UEFA Champions League 2022: can Liverpool still win Champions League Group A following win over Ajax?

Jurgen Klopp’s squad endured a troubling start to their UEFA Champions League campaign with a 4-1 loss to current group A leaders Napoli in their opening round. However, following a 7-1 win over Rangers and 3-0 win over Ajax in their last two Champions League outings, Liverpool have successfully qualified for the next round of the tournament and will wait until Monday 7 November to find out their fate.

Ajax are sitting on three points and could technically still have qualified for the Champions League if they had beaten Liverpool last night and the Reds then lost next week against Napoli. All Klopp’s squad needed was a singular point to ensure the Dutch outfit could not beat them and thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott, three points were secured.

It seems highly implausible, however, that Liverpool will still finish top of their group following Napoli’s 3-0 win over Rangers this week as well. However, here is what Liverpool need to do if they are to finish top of their group

Can Liverpool win their group?

While possible, it is highly unlikely Liverpool will finish top of their group stage. Luciano Spalletti’s side currently sit three points ahead of Liverpool at the moment but if the Reds beat them in their final match we could see a head-to-head situation take place.

Teams that finish level on points in the Champions League are sorted by the following criteria:

1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams
2. Goal difference in head-to-head among tied teams
3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches amon tied teams
4. Away goals scored in head-to-head among tied teams
5. Goal difference in all group matches
6. Goals scored in all group matches
7. Away goals scored in all group matches
8. Wins in all group matches
9. Away wins in all group matches
10. Disciplinary points (red card=3 points; yellow card=1 point).
11. UEFA club coefficient

What do Liverpool need to do to qualify for last 16?

Liverpool have now qualified for the last 16 following their win over Ajax on Wednesday 26 October. They will find out who they are set to face in the round of 16 when the draw is announced on Monday 7 November. Fellow English teams Chelsea and Manchester City will also join the Reds in the last 16 while Tottenham must await until next week’s fixtures have been completed to find out if they have made it through.

Spurs currently sit top of their group with eight points but both Sporting and Eintracht Frankfurt are on seven while Marseille are on six so a win for any team could suddenly change the entire table.

When are Liverpool playing?

Liverpool will play Napoli in their final fixture of the UEFA Champions League group stage. The Italian side will travel to Anfield to play their sixth group stage fixture and as both teams have qualified it will come down to whether Liverpool are able to top their group.

The match takes place on Tuesday 1 November with a kick-off of 8pm scheduled. The match will be available to watch on BT Sport.