Liverpool saw off the 10 men of Lille to advance on a dramatic night of Champions League action which saw Aston Villa beaten in Monaco and Barcelona rally to stun Benfica in a nine-goal thriller.
Arne Slot’s men need a point from their final game away to PSV Eindhoven next week to be certain of topping the league phase but are already guaranteed of a top-eight finish.
Such heights are out of reach for Manchester City, who face a critical tie away to Paris St Germain on Wednesday night after another busy day in the transfer window.
Liverpool on top
Harvey Elliott gestured to silence those behind rumours he could be on his way out of Liverpool as he celebrated his first Champions League goal in over two years, one that gave Arne Slot’s side a 2-1 win over 10-man Lille at Anfield.
There have been suggestions Elliott might look elsewhere due to a lack of playing time but the 21-year-old has been clear in his desire to stay on Merseyside and soaked up every moment as he struck the winner, soon after Jonathan David had cancelled out Mohamed Salah’s 50th European goal.
But Liverpool are not yet certain of topping the league table after Barcelona staged a remarkable comeback to beat Benfica 5-4 in Lisbon.
In a game that featured three goalkeeping clangers and two penalties, Barca trailed 4-2 as late as the 78th minute but after Robert Lewandowski’s second spot-kick, Eric Garcia levelled and Raphinha scored a stunning winner six minutes into stoppage time as Benfica appealed for a penalty at the other end.
Villa made to wait
Aston Villa’s Champions League qualification fate will go down to the final game of their league phase after they were beaten 1-0 in Monaco.
Wilfried Singo’s early goal inflicted Villa’s second defeat in seven so far and it now looks like coming down to next week’s game against Scottish champions Celtic, depending on results elsewhere.
Singo headed Monaco in front after Villa were unable to deal with a corner, and Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers both missed chances to equalise in front of the watching Prince of Wales.
Haaland has no worries at City
Erling Haaland has insisted Manchester City’s Premier League charges never crossed his mind as he committed his future to the club with an extraordinary nine-and-a-half-year contract.
City are expecting to learn the outcome of the Premier League’s extensive charges against them in the spring, with a wide array of punishments including relegation possible, but City have consistently denied any wrongdoing and Haaland dismissed any concerns.
“In the end I really don’t think I should speak too much about this because I’ve been here two and a half years and I’m confident that the club knows what they’re doing,” the Norwegian said ahead of Wednesday’s critical Champions League tie in Paris.
City are certainly going on with business as usual, completing a second signing of the January window on Tuesday as 19-year-old Brazilian defender Vitor Reis completed his move, a day after Uzbekistan defender Abdukodir Khusanov joined.
Arrest made in Havertz case
Police have arrested a teenage boy in connection with social media abuse sent to Arsenal forward Kai Havertz’s pregnant wife.
Sophia Havertz – who is expecting her first child with the Germany international – reposted two messages she had received on Instagram following Arsenal’s FA Cup defeat to Manchester United on January 12.
Havertz, 25, missed the decisive spot-kick in the penalty shootout which cemented his side’s third-round exit.
Arsenal tasked data technology company Signify with determining the identity of the abusers. The police then launched an investigation and on Tuesday confirmed an individual had been detained.
What’s on today?
City’s tie away to Paris St Germain headlines the Champions League action with both sides in peril, needing points just to make the play-off stages of the revamped competition, with City one place above the cut-off line and PSG one point below it going into the game.
Celtic sit one place above City in the standings ahead of their tie at home to rock-bottom Young Boys but Arsenal are in much more comfortable territory, inside the top eight, as they host a Dinamo Zagreb team who are sandwiched between City and PSG in the standings.
In the Championship Leeds will look to go back above Sheffield United to the top of the Championship when they host mid-table Norwich, while Burnley target a return to third place with a long trip to face basement boys Plymouth.
