This was an effortless victory for Liverpool and an effective way to intimidate Manchester United before their FA Cup quarter-final match at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Jürgen Klopp’s admirable side are into Friday’s Europa League quarter-final draw via a goal-fest that almost required an abacus to keep count, because when Cody Gakpo touched in his second on 55 minutes that was 6-1 on the night and 11-2 on aggregate.
Mohamed Salah’s comeback to the starting lineup for the first time since New Year’s Day has been a major talking point ahead of the Cup match against United. His impact was immense – scoring a goal, providing three assists, playing the full match and reaching 20 goals for his seventh consecutive season, a record-breaking achievement in Liverpool’s history.
Klopp praised the player, saying, “He is an exceptional player.” The original plan was not for him to play the full 90 minutes, but due to Bobby Clark’s injury, he had to be substituted. Klopp instructed him to stop defending, which was a first for him as a coach, and reminded him that the game on Sunday would be different.
In the span of seven minutes, Sparta Prague’s defense was broken through, and three more goals were scored within the first 15 minutes of the match. Dominik Szoboszlai received a pass on the right side and crossed the ball back to Darwin Núñez, who successfully scored a goal.
At the start of the match, there was a disastrous display of defense as Ladislav Krejci was stripped of the ball by Salah. Salah then passed to Bobby Clark, who scored his first goal as a senior player by getting past Peter Vindahl. This increased the score from 7-1 to 8-1. Jaroslav Zeleny was to blame for this goal as Clark took the ball from him and passed it to Salah for another goal.
Already in a state of shock, Sparta soon began to feel even worse. Salah delivered the pass, allowing the Egyptian to find Gakpo, who did not miss the opportunity, resulting in a score of 9-1 and securing the victory for United, who were enjoying the moment just as much as the players in black.
After 20 minutes, Vindahl’s goal was not in jeopardy until Salah’s shot missed and the ball ended up with Núñez. However, Núñez’s close-range attempt was off-target, causing Klopp to laugh. Clark then had a chance, impressively faking out Sparta’s defenders and taking a powerful shot that Vindahl managed to block.
During the game, Salah showed his frustration by hitting his hands in disappointment after failing to score. Sparta’s manager, Brian Priske, could be seen applauding Veljko Birmancevic’s goal, as the midfielder successfully beat Caoimhín Kelleher to the goalkeeper’s left side.
In the second part of the game, Klopp swapped Joe Gomez, Núñez, and Wataru Endo with Kostas Tsimikas, Harvey Elliott, and James McConnell. The score quickly became 5-1, thanks to Szoboszlai’s goal. He made a run on the inside-right and took a shot, which deflected off Krejci and went past Vindahl, the goalkeeper, on his left side.
Salah provided the assist yet again, but the question was how much longer the Egyptian player would stay on the field before Klopp substituted him. He remained on the field long enough to see Elliott make a powerful effort that allowed Gakpo to score over Vindahl, setting up the Dutch player for a potential hat-trick.
After some time had passed, Virgil van Dijk joined in for some playing time before Sunday’s game against M62. Klopp subbed out Jarell Quansah, but not before receiving a yellow card for expressing frustration on the sideline after Quansah had been booked. The manager smiled at the bench and then hugged Quansah, who could have watched the game from a relaxed position.
In the lead-up, Klopp stated that it would be foolish to think that he is reconsidering leaving his position. Of course, being human, it is natural to have private doubts about leaving behind such a talented team for his successor.
Priske expressed admiration for Liverpool.
Source: theguardian.com
