Champions League matchday 6
Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool booked their tickets to the second round of the Champions League putting an end to a thrilling group phase. Napoli will play the Europa League. The Italians are one of the favorites to win the competition. Unlock the betting code to play the best odds for next spring.
Liverpool had to beat the Italians to qualify. The excitement was palpable at Anfield. They did win with the unique goal coming from Mo Salah [1-0]. The French champions, PSG, also did the job by winning 4-1 at Red Star thanks to their stars Mbappé, Neymar and Cavani who each scored a goal.
Coaches react to the victories
Liverpool coach Klopp on the win sending the Reds to the Round of 16:
“This game was just amazing, it was outstanding… unbelievable. The boys played with their whole heart on the pitch; with each part of their body they were in that game. Our offensive defending, our offensive pressing was some of the best I ever saw.
We played football and the direction we played with – the intensity we played with – was just difficult to deal with. We could have scored more often but actually 2-0 doesn’t help a lot. The most difficult period was directly after the 1-0.
You could see this little bit of relief and then immediately Napoli were there. That made the game so intense. We knew at half-time we could not change the tactics, to say now sit a bit deeper. In that moment they are not to defend anymore because they do it so well; they have these four players – two sixes, two 10s – in between the lines and the pitch is too big. We had to do it again like we did in the first half.
After 65 minutes it was really wild from both sides – counter, counter, counter, counter – and quick transitions without really finishing. The goal Mo scored… what a goal! Unbelievable. And the save Ali made, I have no words for that. That was a life-saver tonight. I’m really proud of what the boys did tonight.”
Liverpool finish second of the group and can be prepared to face a terrible opponent in the Round of the 16 with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich as possible opponent.
PSG win group
Coach Tuchel hails his players and group’s first place
“The players who played against Liverpool deserved to play tonight. There were also some important players who finished the game. We’re all together, it’s not a question of system but of attitude, a good attitude.
We showed, as we did against Liverpool, that we’re ready for that. It’s very difficult to come here. They boys played magnificently tonight.”
Forward Mbappé added:
“We’re happy, we came here to qualify. We showed our intentions, and stood up for them. We got the job done, as they say. We’re going back to Paris now, and we’re going to focus on Ligue 1 for the next two months before turning back to the Champions League in February.”
