Izuchukwu OkosiLiverpool romped to an emphatic 5-1 win over Sparta Prague in the round of 16 first leg tie of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday barely three days to their top-of-the-table tie against Manchester City on Sunday evening.
The game was a big comeback for Egypt forward Mohamed Salah who had been rocked by an injury he copped at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelLiverpool manager shocked watchers-on as he went for a strong starting lineup despite the City game in horizon in contrast to Pep Guardiola who made seven changes to the side that beat FC Copenhagen 3-1 on Wednesday (6-2 on aggregate over two legs).
There was only three changes from the Reds lineup that edged Nottingham Forest in a 1-0 home win.
Darwin Nunez was playing in his first start in five games since an injury-induced absence and would go ahead and score a first half brace.
Jarell Quansah and Wataru Endo – the latter another returning from injury in a major boost – both made the team.
Alexis Mac Allister put the Merseysiders ahead with only seven minutes played when he won and converted a penalty.
Caoimhin Kelleher made a double save to deny the home side while Joe Gomez made a goal line clearance before Nunez eventually struck his 15th goal of the season on all competitions.
The goal from 25 yards was the 1,000th goal scored for Klopp’s Liverpool.
The Uruguayan further scored one more goal before the half time break to effectively put the match beyond their opponents.
Half time substitute Conor Bradley conceded an own goal to give Slavia a slim hope but Luis Diaz came through for the Reds with the fourth of the night.
Before the Diaz goal, there was cause for concern for Jurgen Klopp ahead of the Super Sunday clash against game against City when defender Ibrahima Konate limped off injured.
Diaz was subbed off for the final 15 minutes by Mo Salah who is making only his second substitute appearance since New Year’s Day for Liverpool.
Salah had a supposed 20th goal of the season ruled out by VAR but Dominik Szoboszlai added the fifth in stoppage time.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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