LIVERPOOL, England — Mohamed Salah scored a solo goal and goalkeeper Alisson Becker produced a crucial late save as Liverpool beat Napoli 1-0 to clinch a place in the Champions League’s knockout stage at the expense of the Italian side on Tuesday.
Salah shrugged off one defender, drifted past another with a superb feint, and delivered a low finish inside the near post from an acute angle for the winning goal in the 34th minute on another European night to remember at Anfield.
Liverpool came into the game knowing a 1-0 victory, or any other win by a two-goal margin, would guarantee a spot in the round of 16 as the English team looks to go one better than last season, when it lost in the final to Real Madrid.
Paris Saint-Germain, which won 4-1 at Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday, advanced as Group C winner, and Napoli had to settle for third place and dropping into the Europa League for the second straight season.
It would have been Liverpool missing out had Alisson not produced a reflex save to deny Napoli substitute Arkadiusz Milik in the second minute of stoppage time.
The only negative of the evening for Juergen Klopp’s side was centre back Virgil van Dijk collecting a yellow card that means he will be suspended for the first leg of the round of 16. The Netherlands defender got the ball as he tackled Dries Mertens but his follow-through caught the left ankle of the striker, with Van Dijk perhaps fortunate not to receive a red card.
Liverpool has qualified despite losing all three of its away games in the group, so the team’s form at Anfield has been crucial. And Salah is proving an unstoppable force at his home stadium.
He made it nine goals from nine Champions League games for Liverpool at Anfield with a goal that owed as much to his strength as his trickery — with maybe some luck thrown in.
Napoli left back Mario Rui struggled all evening up against the Egypt forward and he was thrust aside as Salah received a pass from James Milner with his back to goal. Finding himself suddenly with room to manoeuvr, Salah ran at Kalidou Koulibaly and beat him by dropping his shoulder, leaving just goalkeeper David Ospina between him and the goal.
Salah looked up to see who was with him in the area and only he knows if his effort that squeezed through the legs of the diving Ospina and inside the near post was actually a misdirected pass. It was his 34th goal of 2018, and 13th in all competitions this season.
"He’s a match-winner, a world-class player," Milner said, "and he’s done it for us again."
It proved to be the difference between the teams in a tight first half, but it was more one-sided after halftime as Liverpool picked off Napoli on the counterattack.
Sadio Mane, in particular, was guilty of squandering three great chances, with Ospina saving one shot with his legs and the Liverpool forward shooting wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Alisson ensured Liverpool did not pay for its profligacy, standing tall then spreading himself to block a shot from Milik from point-blank range with the last chance of the match.
"That’s his quality," said Van Dijk. "He is an amazing goalkeeper."
PSG beats Red Star to reach Champions League knockout stage
BELGRADE, Serbia — The attacking trio of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Edinson Cavani struck again as Paris Saint-Germain advanced to the round of 16 of the Champions League with a 4-1 win at Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday.
Cavani and Neymar were both assisted by their 19-year-old teammate, with Mbappe putting on an excellent display of speed, strength and dribbling throughout the game. The France striker sealed PSG’s win with a goal in added time.
Marquinhos was also on the scoresheet for PSG after Marko Gobeljic cut Belgrade’s deficit in the second half.
Despite just one victory in its first four games, PSG advanced as Group C winner, two points ahead of last season’s runner-up Liverpool, which qualified for the last 16 with a 1-0 win over third-place Napoli.
"We knew this would be a very tough group that would be up for grabs right to the end," Marquinhos said. "We’ve managed to finish top, which is very good, and it gives us an advantage for the next round."
PSG coach Thomas Tuchel fielded the same players who started against Liverpool in a 2-1 victory two weeks ago.
Knowing that a win would seal its spot in the next stage, PSG immediately took control of the ball and forced Red Star players to defend close to Milan Borjan’s goal.
Mbappe created the visitors’ first opportunity with a surge down the left, easily getting past Belgrade captain Filip Stojkovic to cross the ball for Cavani, who scored in the ninth minute with a simple tap in.
With top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic watching from the stands, the hosts played more aggressively after conceding their first goal at home this season in the Champions League but PSG continued to dominate with better discipline and team play.
Neymar made it 2-0 five minutes before the interval with a beautiful solo goal. After latching onto a pass from Mbappe on a counterattack, the Brazil star cut into the area from the left, got past two defenders, feinted a shot in the run-in and chipped the ball into the net.
The hosts were more inspired in the second half and threatened with a series of well-built attacking moves. Red Star pulled one back in the 56th, following a good combination on the left side when Milan Rodic crossed the ball for Marko Gobeljic, who beat Gianluigi Buffon with a fine volley at the near post.
The goal ensured some suspense until Marquinhos made it 3-1 with a header from Angel Di Maria’s free kick in the 74th. Mbappe wrapped up the win in added time with a powerful strike through Borjan’s legs.
Tottenham advances to round of 16 after 1-1 draw at Barca
BARCELONA, Spain — A late goal by substitute Lucas Moura sent Tottenham through to the Champions League’s round of 16 after earning a 1-1 draw at Barcelona on Tuesday.
Moura scored from a pass by Harry Kane in the 85th minute at Camp Nou, cancelling out a superb early solo goal by Ousmane Dembele.
Barcelona rested Lionel Messi for the first hour, having already locked up first place before the match.
The Spanish league leaders finished Group B with 14 points, while Tottenham secured second place and the other spot in the knockout rounds by edging Inter Milan on head-to-head goal difference after both finished with eight points.
Inter was held to a 1-1 draw at home against PSV Eindhoven in the group’s other match, sending the Italian side to the Europa League.
Barcelona played with several backups and got a stellar performance by goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen, who made several saves until finally beaten by Moura.
Barcelona won its group for a record 20th time. With the draw, Barcelona also set a milestone after finishing its group unbeaten for a 12th time.
With nothing to play for, Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde rested Messi and regular starters Luis Suarez, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and gave European debuts to youngsters Miranda and Carles Alena.
Dembele, who has clashed with his club for being late to practice at least twice this season, has earned applause on the field with his goals and playmaking in his second season at Camp Nou.
His goal against Tottenham was his best yet.
The 21-year-old France forward combined strength, speed and a fine finishing touch to turn a free kick by Tottenham into a superb seventh-minute opener for the hosts.
Dembele hustled to win the ball from Kyle Walker-Peters, one of two Tottenham defenders left near midfield to stop a possible Barcelona counterattack. Dembele then turned on the speed to go past Walker-Peters, before he cut back to his left foot to avoid a sliding Harry Winks and coolly fired in his eighth goal in all competitions this campaign.
But other than Dembele’s great goal, the match was an onslaught by Tottenham that eventually proved too much for even the inspired Cillessen.
The backup to Ter Stegen turned back shots by Heung-Min Son and Christian Eriksen before Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho almost doubled Barcelona’s lead just before halftime when he hit the post.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team kept pushing for an equalizer as Kane shot high when he got behind the defence in the 51st.
Dembele tried to restore the initiative for Barcelona by dribbling into the area and drawing three defenders to him. He then passed for Coutinho who arrived free at the centre of the area, only for the Brazil midfielder to take too long to shoot and hit a defender with his strike. Dembele then went close with a curler from the right side.
Messi, who scored twice in a 4-2 win at Tottenham in October, came on in the 64th.
But Tottenham maintained the pressure and Cillessen blocked a shot by Eriksen before making his best save in the 76th when he palmed away a powerful, point-blank header by Moura just as it was about to cross the line.
Coutinho hit the woodwork again in the 83rd, but with Tottenham on the brink of finishing third behind Inter, Kane found Moura unmarked near the six-yard box to drill home a strike that Cillessen was helpless to turn away.
Inter out of Champions League despite 1-1 draw against PSV
MILAN — Mauro Icardi rescued a 1-1 draw for Inter Milan against PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Italian team from being eliminated from the Champions League.
Inter needed to better Tottenham’s result at Barcelona to progress to the round of 16 but that match also finished 1-1, thanks to Lucas Moura’s late equalizer.
It brought Inter’s first season back in the Champions League since 2011-12 to a swift end.
Both Inter and Spurs finished the group stage with eight points but the Premier League side took second spot in Group B thanks to the away goal it scored in the 2-1 defeat at Inter in September. Tottenham beat Inter 1-0 at home last month.
Inter dominated at San Siro, where it had 22 shots compared to five for PSV, but the Dutch side took a surprising lead in the 13th minute through Hirving Lozano.
However, Inter had gone behind in all of its five previous group matches — and recovered in three of them.
And so it proved again for Luciano Spalletti’s side as Icardi pounced with 17 minutes remaining for his fourth goal in the competition.
Inter poured forward in search of the winner, increasing their efforts after news of Spurs’ equalizer filtered through, but couldn’t find a breakthrough.
Inter will be left to regret its wasted opportunities, which included Ivan Perisic heading Mauro Icardi’s long ball off the left post in the sixth minute during a strong start for the hosts.
The Nerazzurri fans were further buoyed by Barcelona taking the lead against Spurs but shortly after the stadium went quiet.
Kwadwo Asamoah was dispossessed by Steven Bergwijn, who raced down the right flank and crossed for Lozano to head in at the far post.
Matters almost got immediately worse for Inter following another Asamoah error but Samir Handanovic rushed off his line to deny Luuk de Jong.
PSV stuck to its tactics of sitting back and hoping to hit Inter on the break, and the hosts continued to waste their opportunities.
Perisic just failed to connect with a tantalizing cross from Antonio Candreva and, shortly after halftime, PSV goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet did well to parry Icardi’s powerful effort.
Inter continued to pile on the pressure and it finally paid off as Icardi headed in a cross from Matteo Politano.
Porto wins 3-2 at Galatasaray to finish group unbeaten
ISTANBUL — FC Porto finished the Champions League group phase with an unbeaten record after earning a 3-2 victory at Galatasaray on Tuesday.
Porto entered the match in Istanbul having already clinched first place in Group D, and will advance to the round-of-16 on a run of five consecutive victories.
The Portuguese leaders got goals from Felipe and Moussa Marega before halftime, with Sergio Oliveira adding another goal in the second half.
Even so, they needed Galatasaray forward Sofiane Feghouli to miss a penalty to secure the win.
Galatasaray still secured a third-place finish and a Europa League berth after last-place Lokomotiv Moscow lost 1-0 at Schalke, which had already locked up second place and a spot in the knockout rounds.
After fending off the hosts’ initial push, Porto went ahead in the 17th minute when centre back Felipe got away from his marker and jumped to powerfully head home a curling free kick by Alex Telles.
Porto doubled the advantage in the 42nd after Galatasaray defender Mariano tripped Hernani as he dribbled past him inside the area. Marega drilled the spot kick in as goalkeeper Fernando Muslera dove the wrong way for the striker’s sixth goal in the Champions League this season.
The hosts were able to pull one back in first-half stoppage time when Felipe fouled Garry Rodrigues as he made a move on the left side of the box. That allowed Feghouli, the only other Galatasaray player to offer anything in attack, to step up and slot the penalty kick into the corner of Iker Casillas’ net.
Seconds after halftime, substitute Henry Onyekuru missed a clear chance to equalize from a pass by Feghouli. Instead, Porto got its third goal in the 57th. Danilo recovered the ball inside Galatasaray’s half, and sent it forward for Hernani to reach the end line before finding Sergio Oliveira to score from close range.
Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim could only grimace when Eren Derdiyok flubbed a shot from point-blank range, but Derdiyok was finally on target when he slid to tap in a cross by Rodrigues in the 65th.
Rodrigues gave his team a chance to pull even in the 67th when he earned a penalty, only for Feghouli to fire the spot kick off the crossbar.
Schalke beats Lokomotiv Moscow in Champions League
GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany — Alessandro Schoepf scored in injury time to give Schalke a 1-0 win over Lokomotiv Moscow in the Champions League on Tuesday, denying the Russian side a place in the Europa League.
Moscow needed a win to finish third in Group D for a place in Europe’s second competition, but it finished last with three points, one behind Galatasaray, which secured third despite losing 3-2 at home to group winner Porto.
Schalke was already assured of second place in the group and was hoping to restore some lost pride after its Ruhr derby loss to Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Moscow came closest to scoring at the end of a lacklustre first half, with captain Igor Denisov shooting over after Dmitri Barinov cut the ball back.
Schoepf’s goal came after a period of pressure for the home side.
Schalke finished on 11 points, five behind Porto.
Former Schalke captain Benedikt Hoewedes and winger Jefferson Farfan, who now play for Moscow, were honoured on their return to Gelsenkirchen ahead of the game.
Dortmund secures top spot with 2-0 win at Monaco
MONACO — Raphael Guerreiro scored twice as Borussia Dortmund concluded its Champions League group stage campaign on Tuesday with a 2-0 win at Monaco that sealed top spot for the German club.
Guerreiro scored a goal in each half at Stade Louis II against a poor Monaco side that struggled throughout and failed to win for a 14th consecutive match in the competition.
Dortmund finished level on points with Atletico in Group A and sealed top spot thanks to a better goal difference. Atletico drew 0-0 at Club Brugge in the group’s other match.
Dortmund coach Lucien Favre rested many regular starters but that did not prevent his players from dominating in all aspects of the game. Guerreiro opened the scoring from close range in the 15th minute and doubled his personal tally two minutes from time from Paco Alcacer’s assist with a shot into the top corner.
"With the possession we had, the win was deserved. It’s even better to top the group," said Dortmund midfielder Mario Gotze.
Also struggling in the French league, Monaco has not won in European competition since beating Dortmund in the second leg of their quarterfinal match in 2017.
Atletico finishes CL group 2nd after 0-0 draw at Club Brugge
BRUGES, Belgium — Atletico Madrid finished its Champions League group in second place after being held to a disappointing 0-0 draw at Belgian side Club Brugge on Tuesday.
Atletico entered the match leading Group A, but its stumble combined with Dortmund Borussia’s 2-0 victory at Monaco gave the German club the top spot.
Dortmund edged Atletico on goal difference after both finished with 13 points, while Club Brugge will join the Europa League after finishing with six points. Monaco earned just one point.
Atletico had a promising start with strikes by Thomas Partey and Antoine Griezmann, but the 2014 and 2016 finalist failed to threaten the hosts in the second half.
"I leave with a good feeling, we have moved on, which is what we wanted to do, and now we need to try to improve," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. "We were missing our finishing touch because we had the chances."
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