Liverpool returned to winning ways in the Champions League on Wednesday night, beating Marseille 3-0 in France in their penultimate match of the first round.
Following the disappointing 1-1 draw with Burnley in the Premier League over the weekend, the Reds responded positively against Marseille to secure a win to boost their chances of securing an automatic spot in the round of 16 without having to pass through the playoff rigour.
Liverpool didn’t break the deadlock until the injury time of the first half when Dominik Szoboszlai placed a perfect free kick under the wall set up by the hosts to give the Reds the lead heading into the break.
In the second half, Marseille’s Mason Greenwood made two attempts in quick succession to restore parity, but his initial shot in the 52nd minute was tipped away by Alisson Becker before another attempt from the Manchester United academy graduate narrowly missed its target less than a minute later.
The Reds doubled the lead in the 72nd minute when goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli ricocheted a shot from Jeremie Frimpong from a tight angle into his own net before Cody Gakpo sealed the victory for Liverpool in added time as he struck home a pass from Ryan Gravenberch.
Liverpool moved to fourth on the table with 15 points. Arsenal top the standings with 21 points, while Real Madrid sit second on 18 points. Both teams have confirmed their spots in the round of 16.
In other matches, Chelsea secured a narrow victory against Pafos FC at Stamford Bridge courtesy of a late header by Moises Caicedo to increase the Blues’ chances for one of the six remaining automatic round of 16 tickets.
At Saint James’ Park, Newcastle United thrashed PSV 3-0 to move seventh on the table. Yoane Wissa opened the scoring for the hosts in the eight minute before Anthony Gordon doubled the advantage in the 30th minute.
In the 65th minute, Harvey Barnes finished the job after picking the ball from yards out, sprinting into the box before a left-footed shot into the bottom-right corner.
Full results
Galatasaray 1 vs Atletico Madrid 1
Qarabag 3 vs 2 Frankfurt
Atalanta 2 vs 3 Athletic Bilbao
Bayern Munich 2 vs Union St.Gilloise
Chelsea 1 vs 0 Pafos
Juventus 2 vs 0 Benfica
Marseille 0 vs 3 Liverpool
Newcastle United 3 vs 0 PSV
Slavia Prague 2 vs 4 Barcelona
