VON ANFIELD – Liverpool secured their place in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday by beating Lille 2-1 at Anfield.
The Reds appeared to be in for a straightforward evening when Aissa Mandi was given his marching orders and his side were already behind in the first half thanks to a Mohamed Salah goal. But Jonathan David’s strike ensured the hosts were cruising to a win, which was sealed by a deflected shot from Harvey Elliott in the second half.
Liverpool’s win combined with Barcelona’s defeat at Benfica means they progress to the next round as group winners.
How it developed
As with most of Liverpool’s games this season, there was a slow start to the game at Anfield. So after half an hour both teams had only fired a single shot, neither of them managing to test the goalkeeper.
At this point, however, Liverpool came to life and created a flurry of chances through Salah towards the end of the half. The Egyptian capped a quick counterattack initiated by a tackle from Kostas Tsimikas by running onto Curtis Jones’ through ball and finishing with his usual coolness.
And he almost ended the half with another goal in similar circumstances, guiding a brilliant first-time ball past Gabriel Gudmondsson but this time sending his effort wide of the post.
Salah came close to scoring again after the restart, but after some clever build-up play he failed with an attempt that Liverpool missed, after which Liverpool sent Jarell Quansah’s header over the goal from a free kick.
However, the mounting pressure soon revealed a different picture, with Lille having to drop back to ten after Mandi received a second yellow card for bringing down Luis Diaz as he attempted to run into the ambush.
But if that moment was meant to signal the end of the game as a contest, then clearly no one had told the visitors, who equalized shortly afterwards when David turned the ball over in the penalty area after the hosts had failed to get a cross from the left side to clarify.
That joy didn’t last long, however, as a huge stroke of luck ensured Liverpool took the lead again, and a clear deflection from Ngal’Ayel Mukau meant a low shot from Elliott found the back of the net.
From then on, Liverpool largely took things easy and ensured that the upcoming trip to PSV Eindhoven was of little consequence.
Check out the player ratings for Liverpool 2-1 Lille here.
So a significant distraction may have helped, but Harvey Elliott’s crucial goal here was further proof that the young player still has a big role to play for Liverpool this season.
The 21-year-old struggled for minutes under Arne Slot but cemented his claim for greater involvement by coming off the bench and playing a key role in the two goals that beat Brentford at the weekend.
And here he was similarly impressive, pulling a stubborn Lille defensive line back and forth before firing the shot that restored Liverpool’s lead. Surely Slot can no longer ignore a player who is not only one for the future, but clearly one for the present as well.
Liverpool will have known going into this game that the potential to secure a place in the last 16 of the Champions League held benefits beyond a more favorable draw in the knockout rounds.
And they will benefit from that next week when they travel to PSV Eindhoven to complete this leg of the competition. Slot will now have the luxury of naming a fully rotating team and leaving some big guns behind for a well-deserved rest.
Barcelona’s late heroics against Benfica ensure they are the only club capable of catching Liverpool at the top of the league stage table, yet there is no difference when it comes to seeding between first and second place. Liverpool’s guaranteed finish in the top two means they will face one of the teams that finish 15th, 16th, 17th or 18th in the round of 16.
Despite conceding a goal here, it was another performance that should allay concerns about Liverpool’s perceived defensive weaknesses of late.
David’s strike was Lille’s only shot on target and the threat was skillfully managed even with the teams at 11-on-11.
This was largely thanks to a brilliant collective performance that ensured a new club record for minutes without conceding a goal in Europe was set, surpassing the previous record of 572 under Rafa Benitez.