{"id":396597,"date":"2026-01-29T09:09:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T09:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/396597\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T09:09:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T09:09:11","slug":"anthony-gordon-has-nailed-why-liverpool-can-win-the-champions-league-as-they-sail-into-last-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/396597\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthony Gordon has nailed why Liverpool can win the Champions League as they sail into last-16"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Liverpool have taken the next step towards Champions League glory, now through to the last 16 after a convincing 6-0 rout against Qarabag. <\/p>\n

It was a much more familiar Anfield<\/a> environment than we\u2019ve experienced of late, and a performance worthy of praise. <\/p>\n

Arne Slot responded to the boos<\/a> of last week in the best possible way. <\/p>\n

\"mailJoin our newsletter for news & smart analysis. Who was Liverpool\u2019s best player on a much better night at Anfield? <\/p>\n

So many good displays vs Qarabag<\/p>\n

\"LiverpoolPhoto by Simon Stacpoole\/Offside\/Offside via Getty Images <\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc47 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say <\/p>\n

Liverpool<\/a> have finished third in the league phase with 18 points, and it has put a different complexion on the season ahead. <\/p>\n

It wouldn\u2019t be like a football fan to get carried away \u2014 well, that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to do, with the help of Liverpool agitator Anthony Gordon. <\/p>\n

Anthony Gordon\u2019s assessment of the Champions League bodes well for Liverpool <\/p>\n

The Newcastle star has been on fire in Europe, but that hasn\u2019t translated to the Premier League. <\/p>\n

Ahead of Newcastle\u2019s clash with PSG (which ended in a draw), Gordon was asked for an explanation of the strange disparity. <\/p>\n

What he said is absolutely correct, and it explains Liverpool\u2019s current, and hopefully, future success in the competition. <\/p>\n

In his pre-match press conference<\/a>, he said: \u201cThe Champions League is more football based. Teams try to play proper football. In the Premier League, you\u2019ve seen a lot more long throw-ins, set pieces. It\u2019s become a lot slower and a lot more set-piece based.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liverpool have struggled with this, too. Slot has beaten the low-block point to death, but it is the reason behind not being able to break down worse teams than you face in the Champions League. <\/p>\n

\"FlorianPhoto by Paul ELLIS \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The open nature of play and the willingness of teams to take the game to us is why Liverpool have been one of the best teams in Europe. <\/p>\n

It will only be more like this as only the best teams remain. It might sound deranged, but a Champions League<\/a> final against a PSG or a Madrid doesn\u2019t create the same dread in this fan as heading to Turf Moor or Craven Cottage. <\/p>\n

Maybe that means Liverpool can win it all, maybe not. <\/p>\n

Where\u2019s the fun in not believing? <\/p>\n

Who is your ideal last-16 opponent and who do you want to avoid? <\/p>\n

Liverpool’s four potential Champions League opponents have been confirmed<\/p>\n

\" VictorPhoto Credit: Getty Images\/Ahmad Mora\/Alex Bierens de Haan\/UEFA\/Robbie Jay Barratt\/AMA\/Stefano Guidi <\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc47 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say <\/p>\n

Crazy Liverpool vs Qarabag stat <\/p>\n

In both halves of the game, Slot\u2019s<\/a> side were in control. Qarabag just couldn\u2019t get into the game, while Liverpool kept coming at them. <\/p>\n

But in the opening 45 minutes, it was the visitors who had more of the possession. <\/p>\n

Fair play to the Azerbaijani side. They didn\u2019t come into this game wanting to park the bus and pray for a miracle. They tried playing their way. <\/p>\n

Liverpool were just too good for Qarabag<\/a>. Onto the knockouts. <\/p>\n

Join Our Newsletter <\/p>\n

Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liverpool have taken the next step towards Champions League glory, now through to the last 16 after a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":396598,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[46085,218,101,397,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-396597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-anthony-gordon","tag-football","tag-sports","tag-uefa-champions-league","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=396597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}