Mohamed Salah achieved a milestone by scoring his 50th European goal for Liverpool, helping the Reds secure a spot in the Champions League last 16 with a win over 10-man Lille at Anfield.
The decisive moment came in the 34th minute when Salah received a brilliant through ball from Curtis Jones and calmly slotted the ball past the advancing Lucas Chevalier.
This goal marked a turning point in the game, as Lille, who had been unbeaten in 21 games, began to lose control.
Despite being a man down after Aissa Mandi’s red card, Lille surprisingly equalized three minutes later. Jonathan David scored after Hakon Haraldsson’s effort was blocked.
However, Liverpool quickly regained their advantage when Harvey Elliott’s deflected strike found the bottom corner.
Liverpool had several other scoring opportunities, including a one-on-one chance for Salah that went wide and a curling shot that narrowly missed the far post. Darwin Nunez also had a late goal ruled out for offside.
The win marked Liverpool’s seventh victory in the new-look league phase and maintained their 100% record in the competition.
As a result, they will be seeded for the last 16 and will face one of the eight teams that advance through February’s play-offs in March.
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