Champions League round-up: Barcelona on the brink, Liverpool smash seven

Liverpool smash seven 

Liverpool returned to form in emphatic style as they smashed Rangers 7-1. 

Jurgen Klopp’s side didn’t get off to the best start as they fell behind one again, this time to a Scott Arfield goal.  

Roberto Firmino seemed to inject some life into Liverpool and levelled things up before half time. 

In the second half Liverpool then seemed to spark into life as they dominated the Scottish side. 

Klopp’s side had 60% possession in the second half and had a total of 17 shots, which was considerably more than the three shots they had managed in the first half. 

Whatever the German manager had said at half time clearly had the desired impact as they looked back to their ruthless best. 

It’s been no secret that Mo Salah has struggled to find his form during this campaign, but a second half hat trick will massively boost his confidence. 

Liverpool now sit second in Group A and are three points behind leaders Napoli, who have looked brilliant throughout the season so far. 

Next up for Liverpool is a tough test against Pep Guardiola’s Man City side, who are currently 13 points ahead of them in the Premier League. 

Liverpool should take some confidence from the Rangers match though and they will need to be at a similar level this weekend.

Barcelona on the brink 

Xavi’s Barcelona side are now on the brink of being knocked out of the Champions League as they drew 3-3 at home to Inter. 

The Spanish side already knew they needed a result against Inter to realistically keep their qualification hopes alive. 

The result means that Barcelona are now dependent on Inter dropping points in their next two Champions League matches and they need to win their remaining two games to stand a chance. 

Barcelona’s only win in the Champions League this season has come against Viktoria Plzen, who currently sit at the bottom of their group. 

Xavi’s side started well against Inter and took the lead just before half time through Ousmane Dembele. 

The Spanish side have looked shaky at the back in Europe this season though and Inter were able to take full advantage. 

Inter scored three goals from the eight shots they had in the second half and they were unlucky to not win in the end. 

Robert Lewandowski kept Barcelona’s slim chances of qualifying alive with a 92nd minute equaliser, but even that might not be enough for the Spanish outfit. 

Spurs comeback 

Spurs picked up an impressive three points against Eintracht Frankfurt and got their Champions League campaign back on track. 

Antonio Conte’s record in Europe has been brought into question in the past, but Spurs now sit top of Group D after their victory. 

Conte’s side had fallen behind after just 14 minutes, but they wasted no time in turning things around. 

Six of the seven shots Spurs had in the first half were on target and Harry Kane and Heung-min Son were both on target to secure the three points. 

Spurs created a total of four big chances and looked much sharper than they had done previously in Europe. 

Group D is still fairy compact with just two games to play as only three points separates Spurs at the top to Frankfurt at the bottom. 

Next up for Spurs in the Premier League is a home game against Everton before they face tough tests against Man United and Newcastle. 

Conte’s side currently sit third in the Premier League and are four points off Arsenal at the top of the table.