Thiago Alcantara stunner and Mohamed Salah goal helps Liverpool stay perfect in Champions League with Porto win

Mo Salah and Thiago Alcantara were on target as Liverpool maintained their perfect record in the Champions League with a 2-0 victory over FC Porto at Anfield.

Thiago broke the deadlock when he rifled in a sublime first-time strike from 25 yards out on 52 minutes.

Salah then made sure of the points with a stylish turn and shot from the right with 20 minutes remaining.

It was far from vintage Liverpool but Jurgen Klopp’s men could be forgiven for taking time to find another gear having already guaranteed top spot in Group B with two games to spare.

As a result the Reds boss inevitably shuffled his pack for the contest with 19-year-old midfielder Tyler Morton being handed a Champions League bow.

The visitors looked to take advantage and created the better openings in the first half but only Otavio will know how he failed to finish off a rapid break from 10 yards out.

Mateus Uribe also went close with the game still goalless in the second half, but once Liverpool moved ahead there was only ever one winner.

The Merseysiders will now finish off their Group B campaign at AC Milan on December 7 while FC Porto are at home to Atletico with all three sides still in contention to progress in second spot.

Klopp so often speaks of the physical demands on his squad, particularly heading into fixture-packed winter periods, so qualifying from what looked like being a tough group on paper as early as Matchday Four has been a real bonus.

It means he has been able to manage the playing time of his stars, and while the likes of Salah and Sadio Mane did feature for some of this contest, the chance to rest and rotate could yet pay off significantly in late December when the Reds face five games in 13 days.

Ahead of that they take on Southampton (H), Everton (a) and Wolves (a) across a week that is sandwiched by these final two Champions League group games, which would have been far more demanding had qualification still been on the line.

To put it simply, Porto just weren’t good enough to take advantage of a make-shift home teamsheet but they remain in second place in the group and still have their qualification hopes in their own hands. Liverpool can make it six wins from six in Milan but you should expect Klopp to make several changes once again.

Thiago Alcantara (Liverpool). The midfielder is really starting to show signs of his class after a stop-start beginning to his Liverpool career. He was the most composed player in the home side for much of the contest and capped it with a quite magnificent goal in front of the Kop.

LIVERPOOL: Alisson 7, Williams 7, Matip 7, Konate 6, Tsimikas 7, Oxlade-Chamberlain 7, Morton 7, Thiago 8, Salah 7, Minamino 6, Mane 6. Subs: Henderson 6, Robertson 7, Origi 6, Fabinho 6, Milner n/a.

FC PORTO: Costa 5, Mario 7, Mbemba 7, Pepe 6, Zaidu 7, Uribe 7, Oliveira 7, Otavio 6, Diaz 7, Taremi 6, Evanilson 6. Subs: Cardoso 6, Conceicao 6, Vitinha 6, Grujic 6, Martinez 6.

12’ – FC PORTO CHANCE! Otavio somehow misses the target from a central position in the area after a brilliant run and lay off from Luis Díaz. It all came from Konate losing the ball inside the centre circle.

37’ – LIVERPOOL GOAL CHALKED OFF! Mane races after Thiago's precise pass and coolly slides the ball into the far corner of the net. Porto were caught cold there but get a reprieve as VAR checks and deems Mane to be offside. Still 0-0.

50’ – FC PORTO CHANCE! Alisson fails to deal with the right-wing free kick. Uribe picks up the pieces and sees his low shot flash inches wide after a smart turn engineered space to let fly.

52’ - GOAL! – Liverpool 1-0 FC Porto. Thiago sizzles a stunning first-time strike from 25 yards into the far corner after a right-wing free kick was cleared into his path.

70’ - GOAL! – Liverpool 2-0 FC Porto. Salah combines with Henderson on the right, cuts past his man and fires a low shot beyond the keeper at the near post.

Liverpool have scored more goals from outside the box in this season's UEFA Champions League than any other side (5), with all five goals coming from different players: Jordan Henderson, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah, Naby Keïta and Thiago.

Salah has scored six goals in this season's UEFA Champions League group stage, the joint-most any Reds player has scored in a single group stage, equalling Roberto Firmino's six goals in 2017-18.