Match Review: Liverpool 5-2 AS Roma

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Liverpool beat AS Roma 5-2 at Anfield in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final in a game which has fans both delighted and disappointed.

For the huge tie, Jurgen Klopp named the same side that played both legs against Manchester City, with the incredible front three of Mohamed Salah, Robert Firmino and Sadio Mane all starting up front once again.

Roma continued with the back three of Kostas Manolas, Federico Fazio and Juan Jesus that kept a clean sheet in Rome against Barcelona earlier this month.

Unsurprisingly, Mohamed Salah ran the show for the Reds, scoring his 42nd and 43rd goals of an extraordinary debut season with Liverpool. His first goal on the night, a beautifully curled effort into the top corner sent Anfield into seventh heaven.

His second was a delicate chip over the onrushing Alisson Becker which has solidified comparisons with a certain Lionel Messi. At 2-0, the Reds were flying and went into the interval with confidence sky high.

Mane added a third to settle any nerves in the second half and Jurgen Klopp’s side settled back into their dominant rhythm, moving the ball swiftly across the pitch.

Midway through the second half, Salah capitalised on Roma fullback Florenzi’s failure to track back and ran at the Roma defence from the right wing before teeing up Roberto Firmino for the fourth goal of the game.

Firmino grabbed his second of the game 7 minutes later after poor defending from a corner allowed the Brazilian to find the back of the net with a free header.

At 5-0, it looked as though the Reds had all but booked their plane tickets to Kiev but once Jurgen Klopp took Mohamed Salah off, things seemed to fall apart even if the Egyptian’s departure was not necessarily the reason for the concession.

A lapse in concentration from Dejan Lovren allowed Edin Dzeko to chest the ball in the box before firing past Loris Karius to make it 5-2 before a harsh penalty ensured that Roma will now go into the second leg with enough hope to dream of a comeback like they did against Barcelona.

While Liverpool fans might be disappointed about the two goals conceded late at the end of the game, nobody will be as upset as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who was stretchered off in the first half with a serious knee injury.

Jurgen Klopp told the media after the game: “Oxlade’s probably a really bad injury. If we can say that already before the scan, that’s never good news so that means for us it’s a massive blow, of course. ”

Although the Englishman had to be subbed off early on, Gini Wijnaldum was subbed on for him and played superbly in that slightly advanced midfield role that Chamberlain tends to occupy ahead of Jordan Henderson and James Milner.

With a three-goal advantage over Roma, Liverpool have one foot in the Champions League final and just need to focus on doing the basics right at the Stadio Olimpico next week.

Jurgen Klopp will be looking to rest as many of his starters this weekend to ensure his side has the best possible chance of securing a victory in Rome and taking Liverpool to a Champions League final for the first time in a decade.