Champions League: Liverpool beat Lille to reach last 16
by Ganiyu Mubarak · The Eagle OnlineLiverpool booked their spot in the last 16 of the Champions League with a 2-1 victory over 10-man Lille on Tuesday at Anfield.
The victory was achieved by Liverpool FC through goals from talisman Mohamed Salah and substitute Harvey Elliott.
Arne Slot’s men maintained their 100 per cent record and top the 36-team table with 21 points, three points clear of second-placed Barcelona with one game of the league phase remaining.
Lille are 11th with 13 points.
Salah netted his 50th European goal for Liverpool in the 34th minute when he sprinted onto a long pass from Curtis Jones after Kostas Tsimikas won the ball inside the Reds’ half, and then curled a shot around goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier.
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“We got the ball and Curtis played the ball very well finally and I managed to score,” Salah said.
In spite of being reduced to 10 men when Aissa Mandi was shown his second yellow card in the 59th minute for his tackle on Luis Diaz.
Jonathan David levelled for the visitors three minutes later when he hammered home the loose ball after Hakon Arnar Haraldsson’s shot was blocked.
The strike was David’s fifth in the Champions League this season and only the second Liverpool had conceded, with the first coming in their opening game at AC Milan.
“Not switched off but they went to counter-attack and managed to score,” Salah said, adding: “The clean sheet is very important to us and our backline.”
Liverpool quickly regained the lead when a corner was headed out to the edge of the box and Elliott fired a crisp shot that took a wild deflection into the net in the 67th minute.
Darwin Nunez celebrated what he thought was Liverpool’s third goal just before added time, but it was chalked off for offside.
Lille showed why they are unbeaten in 21 successive games in all competitions inside the opening minute on Tuesday when Gabriel Gudmundsson’s shot from outside of the box sailed just wide of the net.
Salah squandered several terrific chances. He could not quite connect with Diaz’s square ball in the first half, and then had only the keeper to beat in the 44th minute but shot wide of the post.
Liverpool travel to PSV Eindhoven for their final match of the league phase on January 29, while Lille host Feyenoord.
Reuters/NAN.
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