Liverpool’s 6-1 triumph against Sparta Prague in the second leg of the Europa League last-16 was the result of an extraordinary offensive performance that included four goals scored in only 14 minutes. This result sealed an impressive 11-2 aggregate victory for Liverpool, allowing them to easily advance to the quarterfinals.
In the opening exchanges, the Reds blew the disjointed Czech champions to smithereens, eliminating any shred of doubt about the outcome. Darwin Nunez, Bobby Clark, Mohamed Salah, and Cody Gakpo eliminated any doubt about the outcome, and Veljko Birmancevic wiped out the clean sheet that the hosts had kept. The Reds already had a 5-1 advantage from the first game of the previous week.
In spite of the fact that the second half was, as one would expect, less intense, Dominik Szoboszlai and Gakpo both scored further goals, and Jurgen Klopp’s fist pumps were in full effect as his goal-hungry players put on an incredible performance.
The inclusion of Salah from the very beginning of the match was the most intriguing piece of squad news coming from the Liverpool camp. Klopp’s decision to choose Salah raises eyebrows since Manchester United is scheduled to play Liverpool over the weekend. However, the Egyptian player carved his name into another page of the Reds’ history during a mind-boggling opening 15 minutes of the match.
A low delivery from the right side of the field by Szoboszlai found Nunez inside the box, and the Uruguayan’s first-time effort, which he partially hit into the ground, rolled into the bottom corner. This extinguished any possibility that the hosts would take their foot off the gas with a four-goal aggregate lead by the time seven minutes had passed.
Salah intercepted Ladislav Krejci’s startling pass out from the back to Clark, whose first-time effort snuck between Peter Vindahl Jensen’s knees and into the back of the goal. Just a few seconds had elapsed when Klopp’s crop had the ball in the back of the net for a second time. Clark’s strike was the first time it had been scored.
Vindahl Jensen’s poor positioning helped Salah, who was able to curl the ball into the far side of the net after Clark won the ball back from the defender. This time, Jaroslav Zeleny was the one who was responsible for the goal, and a role reversal from the second goal saw Clark win the ball back.
In doing so, Salah became the first player in Liverpool’s history to score at least 20 goals in seven consecutive seasons across all competitions. While the Reds were in a state of euphoria, Sparta would not be able to emerge from their nightmare just yet.
A smooth one-touch move involving Nunez, Salah, and Gakpo culminated with the latter player blasting a low shot into the center of Vindahl Jensen’s goal. In fact, number four came for the dominant Reds in the fourteenth minute, which was also the time when another series of defensive disasters from the away team occurred.
It should come as no surprise that Liverpool established a new record for the shortest time to go 4-0 up in a Europa League match, which was recorded at 13 minutes and 22 seconds. Sparta, on the other hand, discovered a glimmer of defensive tenacity after a huddle that took place on the pitch.
The Jurgen Klopp-coached team was still in the lead in the 36th minute and had the chance to go into double digits on the scoreboard overall. However, Nunez added to his list of missed opportunities by shooting a sitter over the bar from a few yards away.
However, Liverpool continued where they left off at the beginning of the second half and recovered their four-goal edge on the night in the 48th minute. Szoboszlai’s low shot took a vicious deflection off of Krejci and surprised Vindahl Jensen at his near post. This allowed Liverpool to regain their four-goal advantage throughout the evening.
The embattled goalkeeper for Sparta had very little that he could have done to stop the Hungarian’s attempt; nonetheless, he was largely to blame for the sixth goal scored by the home team in the 55th minute. He was only able to punch a corner kick from Liverpool to Conor Bradley on the outside of the box.
The right-back set up Harvey Elliott, who is also 20 years old, and he launched a gorgeous curling effort from 20 yards out. The drive may have been considered wide if it weren’t for Gakpo’s superb flip, which diverted the Englishman’s attempt into the bottom corner of the goal.
What appeared to be an ankle injury Clark sustained slightly dampened the mood on Merseyside. However, his withdrawal made it possible for Mateusz Musialowski, a Polish midfielder who is 20 years old, to make his first-team debut for Liverpool. Gakpo, a flying Dutchman, had a chance to score a hat-trick in the 77th minute, but Vindahl Jensen was able to prevent him from scoring at the near post.
In spite of the fact that the player, who had previously played for PSV Eindhoven, had the ball in the back of the goal for the third time on the stroke of the 90th minute, the offside flag was appropriately raised as Klopp’s team declared the game to be six minutes late.
After being drawn alongside West Ham United, Marseille, AC Milan, Benfica, Roma, Atalanta BC, and Bayer Leverkusen in the quarterfinals, Liverpool will find out who their opponents will be for the final eight during the draw that takes place on Friday at twelve o’clock in the afternoon. By that time, Klopp and his team will already be preparing for their FA Cup quarterfinal match against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
