Liverpool moved up to fourth in the Champions League table with an impressive 3-0 win over Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.
Arne Slot’s side started the game outside the all-important top eight places but boosted their chances of going straight into the round of 16 thanks to a commanding away performance.
Dominic Szoboszlai fired a clever free-kick under the Marseille wall for their opener in first-half stoppage time as he put his penalty miss in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Burnley behind him.
The second came when Jeremie Frimpong beat his man in the Marseille box before producing a cut-back which was diverted into his own net by Marseille goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli.
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Clinton Morrison analyses Liverpool dominant victory over Marseille
Substitute Cody Gakpo added a last-gasp third with a clinical finish from Ryan Gravenberch’s pass on a night when Arne Slot also started Mohamed Salah for the first time since the explosive interview which threw his future into doubt in December.
Salah, who last week returned from Africa Cup of Nations duty with Egypt, should have got on the scoresheet but uncharacteristically skewed a shot wide when played in by Gakpo.
Marseille tested Alisson on a handful of occasions but Liverpool controlled the game, with Hugo Ekitike also going close when he rattled the post from one of several chances in the second half.
Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo celebrates with Mohamed Salah and Ryan Gravenberch
The win, only Liverpool’s second in six games in all competitions, puts Slot’s side in a strong position to finish comfortably inside the top eight, therefore avoiding a two-legged play-off, ahead of their final league-phase game at home to Qarabag next week.
Permutations: What does the win mean?
Victory in Marseille has given Liverpool the chance not merely to secure a top-eight finish but very possibly a top-four slot too.
But first things first: with the table so congested, and just three points separating third placed-Real Madrid from Juventus in 15th, Liverpool must beat Qarabag to be sure of avoiding the play-offs.
A draw could be enough, but next Wednesday’s final round of fixtures will begin with nine teams below Liverpool in the table capable of also finishing on 16 or more points.
So a must-win against Qarabag it is. And if Liverpool do win, a top-four finish, which would mean Anfield hosting the second leg of their last-16 tie and any quarter-final tie, is theirs.
Slot: We had to be really good to beat them
Liverpool boss Arne Slot to TNT Sports:
“It is a tricky place to go, because of their fans, but definitely also because of the players they have and the manager they have. They have always a very good idea of how to play.
“We had to be really good today to beat them, and I think that’s what we were.
“In the last 14 games where we’ve been unbeaten, we’ve only been behind for 54 minutes. In all the other games, we gave away that lead somewhere during the game.
“One of the best examples was when we hit the bar with Ekitike on the counter-attack and they almost scored for 1-1.
“Now, in our season, you would have expected that chance to go in, so people could complain a lot about us again.
“But today we probably deserved what we got and we weren’t as unlucky as we’ve been so many times this season.”
Analysis: Has Szoboszlai usurped Salah?
Salah’s return to the starting line-up for the first time since his bombshell interview suggests he still had a role to play this season. But this team has a different main man now in Dominik Szoboszlai.
The midfielder endured a tough weak last week, gifting Barnsley a goal in the FA Cup before missing from the spot against Burnley. But when Liverpool won a free-kick in shooting range at the end of the first half, he made it clear to Salah who would be stepping up.
Dominik Szoboszlai celebrates with Jeremie Frimpong
“I love his confidence,” Steven Gerrard, a man who knows a thing or two about taking responsibility for Liverpool, said on TNT Sports. “Most players with Mo Salah in their ear would move aside and respect that, but I love the way he says no chance.”
What followed, of course, was a clever strike directed under the wall and into the net to give Liverpool the crucial opening goal. It was Szoboszlai’s fourth in seven Champions League appearances this season and he has a further three assists.
The goal was the standout moment of another influential display. Szoboszlai was involved in most of Liverpool’s best moments. He has seized free-kick duties following Trent Alexander-Arnold’s exit and continues to step up at big moments.
Salah is back but Szoboszlai is this team’s talisman now.
Szoboszlai matches Trent feat – Opta stats
- Dominik Szoboszlai is the first Liverpool player to score multiple free-kicks in a single season since Trent Alexander-Arnold in 2022/23 (both two).
- Szoboszlai has directly contributed to goals in his last five games in the Champions League (four goals, two assists).
- Mohamed Salah made his 88th appearance in major European competition for Liverpool, moving level with Ian Callaghan. Only Jamie Carragher (130) and Steven Gerrard (111) have made more for the Reds.
- Since the start of last season, no team has won more away games in the Champions League league phase than Liverpool (P8 W6 L2), level with Arsenal (P8 W6 D1 L1).
