Liverpool booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals after cruising to a comfortable 4-0 aggregate victory over RB Leipzig.
Jurgen Klopp made five changes for the second leg in Budapest as Fabinho started his first games in midfield since 17 October, while Ozan Kabak and Nat Phillips were named in defence, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thiago Alcantara and Sadio Mane were also handed a place in the starting lineup.
The Reds produced the first opportunity of the game after seven minutes, but Mane’s shot failed to trouble Gulasci before Leipzig’s Olmo forced Alisson into making a brilliant save to deny his strike three minutes later.
Diago Jota had a free header from an Alexander-Arnold corner in the 19th minute, but he directed his effort straight at Gulacsi, who tipped the ball over the crossbar.
Gulacsi was called into action again in the 25th minute when he made an easy save to deny Thiago’s acrobatic effort from the edge of the box.
With four minutes left to the break, Jota should’ve made it 1-0 after he made a run into the penalty area before poking a shot towards goal, but Gulacsi, once again, stood his ground to push the ball away to safety.
Kampl nearly handed his side the lead in the 31st minute when he tried to bend the ball into the top corner, but Alisson was quick to get across and collect the ball in the air.
Klopp’s side missed a host of good chances to extend their lead in the first half as the game went into the break locked at 0-0.
The first real chance of the second half fell to Jota, who forced Gulacsi into making another smart save after he was played in by Mane. The rebound fell kindly for Salah, but he can only turn the ball over the bar, although he was flagged for offside.
Leipzig came the closest to opening the scoring in the 65th minute when Sorloth’s looping header crashed off the woodwork after receiving a cross from Kluivert.
Liverpool finally broke the deadlock in the 70th minute after Mane played the ball through for Jota, who spotted Salah in plenty of space. He flicked the ball into his path before Salah cut inside on to his left foot and slid the ball past Gulacsi to find the bottom corner.
The home side then doubled their lead four minutes later after Origi whipped the ball into the path of Mane, who was free at the back post to tap it home to make it 2-0.
The Reds nearly grabbed their third goal in the 83rd minute but Origi hit the side-netting with his effort from the left flank.
The home side pressed forward in search of more goals in the closing stages of the game but settled for a 4-0 aggregate win over the German side.
