What Liverpool needs to qualify for Champions League knockout phase before Real Madrid fixture

Arne Slot's Liverpool moved closer to the Champions League knockout stages after they dispatched Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 at Anfield.

While the contest was 0-0 at the break, the Reds ran rampant in the second half, with a goal from Cody Gakpo and a hat-trick from Luis Diaz seeing Liverpool past the Bundesliga champions. And the win means Liverpool maintained its perfect record in Europe this season too.

So far this term in the Champions League, Liverpool has recorded wins over AC Milan, Bologna, RB Leipzig and now Bayer Leverkusen, with their next European fixture pitting them against Real Madrid, who will travel to Anfield on Nov. 27 to face the Reds. Through four games, Liverpool sit top of the new Champions League table, with only Aston Villa, the Reds opponents this weekend, the only other side who boast a perfect record in the competition.

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In the new league format, the top eight teams automatically qualify for the round of 16, with teams who finished ninth through to 24th set to face off in a knockout stage play-off. Barring a disastrous return from their next four Champions League games, it looks a certainty the Reds will qualify for the knockout stage play-off at least.

However, another win should pretty much guarantee the Reds a top eight finish, with Liverpool set to take on Real Madrid in their next Champions League tie. The defending champions fell 3-1 to AC Milan at the Bernabeu on Tuesday evening, leaving them in 17th place.

They have won two and lost two, defeating Stuttgart and Dortmund 3-1 and 5-2 respectively, while their other defeat saw them lose to Ligue 1 side Lille. With Carlo Ancelotti's side yet to really click this season following the arrival of Kylian Mbappe, which has led to Real Madrid having to deal with some tactical issues fitting the Frenchman into the same side as Vinicius Junior, Liverpool could make another statement in the Champions League this term by blowing the Spanish giants away later this month.

Liverpool.com says: "While we're only a quarter of a way into the 2024/25 campaign, it looks as though Liverpool's campaign is shaping up to be a special one. On Tuesday night under the lights of Anfield, they blew away Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen, putting four goals past the Bundesliga champions to maintain their perfect record in Europe. On November 27th, they return to action in Europe when they welcome Real Madrid to Anfield, a fixture that could see the Reds run rampant again if Carlo Ancelotti's side is still struggling to figure out a system that gets the best out of their players."