Liverpool beats Leipzig to reach Champions League quarters

Liverpool's midfielder Mohamed Salah (L) and striker Sadio Mane (C) vie with RB Leipzig's midfielder Christopher Nkunku during their UEFA Champions league football match in Budapest, Hungary, on March 10, 2021. (AFP / Attila Kisbenedek)

Liverpool's Thiago Alcantara in action during the team's match with Leipzig in Budapest, Hungary on March 10, 2021. (REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo)

• Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané scored Liverpool’s goals to complete a 4-0 win on aggregate

BUDAPEST, Hungary: With its Premier League title defense in tatters, Liverpool kept its last chance of a trophy alive by beating Leipzig 2-0 Wednesday to reach the Champions League quarterfinals.
Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané scored Liverpool’s goals to complete a 4-0 win on aggregate. Liverpool ended its run of six defeats in home games, at least technically, as Jürgen Klopp’s team was officially the host at the neutral Puskas Arena in Hungary.
A string of saves by goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi — once a Liverpool player — kept Leipzig in contention before Salah made the breakthrough in the 70th minute. Mané drew in two defenders on a counterattack and passed to Salah, who had plenty of space to line up a low shot tucked inside the right post.
As Leipzig — which surprisingly reached the semifinals last season — tried to find a way back into the game four minutes later, substitute Divock Origi found space on the right flank to cross low for Mané to tap in.
Both legs were played in Budapest because of restrictions in Germany on travel from Britain amid the pandemic.