Tuesday, 21 November 2017

UEFA Champions League 2017/18- Group E


Group E

Liverpool qualified for the last 16 in the UCL in style as they put seven past Spartak Moskva to finish the Group stages undefeated (3W, 3D).

Despite Sevilla's failure to secure the win, they still managed to finish as runners-up in Group E on nine points.

Spartak Moskva failed to win against Liverpool but have qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League.

Maribor have been eliminated from European football but have had a decent campaign with three draws including one on the final day.

Let us take a look how the teams sealed qualification.

Potential Opponents

Liverpool:- FC Basel, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Porto, Real Madrid
Sevilla:- Man United, PSG, AS Roma, Man City, Besiktas, Tottenham

Matchweek 6


Liverpool sealed top spot in Group E with a 7-0 hammering of Russian side Spartak Moskva which was only their third group stage victory this campaign

However, finishing with 23 group goals they broke the record for most goals scored by an English side in the Group Stages.


Liverpool's captain on the night Phillipe Coutinho was the star player scoring his first hat-trick for the club. 

He scored his first from the penalty spot with the second coming after a neat team move. 
His shot on target in the 50th minute was defelcted off a Spartak player.

Sadio Mane scored a second half brace, the first in the 47th minute through an unreal volley and the second in the 76th minute with another emphatic finish.

Roberto Firmino scored with the inside of his booth in the 19th minute and Mohamed Salah rounded off the victory with a composed finish, four minutes before time.


Sevilla earned a comeback 1-1 draw at Maribor which was enough for them to secure a runners-up spot in Group E.

The away side fell behind shockingingly in the 10th minute when Marcos Taveras headed Maribor into an early lead.
With time running out, Maribor's defense failed to keep out Sevilla's attack with substitute Ganso leveling the score in the 75th minute which was enough for qualification to the Round of 16.

Matchweek 5



Sevilla and Liverpool may have contested one of the most exciting games of the Group Stages this season as Liverpool threw away a three-goal lead to draw in second-half stoppage time.

It was a game of two halves ultimately with Liverpool by far the dominant side in the first and Sevilla putting in a stunning second-half performance.

Liverpool scored the three goals within the first three minutes as Roberto Firmino handed them the perfect start in the second minute. Sadio Mane doubled their lead as both goals were mistakes caused by Sevilla's poor marking on corners.

Firmino struck once again on the half-hour mark after Liverpool launching a swift counter-attack, handing them a slender lead and clinching towards victory.

But, Sevilla wasn't done just yet as they launched their comeback in the 51st minute as Wissam Ben Yedder brought one back and struck a penalty which he had to retake on the hour mark.

Sevilla stretched and stretched and finally found the breakthrough in the 93rd stoppage time minute as Guido Pizarro completed a memorable comeback to make the group wide open again.


Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp felt like two points lost than a point gained and was devastated by his team's poor defensive performance with a qualification place into the last 16 not yet confirmed.

Sevilla now sits on 8 points, one behind leaders Liverpool and two ahead of 3rd placed Spartak Moskva.


Group E also saw a disappointing night out for Spartak Moskva who conceded a second-half stoppage time equalizer against Maribor to all but end their hopes of qualifying to the last 16.


With both sides holding firm throughout the game, the first goal of the night came in the 82nd minute as Ze Luis scored the opener which was destined to hand Spartak the win.

But Maribor's pressure paid off in the 92nd injury time minute when Jasmin Mesanovic scored the equalizer to snatch a late point and keep Spartak third in the group on six points. 

Matchweek's 3 & 4

Liverpool & NK Maribor

Liverpool is the second English side this season to make their return to the UCL. But, unlike their rivals Man United and Tottenham, they hadn't kicked into gear yet; still looking for their first UCL win in the Group Stages. 

But that has since changed after they got 2 consecutive wins with a 10-0 aggregate scoreline against Slovenian side NK Maribor to remain unbeaten this UCL season.



NK Maribor suffered their worst ever Champions League loss after Liverpool ran riot, scoring seven past them to earn their first victory of the UCL season.

Liverpool's front three were on fire throughout the game with Mohamed Salah & Roberto Firmino scoring a brace each, and Phillipe Coutinho scoring his second away UCL goal.



They got two goals in the final 5 minutes of the match as Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain scored his first ever UCL goal for Liverpool and Trent Alexander-Arnold wrapped up Maribor's demolition.

With Liverpool topping Group E, Maribor failure kept them bottom of the group.



In the return game at Anfield, Liverpool made it back-to-back UCL wins as they beat Maribor 3-0 to maintain their firm hold in Group E.


Mohamed Salah was once again on target as he scored his 4th UCL goal.

Emre Can and Daniel Sturridge also added to the scoresheet as James Milner saw his penalty saved by the Maribor keeper Jasmin Handanovic.


This win moves Liverpool on 8 points topping Group E while Maribor is rock bottom and cannot qualify for the Round of 16. 

Liverpool holds a slender one-point lead over Spanish side Sevilla whom they travel to face today which promises to be a blockbuster game.

Sevilla & Spartak Moskva

Sevilla and Spartak Moskva are the two other sides locked horns with Liverpool, competing for the top and runner-up spots this season. Both teams have already earned well-fought draws with Liverpool and when they faced each other, their concentration at home was still the same.



Spartak Moskva shocked Sevilla as they scored four second-half goals to secure a memorable 5-1 win and remain unbeaten in Group E.

Spartak attacker Quincy Promes was their star man on the night, scoring the opener and the final goal on the night after Sevilla defender Simon Kjaer leveled things on the 30th minute.
Spartak found their form in the second half with goals from Denis Glushakov, Lorenzo Melgarejo, and Luiz Adriano.


Sevilla picked up their second win at home this UCL season as they overcame Spartak in the reverse fixture, beating them 2-1 to move two points clear of the Russian side.

Sevilla defender Clement Lenglet scored a towering header to hand the lead to the hosts. This lead was doubled in the second half after Ever Banega added with his well-placed finish.

Spartak got a goal back through substitute Ze Luis' poacher goal which wasn't enough as the Russian side were handed their first defeat in the UCL group stages this season.

Sevilla welcome Liverpool in their 5th group stage game tonight with both teams fighting for the top spot and advantage to qualify for the Round of 16.


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