Arne Slot’s team secured their spot in the Champions League knockout stages with a tough win over Lille. On the night, Salah wrote his name in Liverpool’s proud history by becoming the first player to score 50 goals in European competitions. This milestone shows just how special Salah’s career has been.
At the top of both the Champions League and the Premier League, Liverpool now stand as a force to be reckoned with. Their dominance in European competition this season has been undeniable, and they show no signs of letting up. The Reds entered the game with a simple task: secure at least one point from their final two group matches to guarantee progression into the next round—a task that has never seemed in doubt. But they managed far more than that, taking all three points, courtesy of Salah’s clinical finish and a deflected strike from Harvey Elliott. With this win, Liverpool equaled their best winning streak in the Champions League era—seven straight victories, a feat first achieved during the 2021/22 season.
Slot’s team also set a new club record for most minutes without conceding a goal in Europe, surpassing the previous mark of 572 minutes set by Rafael Benítez’s team in 2005-06. It is a testament to the solidity at the back, where both Van Dijk and Konate have stood as stalwarts this campaign.
The game against Lille wasn’t without its challenges. While Slot made some adjustments to his starting line-up, seemingly with an eye on upcoming fixtures like the Premier League clash with Ipswich, Lille were no pushovers. Bruno Génésio’s side entered this fixture sitting in the final automatic qualification spot, having pulled off notable victories over both Madrid clubs and earned a draw against Juventus in previous rounds.
The match began at a frantic pace, with Lille immediately testing Liverpool. Within just 30 seconds of kickoff, Gabriel Gudmundsson broke forward, brushing off Conor Bradley before firing a powerful drive wide of Alisson’s goal. That early warning was the closest either side would come to a clear chance until Salah made history.
For 34 minutes, both teams were evenly matched. Possession was controlled by both sides, defenses were organized, yet neither could find a real cutting edge in front of goal. Then, Salah once again made the difference.
With Lille pressing forward, Jonathan David found himself on the ball, only for Kostas Tsimikas to intercept with a perfectly-timed challenge. David’s teammates screamed for a foul, but Curtis Jones calmly picked up the loose ball, threading a perfect pass through a gap in Lille’s defense. Salah didn’t hesitate—he surged forward, firing a first-time shot past keeper Lucas Chevalier. The strike made Salah the first Liverpool player to reach 50 goals in European competition. In celebration, several teammates joined him, raising hands in homage to the Egyptian’s remarkable achievement.
Liverpool continued to exploit Lille’s high line, nearly doubling their lead moments before halftime. Luis Díaz sent a pinpoint cross over the top, finding Salah once again. The forward’s strength allowed him to fend off Gudmundsson, but his low shot from close range drifted wide of the post, much to his frustration.
Lille responded with several promising moves, particularly down the left through Rémy Cabella. They created some half-chances, but lacked the composure to capitalize. One such moment came when Mitchel Bakker released Hákon Arnar Haraldsson inside the box, only for Jones to sprint back and make a crucial intervention, snatching the ball away at the last moment. Jones had earlier received treatment for a knee injury but, despite the discomfort, put in a selfless shift before eventually being replaced at halftime by Elliott.
Gravenberch, too, was withdrawn in the second half, having played every minute of Liverpool’s Champions League campaign. Elliott’s fresh legs added immediate attacking flair, first creating a half-chance for Conor Bradley, whose shot from a tight angle sailed over the bar. Then Elliott set up Darwin Núñez, threading a deft pass that saw the striker break through on goal, but Chevalier was alert, rushing off his line to block Núñez’s attempted chip.
Tsimikas’s delivery from set-pieces proved to be another persistent threat, with both Jarell Quansah and Mac Allister heading narrowly over from pinpoint deliveries. Tsimikas’s frustration was evident, gesturing toward his teammates after both opportunities went begging.
Liverpool’s task became slightly more straightforward when Lille’s Aïssa Mandi was sent off on the hour mark. The right-back’s first yellow card was for dissent—arguing too long after the referee rightly waved away protests against Tsimikas’s challenge that led to Liverpool’s opener. His second came moments later, as he cynically fouled Díaz. But, despite being down to 10 men, Lille struck back just two minutes later. Cabella found Gudmundsson at the byline, who crossed low from the left, and Haraldsson pounced, slotting the ball past Alisson, off Tsimikas’s leg, and into the net.
It was the first time Liverpool had conceded at Anfield in the Champions League this season, though it didn’t shatter their unbeaten run in Europe. They responded with quick intensity. From a corner, Tsimikas swung the ball in, and when it was cleared, Elliott pounced on the loose ball. His first-time strike from 22 yards took a significant deflection off Lille’s Ngal’ayel Mukau, sending the ball curling past Chevalier and into the bottom corner of the net.
It was a crucial strike that restored Liverpool’s lead, securing yet another memorable European night at Anfield.
