Liverpool maintained their perfect Champions League record to guarantee a top-two finish in the league phase and automatic last-16 qualification with a 2-1 win over Lille at Anfield on Tuesday. Harvey Elliott's deflected strike secured a seventh consecutive Champions League victory for Arne Slot's men after Jonathan David cancelled out Mohamed Salah's opener. Liverpool remain three points clear of Barcelona, who came from 4-2 down to beat Benfica 5-4.
Lille's first defeat in 22 games in all competitions leaves the French side 11th.
Liverpool will welcome direct progress to the last 16, without the need for a play-off round, with the Premier League leaders still involved in four competitions.
Slot took the chance to rotate with the Reds already all but assured of progress to the next round.
Jarell Quansah, Conor Bradley, Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez, fresh from his match-winning contribution off the bench, came in from the side that beat Brentford 2-0 on Saturday to open up a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
Not for the first time this season, Liverpool's strength in depth made the difference with another winner from a substitute in Elliott, who has had to wait for his chance to shine since Slot took charge.
"The privilege of managing Liverpool is that you have more than 11 good players," said Slot.
"That's also the reason why we can compete in the Champions League, in the League Cup, FA Cup and the Premier League.
"You need more than 11 good players, and it's up to them to be ready if they get the chance, and I think Harvey showed today, with maybe a bit of a lucky goal, but his performance was good. That's also what you expect if you bring a player like him in, because he's a quality player."
Lille
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