Despite Red Bull Salzburg‘s best efforts to score an upset, Liverpool came away with a 2-0 win Tuesday in Austria that cemented first place in Group E and a place in the Champions League round of 16.
Napoli joined the Reds in the knockout stage after what may have been Carlo Ancelotti’s last match in charge of the Partenopei. Much-maligned striker Arkadiusz Milik scored a hat-trick en route to a 4-0 victory over Genk that ended Napoli’s winless streak at nine games.
Salzburg, who surprised the field with 16 goals in the group stage, finished in third and now drops into the second-tier Europa League. Genk could only manage a point in fourth.
| # | W | D | L | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 13 |
| 2 | Napoli | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 12 |
| 3 | Salzburg | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| 4 | Genk | 0 | 1 | 5 | -15 | 1 |
Liverpool were under swaths of pressure in the first half of Tuesday’s match, and if not for Alisson‘s double save in the seventh minute, their chances of progressing would’ve taken a massive hit. There was no mistaking Salzburg’s urgency – they had to beat Liverpool by at least two goals to muscle the defending champions out of a qualification berth.
Not that Liverpool were rolling over. Mohamed Salah continuously found himself in scoring positions and missed a glorious chance …read more