Liverpool had already secured their place in the round of 16, but they entered their final match of the league phase against PSV with the goal of finishing top of the group.
Despite suffering a 3-2 defeat, they achieved that aim, though it marked the end of their perfect run in the competition, having won all seven previous games.
PSV needed at least a point to guarantee a spot in the knockout stage, though they could still qualify with a loss.
As it happened
Given Liverpool’s qualification, manager Arne Slot took the opportunity to rest several key players ahead of their Premier League clash with Bournemouth on Saturday.
Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz, and Dominik Szoboszlai were all left out, and Slot made nine changes to the starting lineup that had beaten Ipswich Town the previous week.
Cody Gakpo and Andy Robertson were the only two players to retain their places, while Jayden Danns made his first start in place of the ill Darwin Nunez.
Despite the changes, Liverpool took the lead early when Gakpo scored from the penalty spot after Federico Chiesa was fouled in the box.
However, PSV quickly responded. Johan Bakayoko dribbled past Robertson and Jarell Quansah before curling a shot into the bottom left corner to equalize.
Liverpool regained the lead just before halftime through Harvey Elliott, who scored in the 40th minute.
But PSV was not done as Ismael Saibari leveled the score again in the 45th minute.
The drama continued into stoppage time, when a poor clearance from Quansah allowed PSV to counterattack, and Ricardo Pepi flicked the ball over Kelleher to give the hosts a 3-2 lead.
The second half was far quieter, with neither team able to find the net.
Despite the loss, Liverpool finished top of the log, thanks to Barcelona’s 2-2 draw with Atalanta.
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