UCL: England Trumps Italy, Liverpool & Spurs Reach Round of 16

Liverpool and Tottenham nicked Champions League knockout berths ahead of Napoli and Inter Milan, respectively.

Liverpool secured knockout qualification in the UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 victory over Napoli at Anfield.

(Photo: AP)

It ended England 2, Italy 0 on a tense night of decisive Champions League group games on Tuesday, 11 December.

Liverpool had goalkeeper Alisson Becker to thank as tehy advanced to the round of 16 by beating Napoli 1-0. Tottenham, too, will be in the knockout stage draw on Monday, 17 December, after defying expectations in Barcelona thanks to Lucas Moura's 85th-minute leveler in a 1-1 draw.

Even with that point, Tottenham still needed Inter Milan to fail to beat winless PSV Eindhoven – and it ended 1-1 in San Siro.

Both English teams overcame nervous endings to finish runners-up in their groups, and edged head-to-head tiebreakers with Italian rivals after finishing level on points.

A late goal in any of the three games would have changed the equation but Alisson saved Liverpool, second-half substitute Lionel Messi couldn't lift Barcelona, and Inter failed to find a winner in seven minutes of stoppage time.

Alisson Becker (center, in yellow) made a stunning stoppage-time save to ensure Liverpool reached the UCL knockouts ahead of Napoli.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/UEFA Champions League)

Napoli kicked off the night leading Group C, but dropped below Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain, who won 4-1 at Red Star Belgrade to advance in top spot.

The four qualifying places in the other two groups playing on Tuesday were decided last month. Still, Borussia Dortmund's 2-0 win at Monaco meant they rose above Atletico Madrid – who drew 0-0 at Club Brugge – to win Group A.

Porto had already clinched Group D's top spot before winning 3-2 at Galatasaray, and runners-up Schalke beat visiting Lokomotiv Moscow 1-0.

Group winners will be drawn against a runner-up and play the second leg at home in the round of 16.

Third-placed teams transfer to the Europa League's round of 32, which is also drawn on Monday at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Napoli and Inter will be joined in the Europa League by Club Brugge and Galatasaray.

English Revival Continues

It has been a stellar year on the global stage for England – even more definitely so compared to four-time world champions Italy.

The English reached the semi-finals at the World Cup in Russia, for which Italy had failed to qualify, and advanced to the Nations League Final Four. Italy could have hosted that mini-tournament in June 2019, but failed to advance from a group won by Portugal.

Now, England will have all four of its teams in the Champions League round of 16 draw, with both Manchester clubs, City and United, having already secured their knockout berths. Napoli and Inter’s eliminations mean Italy will have only two representatives in the draw – Juventus and Roma, both of whom are also already through ahead of their final group-stage games.

Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-1 draw at Barcelona, coupled with Inter Milan’s 1-1 draw with PSV, allowed the North Londoners to progress.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Harry Kane)

Liverpool gave their fans a nervous night at Anfield, scoring just once from 21 attempts on goal. Sadio Mane was the biggest culprit, wasting three clear chances to give his team extra margin for error.

Only a reflex save at the end by Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson denied Napoli substitute Arkadiusz Milik.

The Reds will be without center-back Virgil van Dijk in their first leg at home in the next round. Van Dijk will be suspended for getting a third yellow card in the group stage. It could have been more, as a tackle on Dries Mertens followed through on the Napoli forward's lower left leg and risked a red card.

Tottenham were minutes from exiting the competition, trailing to a superb seventh-minute solo goal from Ousmane Dembele, who shot past his France teammate Hugo Lloris.

Barcelona rested several regular starters, yet they dominated much of the game with Philippe Coutinho twice striking the woodwork.

Harry Kane then found Moura unmarked near the six-yard box to score past back-up goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen.

Inter trailed for much of the game to PSV, who took the lead in the 13th from Mexico winger Chucky Lozano's goal.

Mauro Icardi's fourth goal in the competition in the 73rd was not enough for Inter, who won their opening two games but then failed to win any of the next four.

Paris, Dortmund Finish Top

Paris Saint-Germain began their group with a loss at Liverpool but went unbeaten the rest of the way, scoring 17 goals in total.

PSG's superstar strike force of Edinson Cavani, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe all scored in a 4-1 win in Belgrade that ensured the French champions will avoid the likes of Barcelona and Manchester City in the next round.

Borussia Dortmund’s dream start to the season continued, with the Bundesliga leaders also topping their Champions League group. Portugal wing-back Raphael Guerreiro scored in each half in a 2-0 win in Monaco, who finished in last place with just one point.

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe were both on target, as was Edinson Cavani, as PSG qualified for the Round of 16 as Group C winners.(Photo: AP)

Dropping Down to Europa

Galatasaray were the big winners in Group D on Tuesday, getting a place in the Europa League round of 32 despite their first home loss this season, a 3-2 defeat against Porto.

The Turkish team retained third place in the group when Lokomotiv Moscow gave up a stoppage-time goal in a 1-0 loss at Schalke.

Porto and Schalke had already advanced before kickoff. Porto top the group with an impressive 16-point tally, and are hence seeded in Monday's draw.