Aston Villa’s hopes of automatic qualification for the Champions League round of 16 took a blow after a 1-0 loss to Monaco on Tuesday, while Atalanta won big to keep up its strong campaign.

Hello and welcome everyone to The Athletic for our live coverage of Liverpool vs Lille. The Champions League is back today after a more than month-long hiatus and the fixture we're focusing on pits the Premier League leaders against one of the high-flying sides in Ligue 1.

Liverpool picked up right where it ended 2024, with a win that kept the Reds perfect heading into the final round of