Liverpool advanced to the last 16 of the Champions League with a tense 1-0 win over Napoli at Anfield.
Four minutes after the half-hour mark, a James Milner ball fell graciously for Mohamed Salah who jinked past Fabian Ruiz and a recovering Koulibaly before the Egypt striker squeezed a low effort past goalkeeper David Ospina from an acute angle.
The former Roma star had a chance to double the hosts’ lead few minutes after the restart, but failed to hit the target, with his shot whiskers away from an impact. Sadio Mane also fluffed his lines, missing with a goal gaping, after being set up by the forward. In stoppage time, the Senegal international missed the target with only Ospina to beat.
The result sees Jurgen Klopp's side finish second in Group C behind Paris Saint-Germain, who won 4-1 against Red Star Belgrade.
Jurgen Klopp: “Wow, what a game. I am not sure a manager could be prouder of a team than I am. Today, we had an opportunity to show more than we did in Italy and the boys played an outstanding game. Mo Salah scored an unbelievable goal and I have no idea how Alisson made a save like this, it was amazing. We could have scored more, but the last chance Sadio Mane had made no difference in the standings. It was wild and there were lots of counter attacks but we were ready for that. Thank you Anfield. It was just so special. I couldn’t be more proud of the people involved.”
UP THE REDS! 🔴🔴🔴
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 11, 2018
We're into the #UCL last 16...#AllezAllezAllez https://t.co/rQ0IZaOWgg
1-0 | ||
Mohamed Salah 34' |