Darwin Núñez scores 1,000th of Jürgen Klopp’s reign in emphatic win
The perfect night for Liverpool in Prague. Almost. Jürgen Klopp’s quadruple chasing team effectively booked their place in the Europa League quarter-finals with an emphatic and clinical defeat of Sparta Prague.
A convincing evening’s work began almost immediately. With five minutes gone Sparta goalkeeper Peter Vindahl played centre-half Asger Sørensen into trouble with a risky pass through the Liverpool press on the edge of his area. Alexis Mac Allister pounced instantly, taking the ball off Sørensen’s toes before being sent sprawling by the defender’s careless challenge inside the area.
Sparta’s adventurous approach and misery in front of goal continued unabated. When Kelleher blocked Jan Kuchta’s low drive with his legs the rebound fell perfectly for Veljko Birmancevic arriving unmarked at the back post. Birmancevic somehow managed to kick the ball with his right leg against his left leg and saw it trickle wide of an open goal. Replays of the miss on the stadium screens prompted gasps from the Sparta fans and heightened his embarrassment.