Ranking Liverpool's performances against every Champions League opponent

Liverpool have played some fantastic football on their way to the Champions League final. Having scored at least five goals against every opponent they faced in Europe this season, the Reds have blown away pretty much every opponent they faced on their path to Kiev.

Their campaign started from the playoffs, in August, and it hasn't been completely easy since. But Liverpool have scored 46 goals in Europe, a record number of goals scored by a single team in a Champions League season. That has propelled the Reds to the heights they haven't reached for so many long years.

Many teams have suffered at the hands of Liverpool's lethal front three/four, as their pace and link-up play instilled fear among defenders across Europe. Let us take a look at how they fared against every team they faced and rank their performances, both home and away, from worst to best.

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#7 vs Sevilla (Group stage)

2017 UEFA Champions League Seville v Liverpool Nov 21st

Sevilla are the only team that Liverpool have faced and not beaten in the Champions League this season. Failure to properly take revenge for the 2016 Europa League Final might be the only regret of the campaign.

Liverpool should have, arguably, won both games comfortably. The Reds had dominated Sevilla at Anfield but ended up drawing 2-2, because of some poor defending. A stellar spell of attack could not seal the victory, as Liverpool missed a bunch of great opportunities to kill the game.

Alberto Moreno, after a spirited performance against his former club at Anfield, was at fault for Liverpool's second-half collapse at Sevilla. They were cruising 3-0 at halftime, but a bunch of poor decisions from the Spanish left-back undid the hard work done by the likes of Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane in the first half. The 3-3 draw delayed Liverpool's qualification into the knockout phase.

Fortunately though, these draws did not have an effect on the group table and Liverpool ended up topping Group E with relative ease.

#6 vs 1899 Hoffenheim (Play-offs)

1899 Hoffenheim v Liverpool FC - UEFA Champions League Qualifying Play-Offs Round: First Leg

Liverpool did not have much of a problem in qualifying for the Champions League group stage, as they saw out 1899 Hoffenheim pretty comfortably. An effective pair of results, if not the prettiest.

The first leg was pretty tight as Liverpool claimed a narrow 2-1 victory thanks to 19-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold, who scored a great free-kick. A host of chances for both sides could have swung the game in any direction, as indicated by an early penalty save from Simon Mignolet. Failure to keep a clean sheet raised some concerns for the second leg, but it would not really matter.

The first twenty minutes against Hoffenheim at Anfield were as good as any by Liverpool, from an attacking perspective in Europe this season. The Reds won 4-2 with Roberto Firmino, in particular, bringing the fire against his former club. However, the defence was shaky throughout the tie, as it had been during the opening months of the 2017-18 season.

Effective, but not the prettiest.

#5 vs Spartak Moscow (Group stage)

Liverpool FC v Spartak Moskva - UEFA Champions League

The two games against Spartak Moscow showed the best and worst sides of Liverpool's attack. They can either be frighteningly good, which they usually are, but they also can be frustratingly wasteful. All of the Fab Four, at the time, played both matches.

Moscow saw Liverpool waste a whole lot of chances to win the game, including a tasty four-on-one counter-attacking situation at the end of the first half. This game came in the middle of a pretty dire spell for Liverpool which was filled withdraws, and this one was no different. There were many chances created, but only one was taken. This was another small stumble as the Reds drew 1-1 in Russia.

Fast forward to two months later and Liverpool thrashed them 7-0. Phillipe Coutinho ran the show with a hat-trick, while Mane, Firmino and Salah all grabbed goals. This Liverpool scared the Spartak defence silly and ran riot, looking dangerous during every attack. A completely different outcome from what happened in October, in every way imaginable.

Funnily, this was not Liverpool's first 7-0 victory of the campaign.

#4 vs FC Porto (Last 16)

FC Porto v Liverpool - UEFA Champions League Round of 16: First Leg

Liverpool had done all the hard work in the first leg, meaning that the second leg did not really mean that much. This was a comfortable passage to the Reds' first Champions League quarter-final in nine years.

Sadio Mane scored a hat-trick as Liverpool destroyed Porto 5-0 in their own backyard, with some swift counter-attacking football. The entire team stepped up and bossed the game. The heavy win in Portugal meant that Liverpool could breathe easy for the second leg.

The second leg was very uneventful, which is why this is not higher on the list. A professional display ensured that the Reds remained unbeaten in the competition at that time. Danny Ings almost scored his first goal for Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp but was denied by Iker Casillas, who did not play the first leg for Porto.

One of the greatest European nights away from home in Liverpool's history sealed the deal for the Reds.

#3 vs Maribor (Group stage)

FBL-EUR-C1-NK MARIBOR-LIVERPOOL

After two draws against Sevilla and Spartak Moscow, Liverpool really needed to get their European campaign going. And they did so in style. A total of 10 goals scored between two games, despite not really playing their best wave of football. These two games did not pose much of a challenge for the Reds.

The Reds secured the biggest away win in Champions League history, bagging seven goals in Slovenia. Among the scorers were Salah, Firmino and Oxlade-Chamberlain, who scored his first Liverpool goal here. Liverpool started off on the front foot and dominated the entire game without looking back.

It took some time to unlock a much sterner Maribor defence at Anfield. However, a touch of class from that man Mo Salah broke the resistance and set the Reds on their way to a 3-0 win over the Slovenian champions.

Both games did not need much, but it was enough to produce flattering numbers and results.

#2 vs AS Roma (Semi-final)

Liverpool v A.S. Roma - UEFA Champions League Semi Final Leg One

If you solely consider the first leg, this would probably be first. However, the Reds made it very difficult for themselves. The last 100 minutes of the tie saw Roma score six goals against the Reds, almost costing them the tie in the process. Liverpool overcame Roma's barrage throughout the second leg after coasting away in a stunning display of attacking football at Anfield.

As usual, Mo Salah ran the show with a brilliant first-half brace. He constantly put fear in Roma's hearts with several daunting runs and set up his mates, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino to seemingly kill the tie. But two late Roma goals made it 5-2 on the night and cast doubts in Liverpool minds.

Liverpool almost threw it away in Rome at the end. A spirited performance in the first half saw them take a 2-1 lead on the night thanks to Gini Wijnaldum's first away goal since forever. The second half brought many scares for Liverpool, but they somehow managed to survive. A 4-2 win for Roma was not enough for them.

The tie should never have been as close as it was, and Liverpool made hard work of yet another straightforward task. Despite scoring five in a Champions League semi-final, the tie was not safe until the final whistle in Rome.

#1 vs Manchester City (Quarter-final)

Manchester City v Liverpool - UEFA Champions League - Quarter Final - Second Leg - Etihad Stadium

Undoubtedly the best performance, over two games, by Liverpool in Europe this season. The blistering pace of Liverpool's attack took Manchester City by storm, as the Reds took a 3-0 lead inside half an hour at Anfield. This season's runaway Premier League champions were taken apart by Salah, Mane, Firmino and Oxlade-Chamberlain.

They won the tie but that happened only because of the fight showed by every single player. 45 minutes of trying to stop the mighty Manchester City from scoring one goal is a very envious task, but the Reds managed to pull it off.

Trent Alexander-Arnold had the game of his life as he won his hard-fought battle against Leroy Sane, while Virgil van Dijk and Dejan Lovren helped to maintain the all-important clean sheet at home.

City came out of the blocks early in the second leg and threatened to run away with the game and the tie, but could only manage one goal in the first half. The second half saw Liverpool play on the counter, and it worked perfectly.

As soon as Mo Salah scored the decisive away goal, the tie was in the bag. Liverpool, however, managed to win at the Etihad as well, with Firmino scoring the game-winning goal.

These results were compounded by spectacular showings all across the field, from defence till attack, in both legs. This is exactly what would be required in Kiev if the Reds are to bring home European Cup number six, as Liverpool take on Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Final.