Europa League: Roma defeats Brighton as Liverpool thrashes Sparta 5-1; Milan, Leverkusen, and Marseille triumph
Liverpool defeated Sparta 5-1 thanks to two goals from Darwin Nunez, moving the team one step closer to the Europa League quarterfinals on Thursday.
Liverpool defeated Sparta 1-0 in the Premier League on Saturday thanks to a goal from Nunez in the ninth minute of stoppage time.
After Alexis Mac Allister’s penalty in Prague during the first leg of the round of 16 match, Nunez doubled Liverpool’s early advantage with a right-footed drive from 25 meters (yards) that sailed past goalkeeper Peter Vindahl.
The 1,000th goal scored by the Uruguayan international this evening came from Liverpool under manager Jurgen Klopp. Liverpool will host the second leg of the match at Anfield next week.
“We’re pleased with the outcome and the performance,” Klopp said on Czech state television. “Our objectives were excellent.”
Nunez scored his second goal in stoppage time in the first half after letting a pass from Mac Allister bounce in the area’s right corner.
Liverpool defeated Nottingham Forest 1-0 in the Premier League on Saturday thanks to a goal from Nunez in the ninth minute of stoppage time.
Liverpool was ahead in Prague in a matter of minutes.
Asger Sorensen brought down the Argentine in the box, and Mac Allister sent Vindahl the wrong way in the sixth minute to convert a penalty.
Just one minute after entering the game as a replacement, Conor Bradley’s own goal cut the margin to 3-1. Seven minutes later, Luis Diaz gave the team a three-goal edge again.
In stoppage time, Dominik Szoboszlai added another goal.
Liverpool’s next match is a seismic encounter with Manchester City on Sunday at Anfield.
The fact that Mohamed Salah made his injury comeback as a substitute in the 74th minute was encouraging for the Reds.
Leading Bundesliga team Bayer Leverkusen traveled to Baku and required a stoppage-time equalizer to tie 2-2 with Qarabag, extending their record-setting German unbeaten streak to 35 games this season in all competitions.
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After Florian Wirtz, another substitute, had cut Qarabag’s lead to one in the 70th minute, substitute striker Patrik Schick stood up in the box to head in an equalizer.
In their group stage matchup, Leverkusen prevailed 5-1 at home and 1-0 in Baku.
Prior to Sunday’s potentially difficult Bundesliga matchup against Wolfsburg, Leverkusen makes his way back to Germany.
At Stadio Olimpico, Roma defeated Brighton 4-0 to extend their comeback under coach Daniele De Rossi.
In the first half, Romelu Lukaku and Paulo Dybala gave the home team a 2-0 advantage. In the second, Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante completed the picture.
Since De Rossi took over for the sacked Jose Mourinho, Roma has won eight of its last ten games in all competitions. The only loss came against Serie A leaders Inter Milan.
Two Brighton supporters were stabbed and sent to the hospital in Rome prior to the match. Bottles, coins, and lighters were allegedly “being thrown by home supporters into the away end” throughout the match, according to Brighton, who reported this to UEFA and the local police.
With four games played under new coach Jean-Louis Gasset, Marseille has scored 16 goals in all, defeating 10-man Villarreal 4-0.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a striker, improved his own tournament record by scoring twice in the Europa League, including a penalty kick. This was his 33rd goal overall. Jordan Veretout and Yerson Mosquera each scored goals for Marseille.
Three goals apiece from Olivier Giroud, Tijjani Reijnders, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek put AC Milan ahead 3-1 at San Siro against Slavia Prague, who had ten players. Slavia’s Ivan Schranz added another goal before Christian Pulisic sealed a 4-2 victory for the dominant Italian team.
A late goal by Michael Gregoritsch gave Freiburg a 1-0 victory over West Ham at home. Benfica, the reigning European champions, were held to a 2-2 draw in Lisbon thanks to an own goal from Rangers defender Connor Goldson.
EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE
In Amsterdam, Aston Villa defeated Ajax 0-0 in the third division. After receiving their second yellow card in the final ten minutes, Villa defender Ezri Konsa and Ajax midfielder Tristan Gooijer both concluded the game with ten men.
Lille won 3-0 at Sturm Graz thanks to two goals from Canadian attacker Jonathan David.
Additionally, Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Club Brugge 4-1 at Olympiacos, and Molde of Norway defeated the latter 2-1.
Due to Israel’s conflict with Hamas, previous year’s runner-up Fiorentina defeated Maccabi Haifa 4-3 in a game played in Budapest, Hungary, with a goal from AntonÃn Barak five minutes into stoppage time.
