Liverpool breezed into the Champions League last-16 stage after hammering Qarabag 6-0 at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s side secured automatic qualification with ease by finishing third in the league phase, while Qarabag’s thrashing still saw them into the knockout-stage play-offs, where they will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Newcastle United.
Hugo Ekitike fired an early warning shot just wide of the bottom-left corner 12 minutes in, and Liverpool surged into control soon after.
Alexis Mac Allister was on hand to bundle home Virgil van Dijk’s flick-on from Dominik Szoboszlai’s deflected corner for the 15th-minute opener, before Ekitike slotted through for Florian Wirtz to find the bottom-left corner six minutes later.
Liverpool’s dominance continued in the second period when Szoboszlai rolled a free-kick on the edge of the area for Mohamed Salah to steer into the top-left corner in the 50th minute.
Ekitike finally got in on the act seven minutes later, capitalising on a Bahlul Mustafazada mistake from Van Dijk’s pass before speeding past Kevin Medina and rounding Mateusz Kochalski to score.
A fortuitous deflection allowed Mac Allister another simple finish just past the hour, before Federico Chiesa capped a memorable performance in the 90th minute with a well-taken strike following Van Dijk’s marauding run.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 28, 2026
Data Debrief: Van Dijk turns creative
Although he may not have intended his role in Ekitike’s finish or Mac Allister’s first goal, Van Dijk became the first central defender ever to assist three goals in a single Champions League game.
Szoboszlai also became only the second player to score or assist a goal in six successive Champions League appearances for Liverpool (four goals, three assists), after Salah did so between September 2022 and February 2023.
A dominant performance saw Slot enjoy his biggest winning margin as Liverpool manager in his 91st match in charge across all competitions. It was also the Reds’ largest since March 2023 when they thrashed Manchester United 7-0 in the Premier League.
In contrast, Qarabag suffered their joint-heaviest ever defeat in major European competition, also losing 6-0 to Chelsea in this competition in September 2017.
And the visitors could have no arguments, with Liverpool amassing a massive 5.6 expected goals to Qarabag’s measly 0.22.
