With the visit of Manchester City looming on the horizon for Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool, Thursday’s trip to Sparta Praha would come as a welcome opportunity to continue their fine run of form and claim a seventh consecutive victory ahead of a match that has the potential to decide the destination of the Premier League trophy.
PRA: Vindahl; Krejcí, Sørensen, Vitil; Zeleny, Kairinen, Solbakken, Preciado; Haraslín, Kuchta, Birmancevic
LIV: Kelleher; Robertson, Quansah, Konaté, Gomez; Mac Allister, Endo, Elliott; Díaz, Núñez, Gakpo
It took merely six minutes for the visitors to seize an early lead in the Czech capital on Thursday, as Alexis Mac Allister found the back of the net from the spot after being fouled by Asger Sørensen and subsequently awarded a penalty.
Liverpool would find their 1000th goal under departing manager Jürgen Klopp just twenty minutes later, as Darwin Núñez’s dipping strike from outside the box ensured the Reds reached the milestone occasion – and the Uruguayan doubled his personal tally in first-half stoppage time with a thunderous strike from the edge of the area.
Embed from Getty ImagesConor Bradley had a nightmare start to his involvement in Thursday’s match, as the half-time substitute turned the ball into his own net with his first touch since replacing Joe Gomez – but Luis Díaz restored the Reds’ three-goal margin seven minutes later.
Liverpool never looked back from that point on, but they were forced to wait until the dying seconds of the match to register their fifth goal of the evening, which came courtesy of Dominik Szoboszlai.
The Reds have all but confirmed their participation in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Europa League, but must see out the return leg at Anfield on March 14. Before that though, Manchester City visit Merseyside this weekend, with the Cityzens currently just a point behind Liverpool in the Premier League standings.
