Liverpool can seal top spot in the Champions League next week, but just how big an advantage would that be for the Reds?
Arne Slot‘s side kept up their perfect record in Europe on Tuesday evening, seeing off Lille with a 2-1 win at Anfield.
Barcelona‘s dramatic 5-4 win away to Benfica means that Liverpool haven’t yet been confirmed as group winners, but it’s clear what they have to do to secure it.
Slot’s men simply have to avoid defeat away to PSV Eindhoven next Wednesday (8pm GMT) to finish top of the 36-strong pile in Europe’s biggest club competition.
A draw would leave Liverpool on 22 points, with second-place Barcelona only able to get a maximum of 21, ahead of their home clash with Atalanta at the same time.
Is top spot an advantage for Liverpool?
It would be nonsensical for there not to be any benefit to finish top, and it should ensure that Liverpool face beatable opposition.
Being in the top two means the Reds will face a team who finish in 15th, 16th, 17th or 18th place.
In comparison, those who finish in seventh or eighth could play a 23rd or 24th-place side, or be pitted against the team in ninth or 10th.
The draw for the last 16 will take place on February 21, with Liverpool’s route to the quarter-finals and semi-finals also decided at that point.
Meanwhile, the two-legged knockout round play-offs, which the Reds thankfully won’t be a part of, are on February 11/12 and February 18/19.
The financial benefits of Liverpool finishing top are clear to see, though, with £8.3 million to come their way if they get the job done next week, as each position in the table is worth £232,000.
Clubs who finish first to eighth will also earn a £1.6 million bonus, while broadcast revenue will be heavily weighed towards a team’s finishing position in the league.
Slot: “You might be lucky; you might be very unlucky…”
Speaking after the Lille game, Slot suggested that finishing top isn’t of the utmost importance, given the calibre of team Liverpool could still face:
“For the rest, it doesn’t tell me anything, because if in tennis you are No.1-seeded you know it’s always better to face the No.24 than to face the No.8, or the No.12, because this is a ranking that is done for years.
“But now we are in a new format where some teams are high in the league table because they had a lucky draw, or some teams are low because they had a very difficult draw.
“It’s far off to say that it is an advantage to be No.1 or No.2. We still don’t know yet if that’s an advantage or not. You might be lucky; you might be very unlucky and ending up as No.8 means that maybe you are lucky.
“So, for me, it doesn’t tell me anything, what for me is the most important thing for tonight is that we’ve managed to skip a round and that is definitely worth a bit.”
Key Champions League dates
Here are the rest of the key dates for this season’s Champions League, including those for the last 16:
- Matchday 8: January 29
- Playoff draw – January 31
- Knockout playoffs: February 11/12 and 18/19
- Last 16/quarter-final/semi-final draw – February 21
- Last 16: March 4/5 and 11/12
- Quarter-final: April 8/9 and 15/16
- Semi-final: April 29/30 and May 6/7
- Final: May 31 (Munich)
