Player Ratings: Sparta Prague 1-5 Liverpool as Reds advance in Europa League

Liverpool stands on the verge of quarter-finals in the Europa League after easily defeating Sparta Prague in the first round of their last 16 tie in Prague, Czech Republic.

Manager Jurgen Klopp decided to give Virgil van Dijk a rest from the beginning of the match and did not rush Mohamed Salah back to the lineup following his recent injury. Despite this, Alexis Mac Allister set the pace within the first six minutes from the penalty spot, and Darwin Nunez scored twice before the half-time whistle.

Although Conor Bradley’s own goal immediately upon entering the game post break, threatened Sparta’s rebound, Luis Diaz quickly reinstated the three-goal lead and Dominik Szoboszlai finalized the score at 5-1 in the Reds’ favor during the stoppage time.

The untimely injury to Ibrahima Konate just 50 minutes into the game was unfortunate.

Liverpool was quick off the mark as their European journey continued, with Mac Allister drawing a penalty after pressuring Sparta defender Asger Sorensen high right after receiving a pass from the goalkeeper. The Argentine player won the ball and was tackled, confidently scoring from 12 yards after the referee made the penalty decision.

Sparta had their own period of dominance as the match progressed and missed the equalizer when Caoimhin Kelleher made an excellent save against Lukas Haraslin at the far post. Soon after, Kelleher failed to convincingly defend a corner kick but made up for the mistake with another great save when Angelo Preciado attempted to return the ball towards the goal.

Nunez shot a cracking goal halfway through the first half to end the home team's pressure, marking Liverpool’s 1,000th goal under Klopp. The on-form Uruguayan player skillfully created space for his shot by cutting inside Preciado on the left inside and launched a breathtaking 25-yard shot beyond the reach of Peter Vindahl Jensen.

Vindahl Jensen, the Sparta goalkeeper, made two crucial saves against Cody Gakpo towards the end of the first half, before Nunez’s second made it 3-0 just before the break. Nunez took advantage of Mac Allister’s diagonal pass into space to drive the ball into the net from just inside the box.

Bradley inadvertently increased Liverpool's lead by unintentionally steering Veljko Birmancevic’s low right-wing cross into his own goal. However, Bradley quickly proved useful in moving the ball into the box to compensate for his earlier mistake.

Szoboszlai scored Liverpool's final goal, though there was a disallowed goal for Salah due to offside as determined by VAR. He also provided a pass for Salah to score a would-be fifth goal for Liverpool, which was disallowed due to offside.