Liverpool easily defeated Czech Republican team Sparta Prague 5-1 on Friday to win the first leg of their Europa League Round of 16 match. Seven minutes in, summer signing Alexis Mac Allister gave the visitors the lead with a penalty kick. Darwin Nunez then added a brace to put the game out of reach for Sparta Prague. With his own goal, Conor Bradley, who replaced Joe Gomez at halftime, assisted the home team in winning the match. Luis Diaz and Dominik Szoboszlai’s goals late in the second half eliminated any chance of a comeback, and the Reds will take a four-goal lead into the return leg at Anfield.
Liverpool played an intense, very aggressive brand of football at the epet ARENA in Prague this evening. The 24-year-old striker’s second goal, a stunning effort from outside the box that curled the ball into the top-right corner, was the icing on the cake.
In addition to making it 2-0 for Liverpool in the 25th minute, the strike marked the 1,000th goal scored during Jurgen Klopp’s coaching career, which is scheduled to come to an end at the conclusion of this current season.
This accomplishment was accomplished by Liverpool in Klopp’s 476th game as the team’s manager. With this, he achieved an astounding milestone and became just the fourth manager of an English team in Premier League history. Along with Pep Guardiola of Manchester City, Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United, and Arsene Wenger of Arsenal, he became a member of a select group of managers who oversaw 1,000 goals being scored. Bill Shankly and Tom Watson are the only other Liverpool managers in history to have accomplished this.
After the match, Klopp was questioned about his desire to take home a European championship before leaving Anfield this summer. “‘How great is the ambition to win a European trophy?’ is perhaps the question to ask. Indeed, it would be awesome, but it has nothing to do with him leaving. I wanted to win something last year while I was here, but it was simply not feasible, so certainly, that’s nothing to worry about,” the German coach said.
When Klopp announced earlier this year that he would be leaving his position as Liverpool’s coach at the conclusion of the season, everyone was taken aback. The Merseyside team will be aiming for an extraordinarily prosperous season to provide Klopp with the ideal send-off. The Reds are the favorites to win both the Europa League and the Premier League right now. This season, they have already won the Carabao Cup.