Liverpool advance to UCL last 16 after Salzburg victory

Defending champions Liverpool survived some early scares before scoring two goals in as many second-half minutes to beat Salzburg 2-0 and advance to the Champions League knockout stages.

Naby Keita, a former Salzburg player, headed in the opening goal in the 57th minute before Mohamed Salah rounded the goalkeeper and squeezed home a right-footed finish from an acute angle near the byline.

The Premier League leaders arrived at Stadion Salzburg needing just a draw to advance, although a low-scoring loss would have seen them eliminated and Salzburg go through with the same points total via the head-to-head tiebreaker.Napoli beat Genk 4-0 in a match played concurrently in Italy to finish second in group E and join the Reds in the last 16.

Liverpool lived dangerously in the first half, giving up a string of chances to Salzburg as 19-year-old striking sensation Erling Braut Haland – looking to score in his sixth straight game in the group – battled hard.

Salah squandered the easiest chance of the first half before applying the finishing blow to Salzburg with a stunning second goal, the angle having appeared too acute to find the net after breaking the offside trap.

Barely a minute earlier, two former Salzburg players had linked up to put Liverpool ahead.

Liverpool, six-time European champions, have reached the last two Champions League finals – losing to Real Madrid in 2018 and beating Tottenham in June.

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Salzburg drops into the Europa League as the third-placed team in the group.