Liverpool and Atletico Madrid secured passage to the UEFA Champions League knockout stage after overcoming Marseille and PSV Eindhoven respectively. At Anfield, Liverpool claimed a 1-0 victory over French club Marseille, thanks to Steven Gerrard's 22-minute strike. The Liverpool skipper superbly headed Alvaro Arbeloa's right-wing cross past Marseille keeper Steve Mandanda. The Reds have 11 points from five games. They lie second in Group D due to their inferior goal difference to Atletico, who edged past PSV 2-1 at Vicente Calderon. The match was played behind closed doors as Atletico serve a UEFA punishment for the crowd trouble that marred their game against Marseille last month. Portuguese winger Simao put the hosts in front after 14 minutes when he capitalized on Carlos Salcido's failure to clear the danger to fire home from inside the area.
Argentinean midfielder Maxi Rodriguez doubled Atletico's advantage in the 28th minute with a close-range effort after a corner rebounded off Francisco Rodriguez. Dutch strikerDanny Koevermans narrowed the gap three minutes after the interval. He scored from a rebound after Danko Lazovic's flicked header was parried by the keeper into his path. Atletico held onto their slender lead to book a place in the knockout phase. With one match to spare, Marseille and PSV lie third and fourth respectively on three points each. They will vie for a UEFA Cup place.
