Liverpool have one foot in the Europa League quarter-finals after their 5-1 demolition victory away to Sparta Prague on Thursday (March 8).
First Half
It was a fast start for Liverpool who sought to dominate possession and put the game out of sight with Manchester City on the horizon.
They certainly stuck to that plan after Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring with a penalty in the sixth minute after being fouled in the box.
Those who thought Liverpool would then cruise to a victory were very wrong as they almost conceded 10 minutes later and had Caoimhin Kelleher to thank who produced a top save from Jan Kuchta’s shot before Joe Gomez acrobatically cleared the ball off the line.
After preventing Sparta Prague from levelling, Darwin Núñez had ideas of his own as his speculative shot from 25 yards out nestled in the back of the net to double Liverpool’s lead in what was his 15th goal of the season in all competitions.
The Uruguayan was certainly in the scoring mood as he bagged his second of the game shortly before half-time with a sumptuous volley courtesy of a long pass from Mac Allister.
Second Half
Liverpool were forced to deal with more injuries at the beginning of the second half with Gomez and Ibrahima Konaté both being forced off as Conor Bradley had a horror first touch in the game which resulted in an own goal.
Through the shock goal, the home side found themselves back in the game but a quick strike from Luis Díaz restored Liverpool’s three-goal cushion just minutes after Bradley’s blunder.
A period of quiet then took place in the game as Liverpool slowed down their tempo they grew comfy with the 4-1 scoreline that briefly increased to five thanks to Mohamed Salah’s goal minutes after making his return to the team following injury.
Unfortunately for the Egyptian, it was ruled out for offside but Liverpool would soon find a fifth just a minute before full-time with Dominik Szoboszlai’s strike inside the box making its way past the Sparta keeper to cap off a dominant result for the Premier League side.
LFC Globe Verdict
While Sparta Prague had their moments, Liverpool were as clinical as ever to all but confirm their passage into the Europa League quarter-finals.
The team certainly looked shaky at times and was severely helped by the heroics of Caoimhin Kelleher once again who was on top form in between the sticks.
Man Of The Match And What’s Next?
He only managed about 50 minutes of action but Darwin Núñez was the man of the match for Liverpool in their Thursday triumph.
The 24-year-old has finally arrived as Liverpool’s big-money signing as he’s impressed greatly in recent weeks and bested last season’s tally of goals with his brace against Sparta Prague.
The striker is showing consistency in front of goal at a higher clip than ever before and alongside Mohamed Salah, is becoming the go-to guy for the Reds when they need a moment of magic.
Liverpool will certainly hope he can repeat his finishing from Thursday again on Sunday (March 10) when the Premier League leaders host Manchester City in a top-of-the-table clash at 3:45 PM (UK time).
