Liverpool’s hopes of direct qualification for the Champions League round of 16 were greatly boosted with a resounding 5-1 victory away to Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday night.
The Reds recovered from going a goal down to sweep aside their German opponents and put an emphatic end to a run of four straight defeats before the fixture at Deutsche Bank Park, recording their biggest winning margin since the title-clinching romp over Tottenham Hotspur six months ago.
Ever the standard-bearer, Virgil van Dijk was quick to keep his teammates grounded as he spoke shortly after the final whistle of immediately switching the focus to securing three Premier League points away to Brentford on Saturday night, but where does last night’s result leave LFC in terms of European progression?
Where do Liverpool sit in Champions League table?
Liverpool’s thrashing of Eintracht leaves them on six points from three matches in the Champions League standings, elevating them to 10th place and level on points with Newcastle in the final direct last-16 berth, with the Magpies enjoying a superior goal difference.
The full league phase table (viewable at UEFA.com) shows the Reds on the same points tally as six other teams – including Barcelona and Chelsea – and the emphatic winning margin in Frankfurt could yet prove decisive in determining whether or not we make the top eight and avoid a knockout play-off round.
| Position | Team | Points | Goal difference | Goals scored |
| 7 | Manchester City | 7 | +4 | 6 |
| 8 | Newcastle | 6 | +6 | 8 |
| 9 | Barcelona | 6 | +5 | 9 |
| 10 | Liverpool | 6 | +4 | 8 |
| 11 | Chelsea | 6 | +3 | 7 |
Liverpool need to average two points per Champions League game
If the current averages are maintained throughout the remainder of the league phase, Liverpool would require a total of 16 points to finish in the top eight, leaving them to target 10 points from their next five matches.
On first glance that seems a realistically attainable objective, although it’ll necessitate some big results against daunting opposition. Two of our remaining opponents (Real Madrid and Inter Milan) are among the five teams with a 100% record in this season’s Champions League.
A trip to Marseille will also be quite tough, given the feisty Velodrome atmosphere and their status as current Ligue 1 leaders, so home wins over PSV Eindhoven (who thumped Napoli 6-2 on Tuesday) and Qarabag (level with us on points) are non-negotiable.
At present, it’s estimated that eight points would be enough to avoid league phase elimination, so one more victory should ensure that Liverpool have a shot at the knockout play-offs at the very least.
However, the Reds will be intent on finishing eighth or higher and bypassing that two-legged banana skin in February. Our Champions League hopes have received a timely shot in the arm, but there’s still little margin for error if we’re to proceed straight to the round of 16.