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Mohamed Salah, Liverpool Beat Salzburg 2-0 to Advance into UCL Knockouts
December 10, 2019
European champions Liverpool secured a spot in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, as they won 2-0 at Red Bull Salzburg.
The first half saw a number of big chances for both sides. Alisson Becker was on hand on numerous occasions to keep the Reds in the game early on, before Mohamed Salah missed a couple of huge openings for Liverpool. Somehow, there was stalemate at the break.
Later in the game, Liverpool found their clinical edge, with Naby Keita and Salah striking in quick succession to take the match away from their opponents.
Victory sees the Reds top Group E, that despite Napoli's 4-0 win over Genk on the same night.
Unsurprisingly, with a win needed to progress, Salzburg swarmed over Liverpool in the opening exchanges.
The Reds had Alisson to thank for ensuring the home side didn't take an early lead, as he was on hand to make a number of important stops. Squawka Football summed up how busy the Brazil international was in the early exchanges of the match and how easy Salzburg were finding it to cut through Liverpool:
Salzburg were clearly not overawed by the occasion early on and were more than holding their own against the Premier League giants.
Oliver Kay of The Athletic commented on a number of players who stood out for the Austrian outfit, as they caused the visitors problems throughout the opening period:
Their attacking intention did leave the door open for Liverpool at the other end though and Salah should have done better with the two sights of goal he had. Keita was then thwarted by Cican Stankovic at the end of a breathless opening 45 minutes.
Both Liverpool stars were able to find their shooting boots in the second period, though, with Keita the first to find the net against his former club. Journalist Melissa Reddy commented on the smart buildup play from the Reds to go ahead in the 57th minute:
A minute later, they doubled their lead. Having missed a number of straightforward chances on the night, Salah was able to take the most difficult of the lot.
As was the case with the opening goal, rash play from Stankovic gave the Liverpool player an opportunity to shoot at an empty net. Even so, the Egyptian did superbly to steer the ball home from a tight angle with his weaker foot:
Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen had high praise for the finish:
After that double salvo from the Reds, the fizz went out of the atmosphere at the Red Bull Arena. It meant Liverpool were able to dictate the final stages with relative ease.
In the end, Liverpool had plenty of chances to extend their lead, with Salah again seeing an effort stopped by Stankovic. But as the clock ticked down, the visiting supporters and manager Jurgen Klopp were able to reflect on a job well done by the players in red.
What's Next?
Liverpool's focus will shift back to their Premier League title chase on Saturday, when they face bottom club Watford at Anfield in the early kick-off. Salzburg will face TSV Hartberg on the same day in the Austrian Bundesliga.