Liverpool beat Marseille 3-0 in the Champions League, moving closer to automatic qualification for the last 16 as Mohamed Salah returned to the starting lineup
LIVERPOOL took a major step towards automatic qualification for the Champions League last 16 with a 3-0 victory at Marseille.
Dominik Szoboszlai, a Geronimo Rulli own goal and a late Cody Gakpo strike secured the win for Arne Slot’s side.
The result lifts Liverpool to fourth in the 36-team table, and a win next week against Qarabag at Anfield will secure a top-eight finish.
Captain Virgil van Dijk emphasised the need to maintain momentum after the win.
“We have to be more than ready,” Van Dijk told TNT Sports, looking ahead to Saturday’s Premier League trip to Bournemouth.
Mohamed Salah made his first start for Liverpool since November after his Africa Cup of Nations campaign with Egypt.
The Egyptian had been critical of the club recently, accusing them of throwing him “under the bus”.
A toothless display left Marseille 19th in the table, needing a result in their final match against Club Brugge to reach the knockout play-off round.
Liverpool started brightly at the Velodrome, with Joe Gomez and Alexis Mac Allister going close early on.
Marseille thought they had taken the lead through Hugo Ekitike, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
Szoboszlai broke the deadlock in first-half added time, sweeping a clever free-kick under the wall and past Rulli.
The home side improved after the break, with Alisson saving from Mason Greenwood and Ekitike hitting the crossbar.
Liverpool sealed the win when Rulli deflected Jeremie Frimpong’s cross into his own net with 18 minutes remaining.
Salah missed a late chance to score, but substitute Gakpo added a third in injury time to complete the scoring.
