Benfica’s Everton plans to ‘exploit’ two Liverpool stars including Trent Alexander-Arnold

Liverpool prepare for Benfica second leg

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Benfica winger Everton wants to exploit Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate when his side travel to Anfield for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final showdown with Liverpool tonight. The Portuguese side face a huge task to qualify for the last four of the competition after losing the first leg 3-1 last week.

“I’ve been trying to study the opponent after the first game, looking to better analyse the individual qualities of Alexander-Arnold and Konate,” Everton said ahead of the second leg. “I have tried to see where they have difficulties – the weak point – so that I can exploit and have a happy night, to give joy to the fans.”

Everton started the first leg in Portugal as his side looked to get the upper hand in the tie and take one step closer to the semi-finals against the odds. But he was unable to get the better of the Reds’ defence as the hosts endured a tough evening.

Konate opened the scoring for Jurgen Klopp’s men as he rose to head home Andy Robertson’s corner in the early stages of the match. Sadio Mane then added a second from close range before the break after Luis Diaz had headed Alexander-Arnold’s exquisite long-range pass back across goal.

Benfica did at least find the back of the net just after the interval as Darwin Nunez took advantage of a Konate error to bag his 28th goal of the season. But the Reds restored their two-goal lead with three minutes remaining as former Porto star Diaz rounded home keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos and bundled the ball home.

Liverpool won all six of their Champions League group stage games before seeing off Inter Milan in the round of 16 – so Benfica have it all to do on Merseyside if they are to turn the tie on its head. But the visitors’ caretaker coach Nelson Verissimo says his team believe they can get the result they want at Anfield.

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“We go with the natural ambition of someone who believes a lot in what he is doing,” said the 44-year-old. “We know that we are two goals down but we believe that things can change, especially if we score a goal first.

“We’re going with that ambition, despite having lost the first leg. After the analysis we did, we realise that despite the difficulty we know we’re going to encounter, we have to believe.”

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