Liverpool advance to CL quarter-final
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) :
With their Premier League title defence in tatters, Liverpool kept their last chance of a trophy alive by beating Leipzig 2-0 Wednesday to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane scored Liverpool's goals to complete a 4-0 win on aggregate. Liverpool ended their run of six defeats in home games, at least technically, as Jurgen Klopp's team was officially the host at the neutral Puskas Arena in Hungary.
Klopp said Liverpool succeeded by forgetting about the collapse of their campaign in England, where the team is 25 points off the league lead.
"We had to switch off the Premier League stuff to get here and give it a proper try. The boys really enjoyed themselves tonight which is important," Klopp told broadcaster BT Sport.
A string of saves by goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi -- once a Liverpool player -- kept Leipzig in contention before Salah made the breakthrough in the 70th minute. Salah lined up a low shot tucked inside the right post after Diogo Jota showed smart movement on the counter to create space for Salah before passing to the Egypt forward.
As Leipzig -- which surprisingly reached the semifinals last season -- tried to find a way back into the game four minutes later, substitute Divock Origi found space on the right flank to cross low for Mane to tap in.