30 November 2023 , 22:59
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Liverpool eased to a 4-0 win against LASK on Thursday night to seal top spot in their Europa League group.
Luis Diaz got the Reds up and running at Anfield, with Cody Gakpo scoring a brace. Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah managed to get on the scoresheet to round off a very satisfying evening.
With Toulouse failing to beat Union Saint-Gilloise, the Reds were assured of an automatic place in the last-16 of the competition. With that round of the Europa League not set to take place until early March, Liverpool can put their European commitments out of their mind for the time being.
However, some will be keen to learn who Liverpool could play in the last-16. At this stage, it is difficult to predict as the play-off round is set to take place between February 15 and February 22.
That round will pit the teams finishing third in their respective Champions League groups against the runners-up of each Europa League group, with Liverpool taking on the resultant play-off winners. As it stands, there are still a wide array of sides that could drop into the Europa League.
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Manchester United, Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain and Porto are all among the more established sides that could drop down. Meanwhile, Young Boys, Feyenoord, Red Bull Salzburg and FC Copenhagen are all the more favourable teams that enter the competition.
Liverpool beat LASK 4-0 to win their Europa League draw (Getty Images)Who was Liverpool's man-of-the-match in their win vs LASK? Share your thoughts in the comments below
The rest of the sides that could still drop down include Galatasaray, PSV, Lens, Sevilla, Braga, Union Berlin, Benfica, Feyenoord, Newcastle, AC Milan, Crvena Zvezda and Shakhtar Donetsk. Regarding the Europa League playoff contenders, there is still plenty to play for.
West Ham and SC Freiburg face a battle for top spot on the final day, while Marseille and Brighton could still go into the playoffs. One of Rangers, Real Betis and Sparta Prague can all still qualify from Group C, while Atalanta and Sporting Lisbon are set to face off for Group D.
Rennes, Villarreal, Slavia Prague, Roma, Qarabag and Molde are all the remaining contenders from the Europa League who could all head into the playoffs. It is fair to say then that while Liverpool will take a step back from European action, they will still be keeping an eye out ahead of the draw. The draw for the round of 16 takes place on 23 February next year.