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Liverpool answered Manchester City's impressive win over Copenhagen with a dominant display against Sparta Prague
Liverpool had several positives as they beat Slavia Prague in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League Round of 16 tie as they ran out 5-1 winners over the Czech Republic side.
Goals from Alexis Mac Allister, Conor Bradley, Dominik Szoboszlai, as well as a brace from Darwin Nunez helped the Reds to the perfect result ahead of their crunch Premier League match against Manchester City.
How it happened
The Reds got off to a dream start as Alexis Mac Allister calmly converted a sixth-minute penalty after being brought down in the box.
Liverpool extended their lead in style with a remarkable goal from Darwin Nunez. The Uruguayan striker received the ball on the left, danced past a defender, and curled in a stunning effort, doubling the advantage within 20 minutes.
Nunez wasn't done yet, adding his second and Liverpool's third just before halftime. He smashed the ball into the net after Mac Allister's delivery eluded the Sparta defence, putting the visitors in firm control.
Sparta Prague pulled one back early in the second half when Liverpool substitute Conor Bradley accidentally put the ball into his own net, providing a momentary setback for the Reds.
Despite an apparent injury to Ibrahima Konate, Liverpool continued their dominance, securing their fourth goal through Luis Díaz, whose effort deflected in after impressive contributions from Bradley and Harvey Elliott.
Mohamed Salah made a long-awaited return to fitness from the bench in the 74th minute, and the Egyptian even had the ball in the back of the net. Although Salah's goal was disallowed for offside, his return marked a positive development for Jürgen Klopp amid the ongoing challenges of player absences.
Hungarian midfielder Szoboszlai wrapped up the scoring in the 90th minute to make it 5-1 to the visitors, giving them a comfortable advantage ahead of the second leg.
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