Liverpool booked their UEFA Champions League quarter-final place with an uninspiring 0-0 draw against Porto at Anfield on Tuesday evening.

Liverpool went into the game comfortably having won the first leg 5-0 and this safety net was apparent when looking at Jurgen Klopp’s starting lineup with both Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk named on the bench.

While the start of the match was relatively even, a clear pattern of play emerged as Liverpool had loads of possession while Sergio Conceicao’s men were happy to sit back and look to hit the Reds on the counter.

The first big chance of the game fell to Sadio Mane as the ball was played over the top of the Porto defence to the Senegalese international who then looked to find the bottom corner with his strike, but instead found the inside of the post.

Dejan Lovren then had the opportunity to put the Reds into the lead but he failed to hit the target with his header from a James Milner free kick.

The scores were level at the break with neither team doing enough to be ahead.

This was far from a classic European night at Anfield and a well-organised Porto team were proving very difficult to break down for the hosts, and not much changed in the second half.

Roberto Firmino had a chance on the hour mark, which he failed to capitalise on, thus adding to the home side’s frustration.

Liverpool then looked to the bench and brought on star man Salah. It was, however, Porto who had the next chance. A free kick on the 84th minute was whipped across the Liverpool box and fell to Oliver Torres, whose shot was expertly blocked by Ragnar Klavan.

Liverpool substitute Danny Ings had the final chance of the game but his header was smartly dealt with by veteran goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

The game never really got going, with Liverpool having got the job done in the first leg, and clearly had one eye on their Premier League clash with Manchester United this weekend instead.