Liverpool’s perfect run in this Champions League campaign came to an end with a 3-2 defeat at PSV – but Barcelona’s draw at home to Atalanta meant Arne Slot’s side finished the league phase in top spot.
With twists and turns further down the table on Wednesday, Liverpool will face either PSG, Benfica, Monaco or Brest in the last 16, once those sides have gone through the play-offs.
Few will want to play Liverpool on the basis of their league-phase performances – although nine changes for this final fixture, including nights off for Mohamed Salah, Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and more regulars, gave their Dutch hosts a helping hand.
PSV capitalised and can look forward to a play-off against either Feyenoord or Juventus for a last-16 spot of their own.
Cody Gakpo, back playing against his former club, dispatched an early penalty after Federico Chiesa was caught as Joey Veerman tried to clear, and Harvey Elliott looked to have Liverpool in control heading into the break when he put away the follow-up to a saved Chiesa shot, after Johan Bakayoko’s fine equaliser.
But Ismael Saibari smashed in from a tight angle and Ricardo Pepi converted from close-range to flip the match around.
The second half was far less thrilling, with the back and forth in Barcelona drawing attention and switching Liverpool from first to second and up again in the live table. Tyler Morton produced a super tackle to deny Saibari and gave Liverpool hope of preserving an unbeaten record but when 18-year-old Amara Nallo was sent off just four minutes into his senior debut for a last-man foul on Bakayoko the result was sealed.
That won’t worry Slot, though. It’s mission complete for his Liverpool team in this phase of the competition. Their fight on four fronts continues, with attention switching to Saturday’s tricky 3pm Premier League trip to Bournemouth while they await their Champions League knockout opponents and pathway to be revealed in the upcoming draws.
Slot: Performance pleasing despite defeat
Liverpool boss Arne Slot to TNT Sports:
“To end up first is always good and the performance today was also pleasing to see, with so many players either not playing in their own position or playing for the first time.
“To keep up with this PSV team, especially in the first half, was good to see. There were some good performances from individuals as well. Many of them for the first time made 90 minutes so that’s also positive.
“If you can choose, of course you end up first but it doesn’t matter for the teams you face. The end result is that there are hardly any easy opponents if you end up first, second or seventh or eighth.
On the red card: “I haven’t seen it [the red card] back but I don’t think there’s a lot to complain about. The second goal was a bit more frustrating if you ask me about the referee. He was hindering [Wataru Endo] and then Wata got a slight knock. A slight knock is normally not enough for a foul but after being in the way as a referee maybe you can give a free-kick because you can say, ‘I haven’t had any impact on the game’.”
When are the knockout draws?
To determine who plays who in the knockout rounds, there will be two draws after the league phase.
The first draw on Friday January 31 at 11am will determine which of the two options each team will get in the knockout play-off. For example, a team finishing 13th will find out whether they are playing against the team finishing 19th or 20th.
Seeded teams (9th-16th) will have the second leg at home and those play-off round matches take place on February 11/12 and February 18/19.
Teams seeded from 1st to 8th will have to wait until Friday February 21 to find out their opponents.
That draw will then determine who they face in the round of 16, and ultimately map out their full path to the final.
When are the 2024/25 Champions League knockout fixtures?
- Round of 16: March 4/5 and March 11/12, 2025
- Quarter-finals: April 8/9 and April 15/16, 2025
- Semi-finals: April 29/30 and May 6/7, 2025
- Final: May 31, 2025
What’s coming up for Liverpool?
Source : Sky Sports
