Czechs pummelled as superb Salah highlights huge gulf between sides
After the Lord Mayor’s show comes the dust cart and after putting on one of the most exhilarating fetes Premier League watchers have ever seen on Sunday, whatever happened against Sparta Prague last night, with the tie dead in the water after the first leg, was always going to be the usual come down.
A surprisingly strong Liverpool line-up, however, proved a more than able follow-up act, with the opposition defending bringing an element of the circus to the performance.
Jürgen Klopp did his best to insist the tie was still alive, even with Sparta needing to score five unanswered goals at a near-unconquerable Anfield, dedicating half of his programme notes to the idea, but four goals inside the opening 14 minutes made the outgoing German look rather silly.
Darwin Nunez was left all alone to fire Liverpool into a seventh-minute lead – his sixth in his last six games – before the Czech clowns took centre stage, gifting Liverpool two comical goals, one put away by Bobby Clark – a first for Liverpool – and another by Mohamed Salah on his first start since New Year’s Day. The superb Salah also weighed in with three assists.
Cody Gakpo got in on the act in the 14th minute to make it 9-1 on aggregate, leaving everyone reaching for their phones and searching for Liverpool’s biggest European win, but with Nunez missing a sitter later in the first half, Norwegian side Stromsgodset’s place in Red folklore was never in danger of being displaced.
Nonetheless, Liverpool became only the second side in major Uefa competition history to score four goals in the first 14 minutes of a match, after Chelsea did it to Jeunesse Hautcharage in the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1971-72
Veljko Birmancevic got one back late in the first half, much to the delight of the travelling Sparta supporters who celebrated as if it was a last-minute winner, but normal service resumed less than three minutes after the break, with Dominik Szoboszlai squeezing one home at the near post. A sixth soon followed, with Harvey Elliot’s low drive flicked home by Gakpo, but that is where Liverpool finally decided to slip into neutral and coast.
It was the perfect warm-up for Sunday’s trip to Manchester United, who face some sleepless nights wondering what Liverpool might do to them.