Champions League LIVE SCORES: Liverpool CONFIRM place in Last 16, Barcelona BEAT Benfica 5-4 in thriller – updates
LIVERPOOL have confirmed their place in the Champions League Last 16 after beating Lille 2-1.
The Reds made it seven wins out of seven with the victory over Lille to reach 21 points and guarantee automatic progression.
Liverpool can still be caught for the top spot though in the final matchround - after second-placed Barcelona defeated Benfica 5-4 in incident-packed classic.
While Aston Villa blew their chance to all-but confirm their Last 16 place after losing 1-0 at Monaco.
- Start times: 5.45pm/ 8pm
- Live stream: discovery+/ Amazon Prime Video
- TV channel: TNT Sports/ Amazon Prime Video
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Do it all again tomorrow
Head over to the SunSport football page for more reaction to tonight's bonkers Champions League night.
Liverpool fans can sit back and watch tomorrow's action knowing top of the table is pretty much secured ahead of next week's final day.
Can Arsenal, Man City and Celtic put themselves into a strong position? We'll see tomorrow.
Tomorrow's games
More drama to come tomorrow? Hopefully!
Here's what we've got to look forward to (8pm unless stated)
- Leipzig vs Sporting 5.45pm
- Shakhtar vs Brest 5.45pm
- Milan vs Girona
- Arsenal vs Dinamo Zagreb
- Celtic vs Young Boys
- Feyenoord vs Bayern
- PSG vs Man City
- Real Madrid vs Salzburg
- Sparta Prague vs Inter
Elite company
OptaJoe say Arne slot is only the second manager in Champions League history to win his first seven games in charge of a club.
That feat was previously only done by Hansi Flick when at Bayern a few years ago.
Match report - Liverpool vs Lille
Mo Salah claimed his 50th European goal for Liverpool as Arne Slot’s side stuck a red flag on the summit of the Champions League table.
Harvey Elliott continued what has been an astonishing first campaign for the Dutchman who succeeded Jurgen Klopp.
For while the German will always be seen as one of Anfield’s true icons, history so far suggests that Slot may yet over time be at least as revered. At this rate, anyway.
Elliott’s 67th strike against a side reduced to ten men early in the second half means Slot’s men equalled the club’s best – ever sequence of seven successive wins the competition, a run set, of course, by Klopp.
Yet when so many within the Kop feared his departure last summer might signal a down- sizing of intent, the current side just get better and better.
Match report - Monaco vs Aston Villa
Aston Villa discovered the hard way.
The last place in the world you can afford to be poor is Monte Carlo.
Unai Emery brought his Premier stars to the millionaires' playground in the South of France.
But in front of watching royalty - Villa fan Prince William - his side performed like paupers.
Wilfried Singo's first-half header was enough to sink Villa who had 82 minutes to put things right but never came close.
They trudged off at the end, deservedly beaten by Monaco's energetic kids.
Hot property
Jonathan David might well have added a few more million onto his price tag after his goal at Anfield tonight.
The Lille man is hot property at the minute and has been linked with Newcastle, Arsenal and the Reds in the last couple of days, labelling the latter of those the 'best team in the world'.
Speaking to Amazon Prime after the game, he said: "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.
"They're a very good team. I think they might be the best team in the world at the moment."
Strong showing
A dominant night for Liverpool despite really getting out of first gear.
Lille with plenty of the ball of their own and 461 passes is no mean feat at Anfield on a Champions League night.
50 up
Mo Salah admits his pride at another landmark moment for Liverpool after his 50th European goal for the club.
But he admits he hopes it's not the last milestone for the club.
He told Amazon Prime: "Hopefully not the last one but 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.
"We got the ball and Curtis played the ball very well finally and I managed to score."
How we stand
A dramatic night then but it leaves us knowing that top spot will either be Liverpool or Barcelona.
The Reds are in such a strong position having won all seven games and have a three-point gap to Barca, with just the final match day to go.
Liverpool are at PSV, Barca host Atalanta.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa are in a right scrap for a top eight finish, knowing they will need to beat Celtic next week!
Lage rage
Benfica boss Bruno Lage has taken a leaf out the Phil Brown playbook.
The livid Portuguese boss kept his side out on the pitch to give them a dressing down in the torrential rain.
The players still looked shell-shocked having thrown away that game to actually lose in the end.
Champions League results
What a sensational night of Champions League drama.
Here's the results:
- Atalanta 5-0 Sturm Graz
- Monaco 1-0 Aston Villa
- Atletico Madrid 2-1 Leverkusen
- Benfica 4-5 Barcelona
- Bologna 2-1 Dortmund
- Club Brugge 0-0 Juventus
- Liverpool 2-1 Lille
- Red Star 2-3 PSV
- Slovan Bratislava 1-3 Stuttgart
90+6 - GOAL!! Benfica 4-5 BARCELONA
Wow wow wow - what a stunning end to the game and a quite incredible comeback!
RAPHINHA has won it for Barca!
Benfica were pushing and thought they might've had a penalty for a shove in the back.
Ferran Torres smashes it long and Raphinha is on the halfway line to run clean through. He drives in towards goal and waits to beat the defender on the inside before smashing beyond the keeper.
4-2 down in the 78th minute, Barca have won with the final kick. Extraordinary.
FT!
Job done for Liverpool at Anfield and they maintain top spot - and confirm their place in the top eight.
Harvey Elliott's second half goal the difference after 10-man Lille equaliser through Jonathan David.
They'll be hard to catch at the top now...
Liverpool 2-1 Lille
90 - GOAL! ATLETICO MADRID 2-1 Leverkusen
JULIAN ALVAREZ with the winner!
The Leverkusen players crumbling as tough as the referee in this one.
Correa bundles his way through and a touch into his path inside the box works out to be a great pass for Alvarez.
Kovar comes out to close the angle and the striker nips round him and taps into an empty net from a tight angle.
87 - GOAL! Slovan Bratislava 1-3 STUTTGART
It was game on for 60 seconds or so...
Terrific counter attack ended by FABIAN RIEDER who slots beyond the keeper. Job done.
87 - GOAL! Benfica 4-4 BARCELONA
The comeback is complete for the Spanish giants!
They were piling on the pressure and this one comes from a corner taken short to Pedri and his cracking cross finds ERIC GARCIA to plant a header beyond the keeper.
Wild scenes as the visitors celebrate but where was the Benfica marking!?
86 - GOAL! SLOVAN BRATISLAVA 1-2 Stuttgart
IDJESSI METSOKO with the goal to make things interesting!
Barseghyan with a stunning through ball for Metsoko who takes a great touch into the box and a clever dinked finish beyond the keeper.
Closing stages
EVERY game in the balance going into the closing stages as Slovan Bratislava have just scored!
Atletico Madrid 1-1 Leverkusen
Benfica 4-3 Barcelona
Bologna 2-1 Dortmund
Club Brugge 0-0 Juventus
Liverpool 2-1 Lille
Red Star 2-3 PSV
Slovan Bratislava 1-2 Stuttgart
77 - GOAL! RED STAR 2-3 PSV
An incredible comeback IS on the cards as Red Star get one back!
Ivanic's cross from the corner finds NASSER DJIGA who heads powerfully off the under-side of the crossbar and in!
From Ken Lawrence watching Liverpool vs Lille
Liverpool got a little sloppy against Lille. But only for a little while.
Jonathan David plundered an equaliser five minutes after Alissa Mandi got a second yellow card.
But there is a power and a presence about Arne Slot’s side and Harvey Elliott scored his first European goal at Anfield to send then further on the way to topping the Champions League table. And then some.
76 - RED CARD - PIERO HINCAPIE (Leverkusen)
Oh referee you've absolutely bottled it!
He's been itching and itching to level the teams up and crumbled under the pressure Atletico Madrid's theatrics and their supporters' noise.
Hincapie is the victim of the referee's crumbling, receiving a second yellow for a shoulder-to-shoulder clash on the right edge of the area.
77 - GOAL! Benfica 4-3 BARCELONA
Game on again in Lisbon!
Again, it's ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI and again it's from the spot.
So very harsh the decision as Lamine Yamal goes down easily but the Polish marksman makes no mistake. Now the joint-most penalty goals in this competition alongside Cristiano Ronaldo!
Soccer Football - Champions League - Benfica v FC Barcelona - Estadio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal - January 21, 2025 FC Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski celebrates scoring their third goal REUTERS/Rodrigo Antunes 71 - GOAL! RED STAR 1-3 PSV
The home side back in it? Still work to do against the ten man as CHERIF NDIAYE gets it.
Clever header. Too little too late?
72 – GOAL! BOLOGNA 2-1 Dortmund
What a turnaround - Bologna trailed 90 seconds ago and now they lead through Englishman SAMUEL ILING JUNIOR.
Just seconds after the restart they win the ball back and weak defending from Anton allows Dallinga in again but the keeper saves his effort.
But it falls kindly to Iling Junior to smash home from eight yards. Incredible turnaround.
68 - GOAL! BENFICA 4-2 Barcelona
Just as it looked like being game on, it's not again!
Benfica go back in front and it's an own goal from Araujo. A great ball into the box is picked up at the back post and when played into the six-yard box, Araujo beats Wojciech Szczęsny to it and diverts it into his own net!
