A Valentine's Day massacre in Porto

Jurgen Klopp spoke before the game about how his side has the potential to beat Paris Saint-Germain if they should face one another in the European competition. One thing stood in their way though, their Round of 16 opponents: Porto.

However, the Merseyside club made light work of their Portuguese opponents, who are currently undefeated in their national league this season, scoring five important away goals without reply to put the tie comfortably in their destiny.

It was a scrappy first 45 minutes with neither side posting clear-cut chances although Liverpool's effervescent attack would prove to be the deadly factor in the end, along with some appalling defending by Porto.

The deadlock was broken in the 24th minute thanks to a goalkeeping error from Jose Sa. As Sadio Mane ran onto a pass from Georginio Wijnaldum just inside the box, he opened his body and took a shot at the opposing keeper. It was tame but the Senegalese forward would be gifted the goal as Sa allowed the shot to go underneath his body and into the back of the net.

It wasn't long after that Liverpool cemented their lead. Five minutes later, James Milner's curled effort crashed off the post and fell at Mohamed Salah's feet, who cleverly hit the ball up and over the keeper before bringing it down to finish his effort past a desperate lunge from a defender and net his 30th goal in all competitions.

The two goals in quick succession left the Portuguese side stunned, as they failed to mount a serious comeback before the whilstle went for half-time. However, there was more misery to be had in the second-half.

- The 'Sadio Mane' show -

His strike partners may have grabbed more headlines this season, but the Senegal international wasted no time adding to his tally after the break. 

In the 52nd minute, the 25-year-old pounced on the end of a shot from Roberto Firmino, which Sa had parried right into his path, coolly slotting it home to give Liverpool a 3-0 lead and make the tie beyond repair for Porto.

Firmino would make it four fifteen minutes later to ensure that all of the 'Reds' attacking trident wrote their names on the scoresheet. Milner again was instrumental as he played it from the right to his Brazilian forward, who was on hand to tuck a first-time finish into the bottom corner and net his 21st of the season.

However, the tie wasn't over. Mane would get his hat-trick in the 84th minute with his best goal of the night, smashing home a long-range effort to seal a perfect Valentine's Day massacre for Liverpool.

Five goals away from home will be a tough task for Porto to come back from, as Sergio Conceicao desperately missed top scorer Vincent Aboubakar at the head of his attack. For Jurgen Klopp, he will be delighted with the result and could arguably rest some of his squad for the return leg on 7th March, depending on how congested Liverpool's schedule is around that time.