Liverpool moved into the last 16 of the Champions League with a 2-0 victory over Salzburg on Tuesday as two goals inside two second-half minutes from Naby Keita and Mohamed Salah ensured the holders finished top of their group.
Jurgen Klopp's side needed a point in Austria to be sure of qualification and after missing several good chances in the first half, they ended up with a comfortable win which should have been by a more convincing margin.
Liverpool finished top of Group E with 13 points, one point ahead of Napoli, who beat Genk 4-0. Salzburg, who finished third with seven points, will continue in the Europa League.
The game began in a frantic and open fashion and Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker had to be alert in the seventh minute to keep out a close-range effort from South Korean Hwang Hee-chan after good work from the lively Japanese forward Takumi Minamino.
EFFORT: Hwang Hee-chan put in much effort to take get a win against Liverpool. Picture: John Sibley/Reuters.
Mane missed a good opportunity, curling wide from the edge of the box and then brought Salzburg keeper Cican Stankovic into action with a diagonal drive.
Highly-rated Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, who has been linked with a move to Manchester United, failed to make the most of space inside the box and his low shot was easily dealt with by the Liverpool keeper.
The biggest chance of the half came in the 29th minute when Keita put in Salah, but unmarked and inside the box, the Egyptian's shot was badly off target.
BACK AT IT: Sadio Mane returned to action in the final game of the group stage. Picture: John Sibley/Reuters.
Haaland missed another opportunity, six minutes after the interval, but Liverpool were beginning to get a grip on midfield and dictate the tempo.
The runaway Premier League leaders settled their nerves when Keita headed them in front, against his former club, in the 57th minute.
Andy Robertson fed Mane who burst down the left past Jerome Onguene and he rounded Salzburg keeper Cican Stankovic, who had rushed out of his area, before lofting a cross into the box which was firmly headed home by Keita.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/SALLIV?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SALLIV #Liverpool #UCL pic.twitter.com/4YbwJYo7Wa
— Abdul Rehman Lodhi (@Rehman_Lodhi07)
A minute later, Stankovic's readiness to leave his area was behind the second goal, as Salah, wide on the right, pushed the ball around him and then impressively slotted home from the tightest possible angle.
Liverpool were in firm control from then on and wasted several chances to add to their total with Salah and Mane both missing opportunities.
Reuters