Salah, Alisson lead Liverpool into knockout rounds

A Mohamed Salah goal was all Liverpool needed, as the Reds worked their way to a professional 1-0 defeat of Napoli on Wednesday at Anfield to seal their place in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds.

The win sends Liverpool past Napoli thanks to the goal the Reds scored in the reverse fixture.

The Reds left the match open through a mix of missed chances and David Ospina saves, but ultimately finished the day behind only Paris Saint-Germain in Group C.

The Reds had most of the early chances aside from a Marek Hamsik close call, and went ahead when Salah went low to beat a head-scratching slide from David Ospina.

Liverpool also had a bit of good fortune when Virgil Van Dijk‘s studs-up slide into Dries Mertens’ ankle was merely deemed worthy of a yellow card.

Salah struck the outside of the post with a left-footed drive in the 50th minute, as the Reds began the second half much like the first.

A rare foray into the Liverpool end saw Raul Albiol bound a header into the hands of Alisson Becker, and the Reds responded with Roberto Firmino giving the same to Ospina.

Milner just missed with a cross-box bid to hammer a shot inside the far post, and it remained 1-0 in the 63rd.

Ospina twice played a role in stopping a Salah break in the 75th, though a penalty could’ve been called in between the chances.

And Ospina made another fine save on Sadio Mane moments later.

Napoli finally found form in stoppage time, with Alisson making an amazing thigh save on Arkadiusz Milik.

source: NBC Sports