Liverpool are on the verge of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League after beating Rangers 7-1 at Ibrox on Wednesday evening.

Mohamed Salah's six-minute hat-trick - as well as goals from Darwin Nunez, Harvey Elliott and a brace from Roberto Firmino - helped the Reds recover from Scott Arfield's strike to secure a third consecutive European win. They now need just a point from their final two group games to progress.

Liverpool's Group A rivals Napoli reached the knockout stages of the tournament earlier in the evening by beating Eredivisie champions Ajax 4-2 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Here are the main talking points from a thrilling evening at Ibrox.

Salah dropped

The big talking point before the game was Salah's omission from Liverpool's starting XI. The Egypt international had endured a disappointing start to the season by his lofty standards, scoring five goals and providing four assists. Those standards are sky high, after all.

"It's not half an eye to the weekend, we have to realise we are in a very busy period," Klopp told BT Sport before the match. Yet the fact he left Salah out of a big European game spoke volumes. The Liverpool manager needed his talisman to up his game.

It's fair to say Klopp's message was received.

Hosts' bright start

Heading into the game, Rangers knew losing to Liverpool would mean elimination after losing their first three group games. A draw was also not good enough, as that result would've maintained Liverpool's six-point lead over them with two games to play.

Quite simply, Rangers had to win this game. "Today, we have to start bright and attack them," Van Bronkhorst told BT Sport ahead of the game. He also called on Ibrox's famous atmosphere to inspire them to victory, just like they've done many times before.

Rangers' attacking intent was obvious from the outset, as they had two attempts on goal in the opening five minutes. Fashion Sakala went the closest to opening the scoring when Alisson got down low to save his tame shot. Liverpool had been warned.

Arfield rewards pressure

Rangers had not scored a single group-stage goal before Wednesday evening's game, but their positive start encouraged them to continue pushing. Van Bronkhorst's side were rewarded in the 17th minute when Arfield finished off a lovely move to make it 1-0.

The goal came after youngster Fabio Carvalho, who was making his Champions League debut, was dispossessed in midfield. Rangers then stormed forward and, after some neat passing, the ball eventually came to Arfield to slot home a confident drive.

Brilliant Bobby delivers

Arfield's goal made Liverpool look even more vulnerable following their poor start to the season. Klopp's side were humbled 4-1 by Napoli in their Champions League opener and have won just two of their eight Premier League fixtures, leaving them 10th in the table.

Liverpool needed a response - and Firmino provided it. The Brazil international, who has scored six goals and produced three assists in seven Premier League games this season, held off Rangers captain James Tavernier to nod in Kostas Tsimikas' corner. Game on.

The Reds would've liked to have taken charge after that, but Rangers remained on top. The hosts finished the first half with twice as many shots as their guests and boasted 47 per cent of the ball. As the half-time whistle went, few could confidently predict the result.

A football match can change very quickly, though.

Trent who?

Klopp would've been after a reaction from his players after a difficult first half - and he got it. Liverpool took the lead in the 55th minute thanks to a moment of quality from Joe Gomez, who was deployed at right-back following Trent Alexander-Arnold's injury.

The Englishman took a rare opportunity in the starting XI by delivering in a perfectly-timed cross into the feet of Firmino for the easiest of tap-ins. It was a reminder of Liverpool's strength in depth - as well as Gomez's ability after an injury-hit few years.

Comfortable... in the end

Liverpool started to pull away after Firmino's second goal. They doubled their advantage in the 66th minute following a slick move, as Carvalho, Firmino and Nunez combined. It was a beautiful finish by the latter, who effortlessly stroked the ball into the far corner.

Klopp brought on Salah, Thiago Alcantara and Andy Robertson after Liverpool's third goal - which hardly seems fair - in a bid to settle the result. The move worked a dream, as Salah smashed in a brutal six-minute hat-trick to crush Rangers' Champions League dream.

Elliott poked home a late goal to make it 7-1 and complete a remarkable result for Liverpool, which didn't seem possible at the break.