… as Jurgen Klopp’s side net big first-leg lead
Darwin Nunez grabbed a brilliant brace as Liverpool took a commanding grip of their UEFA Europa League last-16 tie courtesy of a 5-1 win at Sparta Prague.
Jurgen Klopp named a strong starting XI despite the looming shadow of Sunday’s crunch Premier League showdown with Manchester City, and they took just six minutes to open the scoring through Alexis Mac Allister’s penalty.
Nunez then scored the 1000th goal of Klopp’s reign with a sumptuous curler on 25 minutes before an even better 20-yard volley from the Uruguayan made it three on the stroke of half-time.
Sparta had plenty of chances of their own but were thwarted by some heroics from Caoimhín Kelleher until substitute Conor Bradley put through his own net within seconds of the restart.
Luis Diaz’s deflected finish restored the three-goal advantage on 53 minutes and Mo Salah returned from his hamstring problem as a substitute, but the withdrawal of Ibrahima Konate with a possible injury slightly dampened Liverpool’s otherwise excellent night.
Dominik Szoboszlai added a fifth in stoppage time as the Merseysiders put one foot in the last eight ahead of the second leg at Anfield next Thursday.
Player Ratings
Sparta Prague: Vindahl 7, Preciado 7, Solbakken 6, Kairinen 6, Kutcha 6, Birmancevic 6, Haraslin 6, Sorensen 6, Zeleny 6, Krejci 6, Vitik 6. Subs: Rynes 6, Laci 6, Tuci 6, Karabec 6, Olatinji 6.
Liverpool: Kelleher 9, Gomez 7, Robertson 7, Konate 7, Quansah 7, Endo 7, Mac Allister 8, Elliott 7, Gakpo 7, Nunez 9*, Diaz 7. Subs: Bradley 6, Van Dijk 7, Szoboszlai 7, Clark 6, Salah 7.
Player of the match – Darwin Nunez (Liverpool)
It was a toss-up between the striker and the excellent Kelleher, but the forward got the nod for two stunning strikes that effectively put the game beyond the Czech league leaders.
