LIVERPOOL, England — Liverpool marched into the knockout stages of the Champions League with two games to spare after a convincing 2-0 victory over 10-man Atletico Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday guaranteed them top spot in Group B.
With four wins out of four, Jurgen Klopp’s side can now take their foot off the gas for the final two games of the group stage and focus their resources on their Premier League title push.
Liverpool has yet to lose in 16 matches in all competitions this season and their unbeaten run stretches back 25 matches to their April 6 loss to Real Madrid in last season’s Champions League campaign.
“The first target was to get through this group. I didn’t expect we would be through after four games but the boys did it and it’s really well deserved,” said Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.
The only negative for Klopp’s side was a hamstring injury to Brazilian forward Roberto Firmino in the second half.
A draw would have been enough for Liverpool to be sure of their passage to the last 16, but from the outset Klopp’s side looked like they had nothing but victory on their minds. — Reuters