The Reds completely rolled over their opponents to go through with a 11-2 aggregate win
Liverpool ran riot against Sparta Prague as Jurgen Klopp's side strolled to a 6-1 win against the Czech side in the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday. Despite holding a 5-1 lead from the first leg and with an FA Cup clash against Manchester United coming up, Jurgen Klopp opted to use his heavy artillery, starting Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai as the Reds pulverised their already down-and-out opponents.
The floodgates opened after just seven minutes when Szoboszlai found Nunez in plenty of space in the Sparta Prague box for the Uruguayan to smash into the net. Rather than learn a lesson from such lax defending, it got worse for Sparta as, just seconds later, some sloppy play gave away another goal as Bobby Clark was there to roll it into the net.
It was 3-0 inside just 10 minutes, with even more dodgy passing at the back once again presenting Salah with the golden chance to make club history and the Egyptian sensation did not pass it up, netting his 20th goal of the season. Sparta's self-destruction continued as Cody Gakpo made it 4-0 after just 14 minutes, getting onto the end of a pass from Salah to add more misery for the visitors and turning all neutral spectators into a real life Simpsons meme.
Amazingly, Sparta managed to pull a goal back near the end of the first-half as Veljko Birmancevic outmuscled Wataru Endo and rolled it beyond Caoimhin Kelleher. The goal and half-time break hardly disrupted Liverpool's momentum, as Szoboszlai got a goal of his own early in the second half before Gakpo flicked into the net to deprive substitute Harvey Elliott of a goal, making it 6-1 after 55 minutes. That's how it finished, with the Reds romping their way to the last eight.
GOAL rates Liverpool's players from Anfield…
GettyGoalkeeper & Defence
Caoimhin Kelleher (6/10):
A quiet night for the goalkeeper who only had one save to make.
Conor Bradley (7/10):
Drifted forward and into midfield when Liverpool were in possession and offered a decent amount of protection out of it.
Joe Gomez (6/10):
Barely troubled as Sparta crumbled under the pressure and failed to threaten more than once.
Jarell Quansah (7/10):
Another comfortable display at centre-back, putting his sound reading of the game on show.
Andy Robertson (7/10):
Saw plenty of the ball and was always safe and smart with his passing.
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Bobby Clark (8/10):
A really tidy performance. Was involved in the first goal and got a simple one of his own seconds later. Had a lot of fun cutting through Sparta to threaten their goal.
Wataru Endo (5/10):
Didn't look good for Sparta's goal and was taken off at half-time.
Dominik Szoboszlai (8/10):
Got things up and running with a perfectly-placed pass to Nunez and got on the scoresheet early in the second half.
GettyAttack
Mohamed Salah (9/10):
Tore Sparta apart at times and got three assists as well as a goal.
Darwin Nunez (7/10):
A huge danger throughout the game with his pace, passing and positioning. Took his goal well but, as is customary from the Uruguayan, he missed a few great chances. Went off at half-time.
Cody Gakpo (8/10):
Joined in the fun as Sparta collapsed and got two goals. Thought he had a hat-trick but the flag was up.
GettySubs & Manager
Kostas Tsimikas (6/10):
One of three half-time changes and settled in well in the backline.
James McConnell (6/10):
A good fit for the midfield with some sound passing.
Harvey Elliott (7/10):
Covered a lot of ground in yet another determined display and almost got rewarded with a goal but Gakpo got the final touch.
Virgil van Dijk (6/10):
Surprisingly brought on for the last 25 minutes but wasn't really needed.
Mateusz Musialowski (5/10):
Didn't have much time to impress after replacing Clark.
Jurgen Klopp (9/10):
An awesome performance from his side as they dominated and were hardly troubled. Made some surprising calls to start so many stars and bring on Van Dijk despite the lead, even before kick-off. But his players will take great confidence into the FA Cup clash against Manchester United at the weekend.