Liverpool has secured its qualification for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League early, with two matches remaining in the group stage, after a valuable and deserved 2-0 victory over their guests Atletico Madrid on Wednesday in the fourth round of group B matches. The match also saw AC Milan draw 1-1 with their guests Porto.
Liverpool's points tally has increased to 12 at the top of the group, achieving a perfect record with four wins from four matches. They have also ensured they will finish their group campaign at the top, and thus will face one of the second-placed teams from the other seven groups in the Round of 16, even if they were to lose their remaining two matches in the group, as they are 7 points clear of their nearest rival, Porto.
Atletico currently sits in third place in the group with 4 points, while Milan, which holds the record for the most titles in the tournament with 7, is at the bottom with just 1 point.
Portuguese forward Diogo Jota opened the scoring for Liverpool in the 13th minute, before Senegalese striker Sadio Mane added a second goal in the 21st minute.
Atletico's struggles intensified in the match as they were forced to play with ten men starting from the 36th minute after their player Felipe received a red card.
Liverpool could have added more goals had it not been for the bad luck that plagued their players, particularly their star Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah, along with the excellent performance of Atletico’s Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who saved several dangerous attempts from the English team. Liverpool repeated their supremacy over the Spanish side, having won 3-2 in the previous round.
