Wednesday's review

Liverpool's Champions League progress will go down the final group match once again after being held to a 1-1 draw at home to Napoli.

Last December, qualification was not secured until the last kick of the last game, also against the Serie A club, and while the stakes are not as high this time around - a draw will do against RB Salzburg - the defending champions still have a job to do.

Defender Dejan Lovren's second-half header cancelled out a contentious opener from Dries Mertens and means only a win in Austria will guarantee they top Group E.

Jurgen Klopp's 100th European fixture as a manager was not the occasion he would have liked as Napoli, unbeaten in three of their four encounters against them over the last two seasons, made things difficult.

Salzburg kept their own qualification hopes on track with a comfortable 4-1 victory over Genk in Belgium.

Two goals in three minutes just before the break from Patson Daka and Takumi Minamino set them on their way before Hee-Chan Hwang effectively put the game to bed in the 69th minute.

Mbwana Samatta pulled one back for the hosts five minutes from time but Erling Braut Haland restored the three-goal advantage late on.

Chelsea saw safe passage to the knockout stages slip agonisingly away as Daniel Wass' fluke stole Valencia a 2-2 draw in Group H at the Mestalla.

The Blues thought Christian Pulisic's nudged finish would sneak them into the European top tier's last 16 but, just when Chelsea started to home in, on victory up popped Wass.

Earlier, Mateo Kovacic fired his first Chelsea goal on his 71st Blues appearance, cancelling out Carlos Soler's opener.

Ajax top the group on 10 points, two points clear of Valencia and Chelsea, after a 2-0 win at Lille - who were already eliminated. Hakim Ziyech and Quincy Promes were on target for the Dutch side.

Lionel Messi inspired Barcelona to a 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund in his 700th appearance for the Catalan giants to ensure they finish top of Group F.

Luis Suarez and Messi scored within four minutes of each other in the first half to send Barcelona 2-0 up and Antoine Griezmann made it three midway through the second half.

Substitute Jadon Sancho pulled one back for Dortmund, who must now hope Barcelona take points from Inter Milan in the final game as they face Slavia Prague with both sides on seven points.

Lautaro Martinez notched a brace and Romelu Lukaku also found the net as Inter ran out 3-1 winners at Slavia to keep themselves in the hunt.

RB Leipzig qualified for the Champions League knockout stage for the first time in their history after battling from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Benfica.

Benfica were coasting through goals from Luis Pizzi and Carlos Vinicius before a pair of added-time goals from Emil Forsberg earned the Germans a 2-2 draw.

Artem Dzyuba and Magomed Ozdoev gave Zenit St Petersburg a 2-0 win over Lyon.

Zenit and Lyon are both tied on seven points, three clear of Benfica who sit at the bottom on the table.


Game-by-game highlights

Valencia 2-2 Chelsea - report here

Valencia vs Chelsea(2-2) | UEFA Champions League Highlights
  • Chelsea have played more UEFA Champions League away games against Valencia without losing than any against any other opponent in the competition (W2 D2).
  • Valencia have won just one of their eight UEFA Champions League matches against Chelsea (W1 D4 L3), winning 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in the reverse fixture in September.
  • Chelsea have lost just one of their last 12 away UEFA Champions League matches in Spain, although eight of these contests have ended level (W3 D8 L1).
  • Carlos Soler’s goal was Valencia’s 100th in the Champions League on home soil, joining Real Madrid and Barcelona as the three Spanish teams to have done so. Indeed, only England (4) has more sides to reach this landmark in the competition.
  • Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic has scored as many goals in his last seven matches in all competitions as he managed in the previous 36 beforehand (6 goals – Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea).
  • Since the start of last season, no Valencia player has scored more goals (three) or registered more assists (four) in European competition than Rodrigo Moreno.
  • Valencia’s Daniel Parejo has been directly involved in three goals in five Champions League appearances this season (1 goal, 2 assists). Before this campaign, he had neither scored or assisted in the competition (19 apps).
  • Mateo Kovacic has scored his first goal in 122 appearances across all club competitions, netting his first goal for Chelsea on his 71st appearance, and with his 45th shot.

Liverpool 1-1 Napoli - report here

Liverpool vs Napoli (1-1) | UEFA Champions League Highlights
  • Liverpool are unbeaten in their previous eight games in all competitions at Anfield when behind (W5 D3).
  • In all European competition, Napoli have failed to win their last 10 away matches in England (W0 D2 L8), facing six different English teams in that time (Arsenal, Burnley, Chelsea, Leeds United, Liverpool and Man City).
  • Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 16 Champions League games at Anfield (W11 D5), last tasting defeat in October 2014 against Real Madrid.
  • Dejan Lovren has scored eight goals for Liverpool, with the Reds never losing when the Croatian centre-back has scored (W7 D1). Each of his last three goals have come at Anfield.
  • Liverpool’s James Milner has 11 assists in the Champions League since the start of the 2017-18 campaign; no player has provided more.
  • Dries Mertens has been directly involved in 17 goals in his last 18 Champions League starts (13 goals, 4 assists), including five in this campaign alone (4 goals, 1 assist).

Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 Olympiakos - report here