Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp on Wednesday said that he is hoping their 3-0 win over Ajax to progress to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League can help lift his side’s sluggish Premier League form.
The Reds have now won as many Champions League games this season as they have in 11 Premier League matches after a fourth consecutive European win in Amsterdam.
Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott were on target as they reached the knockout stage for a sixth consecutive season.
Photo: AP
“We are through to the knockouts and I will never take that for granted,” Klopp said. “Really helpful for the club, of course it gives the lift. Tonight we all feel great and we have a few days to prepare for Leeds [United in the Premier League].”
Klopp’s men still have a mountain to climb next week when SSC Napoli — who on Wednesday beat Rangers 3-0 — are to visit Anfield if they are to finish top of Group A.
Liverpool trail the Italy-based team by three points and need to overcome Napoli’s 4-1 win when the sides met last month to get the better of the head-to-head record.
Defeat ended Ajax’s chances of reaching the next round and the Dutch champions were left to rue not taking advantage of a fast start as they flew out the traps.
Steven Berghuis should have opened the scoring after just two minutes when he fired against the post with just Alisson Becker to beat.
Berghuis then shot just wide from range and Dusan Tadic should have done better when he blasted into the body of Trent Alexander-Arnold at the back post.
Liverpool’s contrasting form between domestic and European action is reflected in Salah’s scoring record.
Of the Egyptian’s nine goals this season, six have come in the Champions League. On Wednesday, he produced a cool finish over Remko Pasveer from Jordan Henderson’s through-ball to settle Liverpool’s nerves.
The visitors should have been out of sight before halftime, but for an astonishing miss from Nunez, who hit the post with the goal gaping from Roberto Firmino’s unselfish pass.
Nunez has had a rollercoaster start to his career with the Reds after a 75 million euros (US$75 million) move from SL Benfica and he quickly made amends after the break.
The Uruguayan rose highest to power Andy Robertson’s corner in off the far post on 49 minutes.
“Darwin was really angry with himself at halftime,” Robertson said. “I sat next to him at halftime and told him I would put a cross in to his head for him to score.”
Three minutes later, Liverpool were cruising when Salah picked out the run of Elliott, who fired high past Pasveer from a narrow angle.
Klopp put much of the blame for his side’s lack of consistency in the opening months of the season to a catalogue of injuries.
And with another five games still to come before the FIFA World Cup break next month, a commanding lead meant the visitors could take their foot off the gas in the final half-hour, with Nunez, Fabinho and Henderson among those handed a rest.
In Group C, Inter also qualified, with their 4-0 romp against Viktoria Plzen at the San Siro eliminating Barcelona, who slipped to a tame 3-0 defeat against Bayern Munich.
Inter’s Romelu Lukaku came off the bench to score on his return from injury late on, after Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s opener and a double for Edin Dzeko.
That left Barca digesting a group-stage exit for the second straight season.
The five-time champions were unable to at least lay down a marker on their way out, falling to a home loss at a subdued Camp Nou.
Sadio Mane, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Benjamin Pavard scored as Bayern wrapped up first place in the group with a fifth successive win.
“On a night like this, you don’t go out to play the game with the same motivation,” Barca midfielder Pedri said. “We wanted to give the fans a victory, but it wasn’t to be.”
In Group B, Porto beat Club Brugge 4-0, although they knew that an Atletico Madrid victory against Bayer 04 Leverkusen would set up a deciding match between the Portugual-based team and Diego Simeone’s men next week.
However, Atletico’s Yannick Carrasco missed a penalty, which was awarded by the video assistant referee (VAR) after the initial final whistle, in a remarkable 2-2 draw to send Porto through.
Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen led twice thanks to goals from Moussa Diaby and Callum Hudson-Odoi, but Carrasco’s first-half strike and Rodrigo de Paul’s equalizer gave Atletico 40 minutes to find a winner and keep their Champions League campaign alive.
In chaotic scenes, the players were called back onto the pitch after the VAR spotted a handball from the final attack of the game.
However, Carrasco’s spot-kick was saved by Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, Saul Niguez headed the rebound off the bar and Reinildo Mandava’s following effort was denied by a last-ditch block.
Porto, trailing leaders Brugge by one point, could still snatch top spot, while Atletico and Leverkusen are left to fight over a place in the Europa League.
In Group D, Tottenham Hotspur thought they had won against Sporting to qualify for the knockouts when Harry Kane found the net deep into stoppage-time, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside as their game finished 1-1.
“VAR is doing a lot of damage,” said Tottenham manager Antonio Conte, who was sent off for his protests.
“I want to see if in another stadium of a big team if they are ready to disallow this type of goal. I’d like to know this,” he added.
All four teams in the group can still qualify heading into the last games after Eintracht Frankfurt beat Olympique de Marseille 2-1 in Germany.
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