Liverpool 2-1 Lille, Benfica 4-5 Barcelona and more: Champions League

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Arne Slot spoke to Amazon: “If we need a goal then I am not afraid to bring players in. We are organised enough to not concede a goal. If I bring attackers in they also work really hard.

“I think we can improve. Probably when Pep’s [Guardiola] team won he would say they can improve. Perfection isn’t possible. We are trying every day. We probably will never meet 10 out of 10. West Ham away was a great performance. The competition you face or the team you face tells you, that when we faced them, they weren’t at their best. City was the best game we have played so far.”

The details of that amazing game in Lisbon are quite something.Poor Vangelis Pavlidis scored a hat-trick and that will likely be forgotten.

Harvey Elliott spoke to Amazon at length, and here’s the key quotes: ““It is pretty clear to be honest – I am not leaving. This is my team and my club. I’m a massive fan and we’re in a great position so far this season. I haven’t really seen the chat, but my friends have messaged me and called me about a few things. It is always going to happen in January, especially after being out for a long time and not playing as much as I want to, but that is football.

“I‘ve had conversations with the gaffer but at the same time I need to understand the situation. The team is flying – we are first in the Premier League and Champions League. For me to go in and say I should be starting it would be silly of myself really. You know what the answer is going to be. I need to stay patient.”

Unai Emery wasn’t happy with his Villans.

Jonathan David spoke to Amazon: “We came against the first of the Champions League group so we knew it was going to be a complicated game even more so when we went to 10 men. It’s frustrating, we wanted to hold on as long as we could but it’s very difficult.

“Today wasn’t our day. The togetherness. Everyone is very solid and compact. We want to play and play our game this is how we’re going to get further. I think they might be the best team in the world at the moment.”

Salah became the first player in Liverpool’s illustrious history to score 50 European goals. Think of the players that includes.

He spoke to Amazon: “I’m very proud of it. I wasn’t focused on it before the game.

“They have a really good game plan and they were unbeaten for 21 games so they’re a quite tough team. I’m glad we managed to win that game.”

Andy Hunter was at Anfield.

Liverpool needed only one point from their final two group games to guarantee a place in the knockout rounds, a place that has never once looked in doubt, and took all three courtesy of Salah’s instinctive finish and Harvey Elliott’s deflected strike. Victory equalled Liverpool’s best sequence in the Champions League era of seven straight wins, first set in 2021/22.

PC in Belize City points out: “Looks like a good night for Arsenal, with Benfica, Dortmund, Juventus, Villa and Lille missing the chance to go above them, even if Atletico and Atalanta did.”

Colum gets in touch: “I love the way Arne Slot is marshalling his troops. He brought on Harvey Elliot and Darwin Nunes on in the last few minutes against Brentford and they turned the match. Today they’re both performing well, bucked by the support from the manager. He’s using his squad so well, as he needs too as Liverpool are playing on all fronts. Witness also the clever alternation of Robertson and Tsmikas on the left flank. Can you say hi to my brother Kit, a fellow Liverpool fan?”

Liverpool can be overtaken after that late Barca comeback. Villa are clinging on. And there’s Wednesday to come.

Atletico 2-1 Leverkusen
Benfica 4-5 Barcelona
Red Star 2-3 PSV
Liverpool 2-1 Lille
Club Brugge 0-0 Juventus
Slovan Bratislava 1-3 Stuttgart
Bologna 2-1 Dortmund
Earlier matches:
Monaco 1-0 Aston Villa
Atalanta 5-0 Sturm Graz

Brune Lage, Wolves legend, has decided he will conduct his post-mortem on the pitch, in the rain. Shades of Phil Brown as he lays into his Benfica players.

A Champions League classic, full of goalkeeping gaffes, and some fine penalty taking, and Raphina scoring one of the oddest goals you will ever see, and also supplying one of the coolest finishes.

Utter chaos in Lisbon….

Benfica are in the Barca box, there’s a call for a penalty, and Szczesny launches the ball and Raphina, in the wind and rain, shows such calm to score….but there’s some VAR on the play…that will be no penalty. What a game! What a pair of goals from Raphina.

Raphinha has surely won it for Barca! Photograph: Rodrigo Antunes/Reuters

Goals from Salah and Elliott mean Liverpool will finish top of the supergroup stage.

You’ve been Simeon-ed. Leverkusen have fallen into the trap and Alvarez is sent away to score by Correa. A win snatched in classic style.

You just love to see it. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/Reuters

Benfica 4-4 Barcelona: Szczesny makes a save…never in doubt.

Bratislava get excited after their gial and Stuttgart are calm and collected to score and put the game in their own hands.

What a comeback from Barca, with Pedri drifting the ball to the back post and Eric Garcia heading home.

Wow! Eric Garcia makes it 4-4! Photograph: Rodrigo Antunes/Reuters

The hosts are back in it, and a lovely pass finds Metsoko to score. The pointless team can get back in this yet.

Club Brugge 0-0 Juventus: Tbe evening’s turkey sees Locatelli muster the first shot on target and a fine save from Liverpool legend Simon Mignolet.

The fourth corner-goal of this game, and that’s a crashing header home. Incredible. Red Star are fighting for their lives.

It’s a second yellow, baited by Simeone Jnr into pushing over the opponent. Giuliano is a chip off the old block.

Piero Hincapie is shown a red card by Davide Massa. Leverkusen have fallen into the trap set by Diego Simeone. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/Reuters

A run-up this time, and his 19th penalty in the Champions League, levelling up the record of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Bob slots home another penalty for Barca. Photograph: Pedro Nunes/Reuters

Lamine Yamal is fouled….

Liverpool 2-1 Lille: So much happening that Liverpool’s drive to perfection is taking a back seat to events in Lisbon and Madrid. Liverpool are the only team with any security. The closing weeks of the old group stage used to be full of dead rubbers.

Red Star have a lifeline against the ten men. Nice header down. They are fighting to make that top 24.

The Londoner, on loan from Villa, puts Bologna in front.

Samuel Iling-Junior turns it around for Bologna! Photograph: Jennifer Lorenzini/Reuters

Bologna hit back, through Dalinga…

Bologna are level! Photograph: Chris Ricco/UEFA/Getty Images

Another mix-up, and Araujo seemed to want to put that in rather than Szczesny get to it.

Oops. Ronald Araujo puts into his own net. Photograph: Alex Pantling/UEFA/Getty Images

Harvey Elliott, underused and perhaps underappreciated, slides in celebration after putting Liverpool back ahead. Arne Slot, in raincoat, looks happier.

Harvey Elliott smashes home for Liverpool! Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

Barca are back in it, and a mix-up between keeper Trubin and his defenders, he smashes it off Raphina and in. Did he mean to do that? Amazing.

Not sure Raphinha knew too much about that. Photograph: Rodrigo Antunes/Reuters

The Liverpool 100% record is under threat. Down the left, the ball comes in, and after a block by Quansah from Haraldsson, David rams the ball home. The Canadian is in superb form and that’s a shock goal.

Jonathan David scores for Lille! Photograph: Carl Recine/Getty Images

Mandi, already on a yellow, trips up Luis Diaz, and it’s raining red in the Champions League.

Atletico 1-1 Leverkusen: Alvarez scores his seventh goal in the competition.

It’s a breakaway goal, as the Argentinian escapes from a Leverkusen attack breaking down and then scores. He holds off Tah and a lovely finish.

Julian Alvarez levels for Atleti! Photograph: Manu Fernández/AP

A last-man foul sees him removed, presumably for DOGSO. PSV are three goals up, and will have to see it out with ten men.

Ryan Flamingo doesn’t have a leg to stand on and he’s off. Photograph: Andrej Čukić/EPA

Liverpool 1-0 Lille: Jarrell Quansah misses a good chance for a header from a corner.

Club Brugge 0-0 Juventus: Still not much happening in Bruges. Juve, the draw specialists, could be heading for their usual result.

Liverpool 1-0 Lille: Lille look to improve on their first-half display, which lacked danger.

Peter Oh gets in touch: “Wow! Barça have shipped three first-half goals to Vangelis Pavlidis? Goodness gracious, great Chariots of Fire!”

Here’s Ben Fisher’s report from Monaco.

Atletico 0-1 Leverkusen
Benfica 3-1 Barcelona
Red Star 0-3 PSV
Liverpool 1-0 Lille
Club Brugge 0-0 Juventus
Slovan Bratislava 0-2 Stuttgart
Bologna 0-1 Dortmund
Earlier matches:
Monaco 1-0 Aston Villa
Atalanta 5-0 Sturm Graz

Fine, fine header from a Mukiele cross and the Atleti plan of seeing out with ten is out of the window. There’s some tempers fraying.

Leverkusen’s Piero Hincapie heads the visitors in front. Photograph: Manu Fernández/AP

Another corner, and this time the ball bounces out and Flamengo rifles a volley home.

Nick Kent’s lost classic.

Liverpool 1-0 Lille: Salah is put through, in that sweet spot and yet misses, bending his left-foot shot beyond the far post.

Liverpool 1-0 Lille: Not really a great European night so far. Liverpool doing enough. Mohamed Salah in jocular chat with the referee. There is an injury to Curtis Jones at the moment.

There’s some VAR confusion here as Leweling takes the ball down and slots. He was onside. And the English officials are not popular in Slovakia.

Jamie Leweling gets the second goal for Stuttgart. Eventually. Photograph: Radovan Stoklasa/Reuters

Club Brugge 0-0 Juventus

It’s freezing cold in Bruges, and that’s given rise to one of those intriguing tactical battles you hear about.

Salah, yes, guess who. Jonathan David is robbed by Tsimikas, and a long ball forward finds the Egyptian king. A fine pass from Curtis Jones. Lille think David was fouled.

Mo Salah scores for Liverpool! Photograph: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

A hat-trick for the Greek striker. He has been borne gifts by Szczesny, who has had a nightmare.

Szczesny – oh no – runs out and collides with Aktürkoğlu. It’s almost as if he was a retired goalkeeper a few weeks ago.

It’s not been a brilliant first-half for Wojciech Szczęsny. Photograph: Armando França/AP

Liverpool 0-0 Lille

This has been one of the quiter games of the night.

Pablo Barrios is sliding in and rakes down the ankles of Mukiele. He doesn’t protest too much, though Diego Simeone is seething.

Pablo Barrios is shown a red card by referee Davide Massa following a VAR check. Photograph: Juan Medina/Reuters

Another corner, another header and De Jong does what he does, having had the Red Star fans pelt the PSV players with snow balls.

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Liverpool 2-1 Lille, Benfica 4-5 Barcelona and more: Champions League – as it happened

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