Liverpool may have serenely made their way to the Champions League knockout stages but behind them very little has been decided ahead of next week's final round of matches. The Reds secured their place in the top eight and direct progress to the last 16 in March with a 2-1 home victory over Lille on Tuesday night.

Liverpool make it seven wins out of seven in the Champions League. Elliott's deflected strike proved to be the winner. Lille put up a decent fight, equalising through David after Mandi was sent off. Job done.

Liverpool became the first team to guarantee a place in the last 16 of the new Champions League format by beating Lille 2-1 on Tuesday, while Barcelona fought back from two goals down to stun Benfica 5-4 in a thriller.

But regardless of whether Liverpool finish first or second, they have just handed themselves a treble advantage for the Champions League knock-out stages. Firstly, they have skipped the knock-out phase play-offs stage entirely, with Slot himself admitting the importance of such a fact after his side’s win over Lille.

Liverpool have been in formidable form in the Champions League this season, with Arne Slot's side securing their place in the round of 16 with a game to spare in the group stage after winning all seve

The result confirms Liverpool as one of the top two teams in this year’s league phase and if the six-time champions avoid defeat in their final match against PSV Eindhoven next week, they’ll progress into the knockouts as the No.1 seeded team.

Liverpool maintained their perfect Champions League record to guarantee a top-two finish in the league phase and automatic last-16 qualification with a 2-1 win over Lille at Anfield on Tuesday.

Liverpool's victory over Lille last night was fundamentally good for them in that they are through to the last 16 and have secured a top-two seeding. However, that is also a positive for English clubs as a whole.

Liverpool is just one of two teams guaranteed a spot in the last-16 of the Champions League heading into the final week of the league phase, with the Reds' path to the final starting to become clearer.