Liverpool ultimately had too much for Porto and won with ease by the games end. It was not all Liverpool's way though with Lofrinda Lopez equalising Fernando Torres headed opener and a resolute Porto side often comfortably holding on until the 78th minute.
Porto's equaliser dented Liverpool's confidence and they rapidly lost their way with the game descending into a stale frustrating affair. Benayoun, Torres and Gerrard were catching the eye for Liverpool while Voronin and Babel looked neat in their play but weren't creating anything of note. Babel in particular was simply not going past people and looked short on confidence at times.
The second half began like the first ended with an increasingly anxious Liverpool running out of ideas. The introduction of Crouch and Kewell ultimately won Liverpool the match with the Portuguese holding out until the 78th minute. Kewell picked the ball up in his own half, ran at the Porto backline and threaded the ball through to Torres who turned his man, held off a challenge and finished superbly into the far corner.
After that Liverpool ran out easy winners with a handball from Stepanov giving Steven Gerrard the chance to seal the win from the spot. Peter Crouch added a late late fourth from a Gerrard corner.
Benitez will be feeling a relieved and happy man after Liverpool flirted with disaster for long periods of this game. He will also have been buoyed by the 5,000 strong protest before the game by fans angry at speculation the clubs American owners were to sack him.
The group is now incredibly tight with Besikta's victory meaning that all four teams have a chance of going through.
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