FC Porto 0-5 Liverpool: 5 Talking Points 

After a hiatus of nine years, Liverpool returned to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League and made a statement as they put five past Portuguese side, FC Porto. The Reds started well and didn't take long to score the opening goal as a Sadio Mane shot was misjudged by goalkeeper Jose Sa.

Liverpool's confidence shot up after the opener and they doubled their lead just four minutes later as a James Milner shot bounced off the post to fall for Mohamed Salah who controlled brilliantly to score.

In the second half, a brilliant counter-attacking move saw Roberto Firmino's shot saved by Sa, but Mane was on hand to score the rebound, making it three.

Porto threw more bodies forward and that helped the Reds tear the hosts apart on the counter as a good team goal saw Firmino score the fourth. Mane's thunderous shot in the 85th minute completed his hat-trick and the rout.

On that note, here are 5 talking points from the game:

---

#5 Sadio Mane finds some form at last

He's back!

After a brilliant debut season, Mane has had an underwhelming season so far. It has been a bit stop and start and the early three-game suspension at the start of the season certainly didn't help.

There've been games where he's managed to score, but his performance could've been better. Last night, however, he put in his best performance of the season. A lot of the threat came from the left and Mane was at the heart of it all.

His movement and predatory instincts also came to the fore for the second goal as he finished from the right.

The hat-trick will do him a world of good and with key fixtures coming up, Liverpool will benefit massively if every one of their front-three is in devastating form.

#4 Mistakes cost Porto

Manager Sergio Conceicao consoles FC Porto midfielder Hector Herrera

The opening few minutes were actually pretty even as Porto pushed Liverpool. Both teams pressed when they didn't have the ball and as a result, we got to witness an end-to-end 20 odd minutes. However, the tie became heavily one-sided once Liverpool scored the opener.

In the pelting rain, Jose Sa, the number one over the legendary Iker Casillas, made a meal of a routine stop that crept underneath his arms. From then on, the hosts were always chasing the game.

While it's alright testing Liverpool's defence, it was a bit strange that Porto pushed so many men forward in the first half, trying to look for an equaliser.

Then just four minutes after the first goal, the Porto midfield and defence allowed James Milner to run into their penalty box. Milner had all the time and space to make a slalom run and get his shot away that struck the woodwork.

Manager Sérgio Conceição should have perhaps played a more compact approach as pretty much everyone knows how deadly Liverpool are on the break, something we witnessed in the second half.

#3 Liverpool's defence impresses

Yet another impressive performance

Like Liverpool, Porto too had a pretty menacing attack which has helped the team to top the domestic league. However, the Liverpool backline did pretty well in stifling out the attacks. The first few minutes saw Yacine Brahimi trying to make inroads down the left, but he matched well by Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The youngsters not only match Brahimi for pace but timed his tackles perfectly which cut off the supply from the left. The centre-backs did well to block the early Porto shots. The most important of them was DejanLovren's block on Otavio's shot from just outside the penalty area.

Virgil van Dik put another impressive performance as he won quite a few aerial duels and kept forward Tiquinho Soares in check. Loris Karius didn't have a notable save to make in the game, so that says a lot about how well the back four performed.

#2 Porto missed Vincent Aboubakar

Things may have gone differently if this man had played

The centre-forward has been a key goal-getter for them this season. With 15 goals, it's safe to say that he is to Porto what Firmino is to Liverpool. However, it's not just his goals that were missed on the night.

Unlike Soares, who started in place of the Cameroonian, Vincent Aboubakar could have played the important role of holding up play. Before the game, a lot was made of Porto's quick wide players, but the injury to Aboubakar meant that Moussa Marega, a player more comfortable down the middle, was shifted to the right while Soares played up top.

Liverpool didn't have any problems dealing with a centre-forward who has only mustered three goals so far and is short on confidence, and a player who was played out of position.

#1 Liverpool can now rest a few players and look forward to the quarter-finals

Jurgen Klopp's side have got themselves some breathing space

Yes, a tie is not over until the final whistle, but even for a Liverpool side who are weak at the back, losing a five-goal lead at Anfield sounds like it's never going to happen. The performance was professional, and afford the Reds the chance to focus on the League games.

Jurgen Klopp's side face Manchester United just three days after the return leg, so it won't be surprising if the likes of Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino are rested and some of the fringe players are given a chance.

Of the four games played so far, this was the biggest margin of victory, so Klopp's side indeed put out a statement for the rest of the teams.