Mohamed Salah scored early and Harvey Elliott scored late, and that was all Liverpool needed to beat Lille at Anfield on Tuesday and move to 7-for-7 perfect in the newly formatted UEFA Champions League group stage.

Liverpool cruised from there and secured not only the win, but a direct berth to the round of 16 in the Champions League. Skipping the first round of the knockout stage will give the Reds time to regroup and focus on maintaining their pace in the Premier League amid challengers.

"It was what Liverpool needed to do and never really got out of first gear to achieve that. They worked out how to beat the Lille press and they caused them problems. "At the start of the season, not many people knew what to expect of Arne Slot.

Liverpool booked their spot in the last 16 of the Champions League with a 2-1 victory over 10-man Lille on Tuesday at Anfield, thanks to goals from talisman Mohamed Salah and substitute Harvey Elliott.

A 2-1 victory looked to have done the job with a game to spare only for the second-placed Catalans to beat Benfica 5-4 with a goal in the sixth minute of added time to ensure the race for first place will go to the final fixture.

Goals from Mohamed Salah and Harvey Elliott gave Liverpool a 2-1 win over Lille and secured progress to the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.