Sadio Mane scores hatrick as Liverpool humiliated Porto 5-0 in a Champions League round of 16 first-leg tie in Portugal.
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The win positioned Liverpool on a sound footing for the quarterfinals when the the return leg encounter scheduled for Anfield in March is played.
Mane opened the scoring when home goalkeeper Jose Sa failed to hold his placed strike. Mohamed Salah then showed wonderful composure to steer the ball home for Liverpool’s second and his 30th of an incredible debut season at the club.
With two away goals scored, the visitors could have been forgiven for taking a more conservative approach but instead they went for more. A swift Liverpool counter-attack ended with Sa spilling Roberto Firmino’s shot into Mane’s path and the striker made no mistake, before Firmino scored his 21st of the season, sweeping home James Milner’s cross.
Mane got his third with a driven strike late on to become the first Liverpool player to score a hat-trick away from home in Europe since Michael Owen in 2002, and the second ever. Porto had lost only two matches in all competitions this season prior to Wednesday’s game but simply could not cope with Liverpool’s unstoppable forward line.
Otavio had the Portuguese side’s best chance towards the end of the first half, placing his shot just wide of the far post after he was put through on goal. Liverpool will expect to complete the job when they host Porto in the return leg at Anfield on Tuesday, 6 March.
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