Champions League, Liverpool beat Milan; Atletico Madrid progress: Records broken
The group of death in the UEFA Champions League 2021-22 season ended with a bang. Atletico Madrid, who were placed bottom in Group B, beat FC Porto to qualify for the round of 16. 10-man Atletico beat nine-man Porto 3-1. Meanwhile, Porto will now feature in the Europa League as leaders Liverpool dented AC Milan's hopes with a 2-1 victory.
How did Group B end?
Milan went 1-0 up in the 29th minute against Liverpool at the San Siro. The lead saw Milan climb to second as they had their noses in front. However, Liverpool scored twice to take the steam out of Milan, who finished fourth. Porto could have finished second but suffering a loss at home saw them slip to third at Atletico's expense.
Liverpool end group stage journey on a high
Premier League club Liverpool won their sixth consecutive match in the UCL group stage to pick up 18 points. They ended their group stage journey with 17 goals scored and six conceded. Bottom-placed Milan suffered their fourth loss.
Dramatic clash between Porto and Atletico
The match was 0-0 at half-time. Atletico started brightly but Porto crawled back in what was an even contest. In the second half, Antoine Griezmann put Atletico ahead from a corner kick. Yannick Carrasco was shown a straight red card before two Porto players were dismissed as well. Angel Correa and Rodrigo De Paul scored next before Sergio Oliveira got a consolation penalty.
Liverpool beat Milan 2-1
Fikayo Tomori scored a simple goal as Liverpool keeper Alisson's reflex goal-line save from a corner fell into the former's path. The in-form Mohamed Salah leveled for the Reds ahead of half-time, with his 20th goal in all competitions this season. Divock Origi netted the winner after a defensive error from Tomori. This was another superb show by Liverpool.
Liverpool script history
Feats attained by Origi and Salah
Origi has scored his first goal in 15 Champions League appearances since scoring in the 2019 final against Spurs. He has also scored in back-to-back appearances in a single season in all competitions for the first time since May 2019. Salah is the first player to score 20+ goals in five consecutive seasons for Liverpool across competitions since Ian Rush from 1981-82 to 1986-87.
Salah slams these feats
Salah is the first Liverpool player to score seven goals in a single Champions League group stage campaign. The Egyptian international has nine goals in his last seven away appearances in the UCL as well. Salah now has 35 UCL goals, matching Edinson Cavani's tally.
Milan's UCL campaign ends with a whimper
Milan finished with four points in the Champions League 2021-22 season. As per Opta, among the Italian teams only Roma in 2004-05 (one) gained four or less points in a group stage of the competition.
