Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk makes history by recording unlikely Champions League first during the Reds’ rout of Qarabag

Liverpool boasted five different goalscorers on the day, as they swept aside Azerbaijani opposition at Anfield. Van Dijk did not get his name on the scoresheet, but did play a leading role in the Reds hitting continental opponents for six.

The Netherlands international will have been pleased to keep a clean sheet, as they have been hard to come by at times in the 2025-26 campaign, with defensive steel forever his bread and butter.

Liverpool were, however, able to attack at will against Qarabag, which allowed everybody to make an impact at the business end of the pitch. Van Dijk claimed his piece of history when becoming the first centre-half to post a hat-trick of assists in a single Champions League fixture.

The Reds’ talismanic captain, who has faced the odd question of his contribution to the collective cause this season, nodded the ball down for Argentine midfielder Alexis Mac Allister to open the scoring inside 15 minutes.

It was Van Dijk’s raking long-range pass that sent Hugo Ekitike in on goal for his 57th-minute effort, while Italian winger Federico Chiesa was teed up to put the finishing touches on a resounding victory in the final minute of the 90.

Van Dijk now boasts five goal contributions for Liverpool in the Champions League this season, with only Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai (eight) posting more for Arne Slot’s side.

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Liverpool have eased into the last 16 of European competition, despite suffering the odd wobble along the way, with a third-place finish secured in the league phase. They can now rest and regroup as a number of continental rivals ready themselves for the knockout play-offs.

Slot is delighted to have progressed with the minimum of fuss, saying: “It is what you want if you start the Champions League season, you want to finish in the top eight, because that helps because you skip a round, and sometimes you can have a really hard team to play against in a round like that, which is shown by the teams we could face.

“So we're happy that we are going straight away to the last 16, especially because it's only two years ago that we were playing Europa League and we went out in the quarter-finals against Atalanta.

“So two seasons in a row now, being in the last 16 and this last season we were very hungry for more. We will definitely be hungry for more this season as well.”

It could be that January reinforcements are added to the Reds’ squad, allowing them to compete on multiple fronts, with the winter window set to remain open until February 2.

Slot told reporters when asked if he is looking to bolster his ranks, with Jeremie Frimpong the latest Reds star to pick up an untimely injury: “We as a club always make decisions that we, at least, think [are] smart decisions. So, we not only look at the short term, we also look at the long term, longer term – that's why we sign young players as well, very good players but young ones that can still develop. 

“Now we can see this development with a few. And it always depends on are there players available that we think can help us? And if they are, can we afford them? And does this also be helpful for the longer-term future because our players come back from injury as well?”

Liverpool, who have slipped to sixth in the Premier League table, will be back in domestic action on Saturday when playing host to Newcastle.