Mohamed Salah helped keep Liverpool‘s good file within the Champions League on Tuesday whereas holders Actual Madrid bounced again from their defeat at Anfield to topple in-form Italians Atalanta.
Elsewhere, struggling Paris Saint-Germain gained an important win at Salzburg, whereas Bayer Leverkusen edged Inter Milan to maneuver second.
Aston Villa, of their first look within the continent’s elite membership competitors for 41 years, maintained their vibrant progress beating Leipzig 3-2 to take a seat third.
The primary eight groups qualify immediately for the final 16 with these positioned ninth to 24 coming into a play-off spherical.
In Spain, Salah’s 63rd-minute penalty proved decisive in opposition to dogged debutants Girona to increase the Premier League leaders’ file to 6 from six within the revamped format of Europe’s flagship membership competitors.
Underneath new coach Arne Slot Liverpool are just about assured a spot within the final 16.
“In case you ask me about all six video games, I am actually happy with all the outcomes… (however) I am removed from happy in regards to the efficiency tonight,” Slot informed reporters in Girona.
“(We had) hardly any management at everywhere in the recreation, perhaps the second half was a bit higher however then I am making an attempt to be optimistic.”
Salah despatched Paulo Gazzaniga the flawed strategy to web his 50th Champions League aim, pulling the Egyptian degree with Filippo Inzaghi because the 10th highest goalscorer of all-time within the competitors.
The winger is out of contract on the finish of the season however his 16 objectives throughout all competitions have been important in Liverpool’s very good first half of the season.
Whereas Liverpool are sitting fairly with two league part rounds to return early subsequent 12 months, kings of Europe Actual Madrid, overwhelmed 2-Zero by Liverpool final day out, have work to do to make sure their progress into the knockout part.
Kylian Mbappe gave Actual a 10th minute lead earlier than hobbling off injured in Atalanta, his strike was cancelled out by Charles de Ketelaere’s penalty in first-half extra time.
Settle nerves
Actual coach Carlo Ancelotti began Vinicius Junior for the primary time since a hamstring drawback final month. The Brazilian had Actual again on high earlier than the hour, with Jude Bellingham additionally on the scoresheet for a 3-2 win over the Serie a leaders.
The hard-fought victory moved Actual as much as 18th on 9 factors and may have helped to settle any nerves on the 15-time European champions forward of video games in opposition to Salzburg and Brest in January.
PSG put the wheels again on their stuttering marketing campaign with a a lot wanted 3-Zero defeat on the highway at Salzburg.
The French champions went into this encounter in 25th with simply 4 factors and three objectives scored after 5 matches.
They strategy their final two league outings in provisional 24th – the ultimate berth for the play-offs forward of Wednesday’s video games.
Bayern swept apart Ukraine aspect Shakhtar Donetsk in Gelsenkirchen 5-1. Fellow Bundesliga giants Leverkusen turned the primary group to attain in opposition to Inter on this 12 months’s competitors in a 1-Zero win that lifted them 5 factors adrift of Liverpool on the high of the league.
One other noteworthy efficiency on matchday six got here on the Brittany coast the place modest French Ligue 1 outfit Brest dished out a 1-Zero defeat to former European champions PSV Eindhoven.
It left the Atlantic port metropolis membership flying excessive in fifth of their first ever look at European soccer’s excessive desk.
In different video games, Celtic and Dinamo Zagreb remained in competition for the knockout spherical after an uninspiring 0-Zero draw and Membership Brugge beat Sporting 2-1.
Headline matches on Wednesday embrace Manchester metropolis at Juventus, and Barcelona at Borussia Dortmund.
