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Liverpool kick off their Europa League round of 16 campaign at home to Sparta Praha, reports Magyar Nemzet. Jürgen Klopp’s side took an early lead, scoring from a penalty in the sixth minute, before Darwin Núñez doubled the advantage to give Liverpool their 1,000th goal under the guidance of the German coach. Dominik Szoboszlai came on as a substitute in the 51st minute. His assist was taken away by VAR (Video Assistant Referee) but he scored a beautiful goal in the end.
A mistake by Czech legionnaire Sörensen put the hosts behind right from the start. The defender took a long ball inside the penalty area and Alexis Mac Allister was ready to pounce, resulting in the Argentine being kicked over by Sörensen, who was trying to correct his mistake. No doubt about it, the penalty given was slotted into the net by Mac Allister to make it 0-1.
At the start of the game, the Prague fans were at their best, with flags and Greek fire in the stadium. Liverpool’s goal, however, quickly cooled the fire, if not extinguishing their enthusiasm. Sparta’s players repeatedly challenged the Englishman’s Irish goalkeeper Kelleher, but failed to equalize.
Liverpool doubled their lead in the 25th minute, although the minutes before that belonged to the Czechs. But in came Darwin Núñez, who curled a right-footed shot under the bar from 24 meters (0-2).
Interestingly, it was the 1,000th goal scored by Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp.
Núñez proved to be a force to be reckoned with in first-half overtime, hitting the net again from 14 meters (0-3).
After the break, Prague made things even with a quick goal, substitute Bradley scoring an own goal in the 46th minute (1-3). Klopp quickly made two substitutions, bringing on captain Van Dijk in a shaky defense, and in the 51st minute, Szoboszlai came to replace Núñez. Sparta’s joy did not last long either, as two minutes later Diaz’s rebounded shot restored the three-goal difference (1-4).
Szoboszlai made several dangerous moves in the match, making two good flicks in the penalty area, but he had no power to shoot and the goal was missed. He also failed to assist: in the 84th minute the Hungarian midfielder had served Salah, but the Egyptian’s goal was taken away by VAR. However, Szoboszlai thought that he could not leave Prague empty-handed either, and
in the fourth minute in overtime, he drove the ball to the penalty area, where he was unstoppable, and this time his shot was saved and ended up in the net (1-5).
It was Szoboszlai’s sixth goal of the season and his first in the Europa League.
Liverpool essentially settled the tie with a 5-1 victory. The return leg is on March 14 at Anfield.
Via Magyar Nemzet, Featured image: Facebook/AC Sparta Praha