Liverpool U19 5-0 Napoli U19: Reds cruise into UEFA Youth League quarter-finals

Liverpool stormed to a 5-0 victory over Napoli to secure top spot in their UEFA Youth League group and show Jurgen Klopp's first team the way for Tuesday night.

Goals from Rafael Camacho, Liam Millar, Paul Glatzel, Curtis Jones and Bobby Duncan routed the Italians and forced second-place Paris Saint-Germain into the play-offs.

The Reds were guaranteed at least second place in Group C ahead of Tuesday afternoon's match at St Helens but knew a win would see them finish above PSG by virtue of superior head-to-head record.

And it was clear that Barry Lewtas' team didn't want to leave anything to chance as they put the Napoli goal under pressure from the first whistle.

Jake Cain forced visiting goalkeeper Alessandro D'Andrea into the first of a series of excellent saves, while Jones swerved a shot wide all within the opening 10 minutes.

D'Andrea saved impressively to deny Glatzel, whose shot looked bound for the bottom left corner, before Millar side-footed a Lewis cross over the crossbar with the goal gaping.

Liverpool were knocking loudly on the door and they gained their reward on 34 minutes. Glatzel and Millar combined down the left, finding Jones whose shot was deflected to Camacho at the back post.

The Portuguese playmaker made no mistake, duly netting his fourth goal of the Youth League group stage.

A second goal just before the break practically settled the contest - Millar knocked in the rebound when the over-worked D'Andrea parried Camacho's right-side cross into his path.

The floodgates opened further after the break, with Liverpool needing just a couple of minutes of the second-half to make it three.

Gatzel swapped passes with Millar before producing a superb finish that rippled the net off the underside of the crossbar.

The fourth came pretty much from the restart, with Jones beating a defender on the right-side of the penalty box before firing his shot beneath D'Andrea.

Duncan had come off the bench to replace Glatzel and he rounded off the resounding victory four minutes from time, firing into the bottom corner from 20 yards.

Having secured an automatic passage into the quarter-finals on March 12/13, Liverpool's kids can look forward with confidence to European football after Christmas.