- Liverpool won the first leg of their last 16 Europa League tie
- Darwin Nunez scored two first half goal in 5-1 win
- Sparta Prague face mammoth task in Anfield return leg
Liverpool have one foot in the Europa League quarter-finals after making light work of Sparta Prague in the first leg of their last 16 tie in the Czech capital.
Jurgen Klopp saw fit to rest Virgil van Dijk from the start and not rush Mohamed Salah back into the lineup after his recent injury. But Alexis Mac Allister got the ball rolling inside six minutes from the penalty spot, with Darwin Nunez getting a brace before half-time.
Conor Bradley’s own goal with his first touch immediately after coming on at the break threatened to hand Sparta a lifeline, but Luis Diaz quickly restored the three-goal cushion and Dominik Szoboszlai made it 5-1 in the Reds’ favour in stoppage time at the end.
Ibrahima Konate’s night ending after just 50 minutes because of injury was an unfortunate blot.
