Benfica boss pays Liverpool ultimate compliment after Champions League elimination

Liverpool are into the Champions League semi-finals after beatng Benfica 6-4 on aggregate.
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Benfica boss Nelson Verissimo told of his pride after his side were knocked out of Champions League by Liverpool.

The Portuguese giants went into the quarter-final second leg at Anfield last night trailing 3-1.

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But they gave the Reds somewhat of a scare as they twice battled from behind to draw 3-3 on the evening.

Roberto Firmino bagged a second-half double while Ibou Konate netted his second goal of the last-eight tie for Jurgen Klopp’s men.

A 6-4 loss on aggregate brought a memorable European campaign to the end for the Eagles.

And Verissimo conceded Benfica were eliminated by ‘one of the best teams in the world’.

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He said: “We started with a difficult group. We had Barcelona and the team qualified to the next round which is credit to the players and previous coaching staff.

“We had Ajax in the next round and got through on merit and then we got Liverpool - one of the best teams in the world.

Roberto Firmino of Liverpool celebrates after scoring their team’s third goal. Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty ImagesRoberto Firmino of Liverpool celebrates after scoring their team’s third goal. Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Roberto Firmino of Liverpool celebrates after scoring their team’s third goal. Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

“We knew it was a very steep mountain. We believed it was possible.

“The result we had at Estadio da Luz meant we started at a big disadvantage.

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“We needed to score before Liverpool and if this happened we could perhaps relax more and make them uncomfortable but the opposite happened.

“The second half, we didn’t start well and conceded two goals from dead-ball situations.

“It was then a very positive reaction from the team and we had goalscoring opportunities.

“We had some moments, we scored another two goals and got to 3-3.

“It was a difficult game, all the Benfica fans should be sad we didn’t get to the semi-finals but happy with the campaign.”

Liverpool will now face Villarreal in the last four of the Champions League.

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