'Nobody will fancy being drawn against Klopp's side'

The 5-0 first-leg victory in Portugal proved pivotal as the Reds were never in danger during the concluding match of their last-16 tie.

Here is what the media made of the game...

James Pearce, Liverpool Echo

Anfield had waited nine years to host a Champions League knockout tie. When it arrived it proved to be something of an anti-climax but there were no complaints from a capacity crowd and rightly so. Liverpool had earned the right to go through the motions after the stunning 5-0 demolition job they had served up in Porto three weeks earlier. This tie was over on Valentine's Day. The hard yards had already been done with that booming statement of intent which reverberated across the continent. Kopites can circle March 16 in the diary – that's the date when they will discover their next assignment on the road to Kiev. Between now and then they can sit back and watch as Europe's elite attempt to join Liverpool and Real Madrid in the last eight. Forget this non-event of a second leg, nobody will fancy being drawn against Klopp's side. They have an array of firepower capable of striking fear into any backline and there's a growing maturity when it comes to managing games.

Andy Hunter, Guardian

In truth Liverpool secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals three weeks ago but the formality of victory over Porto does not lessen their achievement. Jürgen Klopp’s team enjoyed the fruits of a ruthless demolition in Portugal and eased into the last eight. “It was time we showed up again,” purred a contented Liverpool manager. The commitment of both teams to victory was undeniable but so was the sense of a dead rubber. The first half was painfully short on incident, although twice Sadio Mané almost inflated Liverpool’s aggregate lead. His first chance arrived from a right-wing cross by Joe Gomez but an acrobatic volley sailed just over [Iker] Casillas’ crossbar. His second, a snap-shot from the right of the penalty area, beat the World Cup winner only to rebound to safety off the inside of the far post. Casillas was given a warm ovation by the Kop when he re-emerged for the second half of what could be his final appearance on the Champions League stage. His first came in September 1999 when the former Liverpool striker John Toshack named an 18-year-old Casillas in his side to face Olympiacos in Athens. A statistic to make you feel old.

Mark Critchley, Independent

No team had ever overturned a five-goal first-leg deficit in the Champions League at the start of the night and Porto did not come at all close to setting a precedent as Liverpool’s rout at the Estadio do Dragao three weeks ago comfortably carried them through to the quarter-finals. This goalless draw was a strange game, not so much a football match but an argument for automatic byes when one team finds themselves in such a commanding position after playing the first leg away from home. On a night of little intensity and even fewer chances, both sides simply went through the motions until, inevitably, Liverpool's passage to the last eight was secured. It had never been in doubt.

David Maddock, The Mirror

Job done for Liverpool, with the minimum of fuss. With his side already in the quarter final of the Champions' League after their 5-0 demolition of Porto in the first leg, Jurgen Klopp took the chance to rest players, and prepare for the bigger battles ahead, with Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk confined to the bench. They still controlled this game against limited – and frightened – Portuguese opponents though, strolling through the second leg with some comfort. The only disappointment for Klopp was that his side didn't get the win their ease within the contest deserved, with Sadio Mane hitting the post with one fine effort, and then steering just over with another, the closest they came. It really didn't matter though. Liverpool will be happy to be in the quarter final for the first time in almost a decade.

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.