Video: Klopp hails Liverpool hero Alisson for superb save against Napoli
Salah scores the winner on a memorable Champions League night at Anfield
Liverpool 1 Napoli 0
Liverpool secured qualification to the Champions League round of 16 thanks to a winning goal by Mohamed Salah and heroic goalkeeping from Alisson.
Requiring a win with a clean sheet or by two clear goals against Napoli, the Reds got what they wanted thanks to a Salah strike on 34 minutes.
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The win means they finished level in group C with Napoli on nine points and the same goal difference, but qualify second behind Paris Saint-Germain because they scored more goals overall than their Italian rivals.
Awesome Allison
Salah wasn’t the only hero, however. Reds goalkeeper Alisson produced a brilliant save in stoppage time to deny Arkadiusz Milik an equaliser that would have broken the hearts of the Kop.
“If I knew Alisson was this good I would have paid double,” joked Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who forked out £66.8m for the Brazilian last summer.
“The goal Mo scored - what a goal, unbelievable - but the save Ali made I have no words for that. That was the lifesaver.”
Asked to describe his emotions after the nail-biting win, Klopp exclaimed: “Wow, what a game! I am not sure a manager could be prouder of a team than I am.”
Last 16 draw
The draw for the last 16 will be made on Monday 17 December and Liverpool face the daunting prospect of being paired with a group winner, although rules stipulate it can’t be a fellow Premier League club or their group’s winner PSG.
Liverpool’s possible opponents are Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, FC Porto, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Ajax, Juventus or Lyon (depending on the outcome of results in tonight’s final group matches).
Results, fixtures and TV guide
Tuesday 11 December results
- Group A: Club Brugge 0 Atlético Madrid 0; Monaco 0 Borussia Dortmund 2
- Group B: Barcelona 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1; Inter Milan 1 PSV Eindhoven 1
- Group C: Red Star Belgrade 1 Paris Saint-Germain 4; Liverpool 1 Napoli 0
- Group D: FC Schalke 04 1 Lokomotiv Moscow 0; Galatasaray 2 FC Porto 3
Wednesday 12 December fixtures
- Group E: Ajax vs. Bayern Munich (8pm, live on BT Sport Extra 2); Benfica vs. AEK Athens (8pm, live on BT Sport Extra 3)
- Group F: Manchester City vs. 1899 Hoffenheim (8pm, live on BT Sport 2); Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Lyon (8pm, live on BT Sport Extra 4)
- Group G: Real Madrid vs. CSKA Moscow (5.55pm, live on BT Sport 1); Viktoria Plzen vs. Roma (5.55pm, live on BT Sport ESPN)
- Group H: Valencia vs. Manchester United (8pm, live on BT Sport 3); Young Boys vs. Juventus (8pm, live on BT Sport ESPN)
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