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A confident display \u2013 including goals from Mo Salah, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike \u2013 gave Liverpool<\/a> a huge win over Qarabag<\/a> and booked the Reds a spot in the automatic qualification spots in the Champions League<\/a>. <\/p>\n The hosts lost Jeremie Frimpong to injury early on<\/a> but they were on top from the first whistle, and they opened the scoring within 15 minutes as Alexis Mac Allister forced a header over from close range.<\/p>\n Wirtz\u2019s tidy finish from outside the area doubled Liverpool\u2019s lead before half-time and while they might have felt the game was done, Arne Slot<\/a>\u2019s side did not rest on their laurels, starting the second half even quicker as Salah curled in from a clever free-kick routine. <\/p>\n That goal all but sealed the result but there was plenty of time for the Reds to turn on the style, with Ekitike finishing a classy counter for four before Mac Allister added a fifth and Chiesa put the icing on the cake as the hosts cruised into the top eight.<\/p>\n And most of the rest of the Premier League sides also secured their spots in March\u2019s knockout round, with Arsenal finishing top of the table while Tottenham, Manchester City and Chelsea won on the final day to sneak into the top eight.<\/p>\n However, it\u2019ll be a play-off tie for Eddie Howe\u2019s Newcastle, who are set to face Qarabag or Newcastle after they could only muster a draw against holders PSG. <\/p>\n Follow all of the latest from the Champions League<\/a> clash with our live blog below:<\/p>\n Liverpool vs Qarabag liveLiverpool hit Qarabag for six as Arne Slot uses Champions League triumph to drown out noise<\/p>\n Arne Slot<\/a> said before the game it is going to be really difficult to shut down the noise around Liverpool<\/a> given their struggles so far this season.<\/p>\n Yet this was a performance which surely turns down the volume a little. In Europe, the Reds are certainly setting a different tone to the one in the Premier League.<\/p>\n This was a six-goal rout<\/a> of a side in Qarabag<\/a> who are far from European royalty but are still competitive enough that their journey in the competition was not ended by this thrashing.<\/p>\n Read more<\/p>\n Chris Wilson28 January 2026 22:33<\/p>\n <\/a>Mac Allister: ‘We’ve been better than the Premier League’<\/p>\n Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, speaking to TNT after their win: <\/p>\n “We skip two (play-off) games, which is important in a long season like this one. We were too open in the first half but we were much better in the second half and got the goals.<\/p>\n “I like getting in the box. Maybe some people will say I’m not that good when I get there. I’m still really angry with myself because it was a really good cross from Mo and it was a good chance to score the first hat-trick of my career.<\/p>\n “We know that in the Champions League, we’ve been better than the Premier League. We need to see the positives but need to think about the next one.<\/p>\n “We’re going to have some feedback and review the game. See the positives and the negatives because that’s how you improve,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n Finally, here\u2019s what Arne Slot had to say to TNT after his side\u2019s win: <\/p>\n \u201cGreat result and a good performance. Unfortunately it took another player, when I said two days ago that we won the league, maybe that it helped us that we went out…<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t mean that, we were by far the best team in the league last season, but what I meant was that when we weren\u2019t constantly 15 points ahead, there were times when we were seven, eight points ahead, and if this team had had the same injuries that this team is having 1769693648, then no one would knows what the result would have been.<\/p>\n \u201cThis season unfortunately we\u2019ve been very unlucky with injuries, because they haven\u2019t been muscle injuries, but tonight again shows a double programme with players who are not used to that, and that can cause you injuries. That\u2019s the downside.<\/p>\n \u201cHe will be out for a period of time, because if you have a moment like that and you have to go off straight away, that usually tells you what you need to know. We have to wait and see, there\u2019s only a few days to go, so let\u2019s wait and see what the upcoming days can bring,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n Chris Wilson28 January 2026 23:45<\/p>\n <\/a>When is Champions League draw? Date, time, teams qualified and how to watch<\/p>\n The League Phase of the 2025-26 Champions League<\/a> has drawn to a close after a dramatic league-phase finale.<\/p>\n The next 16 teams will enter the knockout phase\u2019s play-off draw, with the top eight sides permitted a bye into the last 16.<\/p>\n That valuable rest, in a packed schedule, could prove decisive in the hunt for silverware.<\/p>\n Though Paris Saint-Germain<\/a> proved it is not obstacle to winning Europe\u2019s most coveted club trophy, dismantling Brest in the play-offs before a famous run to last year\u2019s final and a thumping win over Inter Milan<\/a> to clinch European glory.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s everything we know about the Champions League knockout stage\u2019s play-off draw:<\/p>\n Chris Wilson28 January 2026 23:35<\/p>\n <\/a>Mourinho: ‘To win you need to take risks’<\/p>\n Here\u2019s Benfica boss Jose Mourinho after that sensational last-minute goal to take his side through: <\/p>\n “Winning or losing games in the final moment, with the final play, has happened various times, but to win you need to take risks. You think it arrives but then it doesn’t, so then you have to change a few things. In the end one ball [for them] could make it 3-3. And with that we would still be out. To win against Real Madrid carries importance and is significant. In that moment we had to give it everything.”<\/p>\n On Trubin’s goal: “We knew he could do it. In the game at the Dragao [two weeks ago],Trubin was also there in the final action and headed it but a Porto player blocked it. You have to put the ball in there. It was a spectacular goal that independent of our future in the competition, puts us into the next round, and was a moment of history against Real Madrid. It is important for a few reasons, economically important for Benfica, and even more so from a prestige point of view.<\/p>\n “Clearly when the free-kick was given I told Trubin to go forward and told Dahl to go on the halfway line in case they won back the ball so we could try to defend. Them going from 11 men to ten, it was still important to guard the back because winning will always be the most important. But the action arrived and we made more history at the Estadio da Luz,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n Chris Wilson28 January 2026 23:30<\/p>\n <\/a>WATCH: Trubin saves Benfica in last minute<\/p>\n Here\u2019s that goal from Trubin!<\/p>\n Chris Wilson28 January 2026 23:27<\/p>\n <\/a>Jose Mourinho\u2019s Benfica stay alive in Champions League with last-gasp goalie goal against Real Madrid<\/p>\n Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored an astonishing 98th-minute header as Benfica<\/a> beat Real Madrid<\/a> 4-2 on Wednesday to keep themselves in the Champions League<\/a> and deny their illustrious opponents an automatic spot in the last 16.<\/p>\n In an extraordinary finale, the Portuguese side were heading out despite leading 3-2 with seconds of stoppage time remaining before Trubin came forward for a free kick to score the goal needed to sneak into the playoff round on goal difference.<\/p>\n That sparked wild celebrations from Benfica players, fans and their charismatic coach Jose Mourinho<\/a> – a former manager of Real Madrid – at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon.<\/p>\n Chris Wilson28 January 2026 23:21<\/p>\n <\/a>Guardiola: ‘Really pleased to be eighth’<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what Man City boss Pep Guardiola had to say after their win:<\/p>\n \u201cI feel good. It was the first target, we had many chances to score more goals, we could not do that, but really pleased to be eighth, players will come back, and we\u2019ll try and improve. <\/p>\n \u201cThe first half was much better than the second, the second we had more chances, but we were not at our best.\u201d<\/p>\n On Doku\u2019s injury, he says: \u201cHe\u2019s a big miss, such an important player for so many reasons, but we\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m happy for him, fantastic goal,\u201d he adds on Erling Haaland. <\/p>\n Chris Wilson28 January 2026 23:17<\/p>\n <\/a>Jeremy Doku sends Man City into Champions League knockouts but his injury causes concern<\/p>\n Some of the cheers came several minutes after the Manchester City<\/a>players had left the pitch. The stands were emptying but the stragglers celebrated a Benfica goal. A fourth of the night against Real Madrid: sealing City\u2019s place in the top eight. City had done their bit, but they ended up reliant on Benfica, Pep Guardiola<\/a> grateful to his old enemy Jose Mourinho. <\/p>\n City had kicked off in 11th and climbed as high as fifth at one stage in the night. But they slipped down the standings. When Sporting CP got a late winner against Athletic Bilbao, City dropped to eighth, just the right side of the dotted line, waiting for injury time in the Estadio da Luz. Two Real red cards later, City had got into the last 16. They had done it the unorthodox way: victorious in the Bernabeu, losing in the Arctic Circle but beating Real ultimately had more significance than losing to Bodo\/Glimt.<\/p>\n Chris Wilson28 January 2026 23:13<\/p>\n![\"Liverpool\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/80c7517d5d48682db3b9b58df4b963bfY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzY5NzIzODc2-2.83242278.jpg\")
Liverpool\u2019s Alexis Mac Allister scored their fifth goal (Peter Byrne\/PA) (PA Wire)<\/a>Slot: ‘We\u2019ve been very unlucky with injuries’<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEI282652385.jpeg\")
(REUTERS)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEI282659639.jpeg\")
(AP)<\/p>\n