5 D2), his only goal coming in a 2-0 victory in the Portuguese Super Cup on 23 December 2020. The Colombian was sent off in the first half of Porto's 2-1 Portuguese Cup final victory against their Lisbon rivals on 1 August the same year.

• Have played in England:
Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham 2012–20)
Nicolás Otamendi (Manchester City 2015–20)
João Mário (West Ham 2018 loan)
Valentino Lázaro (Newcastle 2020 loan)
Adel Taarabt (Tottenham 2007–09, Queens Park Rangers 2009–15, Fulham 2013/14 loan)

• Vertonghen played 90 minutes of Tottenham's 2-0 defeat by Liverpool in the 2019 UEFA Champions League final in Madrid. His record against the Reds for Spurs was W2 D3 L7, both his goals coming in his debut campaign, a 3-2 Premier League loss at Anfield on 10 March 2013.

• Otamendi played all 180 minutes as Manchester City lost 3-0 away and 2-1 at home to Liverpool in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. His overall record against the Merseyside club with City was W3 D3 L5; he was in the team that beat Liverpool on penalties in both the 2016 English League Cup final (1-1 aet, 3-1 pens) and the 2019 FA Community Shield (1-1, 5-4 pens).

• International team-mates:
Diogo Jota & João Mário, Rafa Silva (Portugal)
Alisson Becker, Fabinho, Roberto Firmino & Everton (Brazil)
Kostas Tsimikas & Odysseas Vlachodimos (Greece)
Divock Origi & Jan Vertonghen (Belgium)