Liverpool have endured a horror start to the Premier League season after last year’s title triumph. The Reds are stuck in mid-table and ten points off leaders Arsenal having lost six of the opening 15 matches. However, while domestic football has proved a nightmare, Liverpool’s Champions League campaign has provided some respite and the team look on course to progress from the league phase of the tournament.
In Europe, Liverpool have impressed in the main, earning crucial wins and using Anfield nights as a driving force. This article will assess the team’s chances of going through and will weigh up exactly how far the Reds can go in the competition.
The Story so Far
Liverpool have a long and storied history in the Champions League having listed the European Cup on six occasions and so Arne Slot and his side have a huge responsibility to go the distance in the tournament. Following their dominant Premier League win last season, and their blowout spending in the summer, the Reds will have certainly have been among the favourites to lift the trophy come May, at bookies like NetBet. However, it’s not been entirely straightforward for Liverpool so far.
This season’s competition began for Liverpool at Anfield during a run of seven victories as the Reds beat Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid 3-2 as Virgil van Dijk scored a 90th minute winner.
Then came the first losing spell as Liverpool lost 1-0 to Galatasaray in Turkey. The Reds bounced back though, hammering Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 in Germany to get the campaign back on track. This was followed by a 1-0 home win over fellow giants Real Madrid.
Slot’s men had got themselves into a strong position before disaster struck as Liverpool were humiliated at Anfield in a 4-1 loss at the hands of PSV Eindhoven. The Reds were now involved in a real footballing crisis and there were huge doubts over the team with three league phase games to play.
Crucial Inter Win
In the weeks leading up to facing Inter at the San Siro in the Champions League in early December, Liverpool boss Arne Slot attempted to find solutions to the issues derailing the Reds’ campaign and elected to bench star man Mohamed Salah for three Premier League games.
After the team dropped more points, conceding a late equaliser to draw 3-3 with Leeds at Elland Road, Salah spoke to the press and claimed he no longer had a relationship with the manager and felt he was being ‘thrown under the bus’. This became a huge story in the media and among the fanbase at a time of real struggle for Liverpool as questions hung over Slot.
Salah was left out of the travelling squad for the Inter match and the Reds dug in to earn a 1-0 victory, Dominik Szoboszlai scoring from the spot as Liverpool earned all three points and moved up to ninth in the league standings.
Remaining Fixtures
Liverpool sit outside the top eight in the Champions League standings on goal difference and so the remaining two games are crucial. Finish in the top eight and the Reds will head straight to the Round of 16; fail and the team will have to settle for a place in the play-off round with the sides who finished between ninth and 24th.
Frustratingly, Liverpool don’t play in Europe until January 21, 2026 and in the meantime will have to navigate a hectic festive period and New Year which will see the Reds play five league games and an FA Cup Third Round clash with Barnsley.
Liverpool will then travel to France to face Marseille at Stade Velodrome which will be a tough challenge before hosting Qarabag of Azerbaijan at Anfield in the final league phase game of the campaign.
How Far can Liverpool Go?
Based on Liverpool’s two remaining fixtures, they should earn the points required to progress while there is a strong chance the team will make the last eight.
The Reds may have struggled this season but this is Liverpool being talked about and so the team are still among the favourites to lift the Champions League trophy at the end of the campaign.
