Meanwhile, in Group E, Toulouse and Union Saint-Gilloy played out a goalless draw, giving Liverpool top spot in the group. This performance gave the Reds two important advantages. With a big week ahead in the Premier League and Carabao Cup, less pressure for the final group game tomorrow is a direct benefit. The second advantage is that they will progress directly to the last 16 of the Europa League in March, saving two games from their already busy schedule.
Liverpool will advance to the next round alongside the top seven teams from other groups, and the runners-up will face the third-placed team from the relegated Champions League in the second round. Tuesday night provided an overview of the potential future opponents that will follow this final route, with a few notable exceptions that have piqued interest. Manchester united failed from the start and decided not to participate in European competitions this season. Bayern Munich and Copenhagen qualified for the playoffs, while Galatasaray qualified for the Europa League and finished fourth in their group. This has compounded the team’s woes as they prepare for Sunday’s trip to Anfield with Erik ten Hag players injured.
Another interesting result is that ‘Sevilla’ did not even qualify for the Europa League and finished last in the group led by ‘Arsenal’. Sevilla, the most successful team in Europa League history with seven wins, have no chance of adding to their tally this season.
Liverpool, Juventus, Inter and Atletico Madrid have each recorded three wins in the past. The Reds had their last chance to finish in the top four in 2016, Jurgen Klopp’s first season in charge, but were denied by none other than Sevilla from Basel. Its elimination neutralizes the risk of relapse. Interestingly, Liverpool will now only face one of the teams they met in the Europa League finals. On that trip, he advanced against Manchester United thanks to a glorious Philippe Coutinho chip, which then caught David de Gea in the first post. Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund advanced to the next round of the Champions League despite a difficult group, while Augsburg have not qualified for Europe since 2015/16.
And “Villarreal” qualified for the finals and will play with “Rennes” until the 1/8 finals. Galatasaray, who reached the final round of the Champions League group stage, joined RC Lens, Braga and Benfica in the Europa League. Feyenoord have also qualified for tonight’s final.
As Liverpool temporarily shift their focus to the Europa League this week, they will do so comfortably in the knowledge that the task at hand has been accomplished and any additional benefits are only welcome benefits. In the fifth round of the group stage, Liverpool beat LASK 4-0 at Anfield.
