Liverpool FC beat AC Milan on Tuesday 1-2 to claim all 18 points from their 6 games in the UEFA Champions League group stage, and advance to the second round of the competition.
The win by Liverpool FC makes them the first English side to achieve such a feat.
Manager Jurgen Klopp made eight changes with qualification for the last 16 already assured as group winners, while the Serie A leaders went in search of the win they hoped would secure their own passage into the next phase.
Milan’s hopes rose on the half-hour when Takumi Minamino missed a near-post corner and goalkeeper Alisson could only push the ball out to England defender Fikayo Tomori, who scored from close range.
Liverpool’s line-up may have had an unfamiliar appearance but they were by far the more accomplished side. Mohamed Salah was in the starting line-up and once again demonstrated his predatory instincts with the equaliser seven minutes later, driving home the rebound after Milan keeper Mike Maignan saved from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
It meant the prolific Salah became the first Liverpool FC player since Ian Rush to score 20 goals in five successive seasons, also scoring the most goals for the club in the group stage of a European competition with seven.
Liverpool continued to dominate and Divock Origi scored his first goal in the competition since the 2019 Champions League final against Tottenham when he headed in after Maignan saved from Mane 10 minutes after the break.
Liverpool beat AC Milan to enter the last 16 as one of the most feared teams in the tournament, with their biggest threats appearing to come from Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester City, along with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
Klopp and his players, however, will progress with real confidence that they can once again make it into the latter stages of the Champions League after this latest show of strength.