Liverpool's train does not stop.. Real and Saint-Germain revive their chances in the European Champions League

English: Liverpool have largely secured their direct qualification to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League with their sixth win in six matches, while Spanish giants Real Madrid, the title holder, and German giants Bayern Munich have revived their chances.

In Spain, Liverpool returned from the newcomer Girona stadium with their sixth victory thanks to a single goal scored by the Egyptian Mohamed Salah.

The team of Dutch coach Arne Slot entered the match as a guaranteed place in the play-off to qualify for the round of 16 after winning its first five matches, the last of which was against Real Madrid 2-0.

With its sixth consecutive win and maintaining its perfect record, Liverpool raised its score to 18 points at the top of the group and largely secured its direct qualification.

But Slot was not entirely satisfied, saying: "If you ask me about the six matches, I would say I am very happy with all the results... (but) far from satisfied with our performance tonight," adding: "We were not able to impose our control over the match. The second half was better perhaps, but I am trying to be positive here."

Liverpool's Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker returned to the team after recovering from an injury that kept him out since October 5, and he played a prominent role in his team's return with the three points.

Girona were not an easy opponent at all, and if it weren't for Alisson, the result would have been different, but in the end, Slot's team knew how to secure the three points from a penalty kick awarded after the intervention of the video assistant referee (VAR) to inform the referee of a foul committed by the Colombian Luis Diaz by the Dutchman Ronny van de Beek, and Salah successfully took it (63).

Real Madrid boosts chances, loses Mbappe

Real Madrid strengthened its chances of direct qualification with a valuable 3-2 victory over its host, Italian Atalanta.

For the Spanish capital team, the Frenchman Kylian Mbappe (10) scored, who left the field in the first half injured, the Brazilian Vinicius (56) and the Englishman Jude Bellingham (59), and for Atalanta the Belgian Charles De Ketelaar (45+2 from a penalty kick) and the Nigerian Ademola Lookman (65).

Real Madrid raised its score to 9 points in 18th place, two points behind ninth-placed Atalanta, which suffered its first loss after a series of 14 consecutive matches without defeat in various competitions.

Mbappe opened the scoring after receiving a pass with his left foot from Moroccan Ibrahim Dias, then passed Dutch captain Martin de Roon, and was alone in front of goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi, scoring to his right (10).

But Mbappe's joy at his 50th goal in the continental tournament did not last long, as he left the field after complaining of muscle pain, and Brazilian Rodrigo entered in his place (36).

Before entering the locker room, the Frenchman Aurelien Tchouameni made a mistake by clearing the ball away from the Bosnian forward Sead Kolasinac and obstructing him inside the penalty area, so De Ketelaar scored the equalizer (45+2).

Vinicius, who played his first match after missing four matches due to injury, put the Spanish team in the lead again when he received the ball by mistake from the defense and easily put the ball into the net (56).

Bellingham added the third goal after receiving a pass from "Finney", dribbling past the defense and shooting the ball to the right of the goal (59), scoring for the fourth consecutive match.

But Atalanta did not give up and Lookman, a candidate to win the 2024 African Player of the Year award, managed to reduce the difference with a shot to the far right of Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois' goal (65).

Big win for Bayern

In the German city of Gelsenkirchen, where Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine are playing their home matches due to the Russian invasion of their country, Bayern recalled the memories of their crushing 7-0 win over their rivals in the second leg of the round of 16 in 2015, but in the end they had to settle for five goals, raising their tally to 12 points.

In a match in which captain goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was absent due to a broken rib that will keep him out for the rest of the year, and English top scorer Harry Kane and Serge Gnabry, Bayern had a bad start, as they found themselves behind since the 5th minute through Brazilian Kevin, but responded strongly through Austrian Konrad Laimer (11), Thomas Muller (45), Frenchman Michael Oliseh (70 and 3+90) and Jamal Musiala (87).

Inter's first downfall

Inter Milan returned from Bayer Leverkusen's stadium in Germany with a first defeat that came fatally in the last moments, 0-1.

At the BayArena, in the first meeting between the two teams in the competition since the Italian guest won both legs in the second round of the 2002-2003 season, Inter seemed on its way to returning with a point from the German champions' stronghold and raising its score to 14 in second place, but the team of Spanish coach Xabi Alonso snatched the victory in the last seconds and raised its score to 13, to move up to second place temporarily thanks to a goal scored by Frenchman Nordi Mukiel after the ball reached him from his compatriot Martin Terrier following a corner kick.

Saint-Germain's chances rise

Paris Saint-Germain's chances of qualifying also increased after they achieved their second victory in the tournament over their hosts, Salzburg of Austria, with three clean goals scored by the Portuguese Goncalo Ramos (30) - who scored his first goal since last August, as he was absent for 15 matches due to injury and participated in the last three matches without scoring - and his compatriot Nuno Mendes (72) and the substitute Desiree Doue (85).

The French capital club now has 7 points in the 24th and last place qualifying via the play-offs, while Salzburg (3) has almost no chances.

French club Brest continued its amazing continental results, achieving its fourth victory over its guest, Dutch club Eindhoven, with a single goal scored by Julien Le Cardinal (43).

Belgian Club Brugge snatched its third victory over its guest, Portuguese Sporting, with a score of 2-1, thanks to a goal scored by the Danish Kasper Nielsen less than two minutes after entering (83).

Scottish Celtic returned from the Croatian capital with their ninth point after a goalless draw with Dinamo Zagreb, which in turn raised their score to 8 points.

German Leipzig suffered a sixth defeat at the hands of its guest, English Aston Villa, 2-3, due to a goal scored by Ross Barkley a few seconds after entering (85), giving his team its 13th point in third place temporarily.

Source: French