Liverpool’s Dominant Victory 6-1 vs Sparta in Europa League Quarterfinals
Liverpool FC showcased a stunning performance, routing Sparta Prague 6-1 at Anfield to secure a spot in the Europa League quarterfinals.
Liverpool advanced with a huge 11-2 aggregate score at Anfield after winning the first leg 5-1. They scored four goals in the first 14 minutes of play.
Sparta was unable to withstand Liverpool‘s intense pressure.
In grabbing the ball on the right side of the box, Salah beat Sparta goalkeeper Peter Vindahl with a shot inside the far post for his 20th goal of the year, making history as the only Liverpool player to score at least 20 goals in seven consecutive seasons.
Salah, who had a hamstring injury while playing for Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations in January, made his debut after substituting in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City and the first leg in Prague.
Seven minutes into the match, Darwin Nunez, who had already scored two goals in Prague, started the rout with a clinical low finish.
After a minute, Salah won the ball on the edge of the box and fed Bobby Clark, 19, to score Liverpool’s first goal of the season, putting the team up 2-0.
Salah then made it 4-0 with a goal and a cross to Cody Gakpo.
In the second half, Dominik Szoboszlai’s deflected goal made it 5-1 before Gakpo added his second.
For Sparta, Veljko Birmancevic scored the only goal.
In Germany, Leverkusen defeated 10-man Qarabag 3-2 thanks to two goals from Patrik Schick, who entered the game off the bench. This victory guaranteed the Bundesliga leader a quarterfinal position.
Abdellah Zoubir and Juninho gave the visitors a 2-0 lead in a thrilling second half, but Jeremie Frimpong ignited the comeback.
Leverkusen won the quarterfinals 5-4 overall to extend their winning streak this season to 37 games in all competitions, a record for Germany.
Elvin Jafarguliyev of Qarabag was sent off in the 62nd minute with his team up 1-0. Easily defeating Slavia Prague with 10 men 3-1, AC Milan advanced to the quarterfinals. A week ago, Milan won 4-2 at San Siro in the first leg of their last-16 match, moving them up to 7-3 on aggregate.
The seven-time European champion has never taken home the trophy from either the UEFA Cup or the second-tier Europa League.
After being eliminated from the Italian Cup and now trailing Serie A leader Inter Milan by 16 points, this competition represents the Italian powerhouse’s only realistic chance to win a trophy this season.
With goals in the first half in Prague, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Rafael Leão ensured a decisive victory in the second leg.
In the 33rd minute, Pulisic scored a low effort from 10 meters to open the score. Loftus-Cheek then scored the second goal into an empty net after Theo Hernandez’s excellent cross. In first-half stoppage time, Leao curled a right-footed drive from outside the area into the upper right corner.
Matej Jurasek, a substitute, scored a consoling goal for Slavia.
In his first season with the Rossoneri, Pulisic has now scored 11 goals in 38 appearances across all competitions, matching his highest scoring season from the 2019–20 campaign with Chelsea. After captain Tomáš Holeš was sent off in the 20th minute for fouling his opponent Davide Calabria, Slavia’s early pressure subsided.
After suffering an early injury, Milan’s first-choice goalkeeper Mike Maignan was replaced by Marco Sportiello.
At London Stadium, West Ham defeated Freiburg 5-0 to go to the round of eight.
Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen’s goals in the first half gave the Hammers the opportunity to avenge their 1-0 loss in the first leg.
Less than ten minutes into the game, Paqueta scored from close range after Tomas Soucek headed to him from a corner. In the 32nd, Bowen extended the lead.
In the second half, Mohammed Kudus scored two late goals to complete the whitewash after Aaron Cresswell had made it 3-0.
The winners of the Europa Conference League the previous year, West Ham, had won their past two seasons’ worth of home games in European competitions.
Though they lost 3-1 that night, Marseille came dangerously close to blowing a 4-0 lead from the first leg against Villarreal, which scored three goals on Thursday. Jonathan Clauss then tallied for the French visitors in stoppage time to complete a 5-3 aggregate victory. After five victories, Etienne Capoue, Alexander Sorloth, and Yerson Mosquera scored goals to inflict Marseille its first loss since head coach Jean-Louis Gasset took over.
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Brighton defeated Roma 1-0 thanks to a goal from Danny Welbeck, but it was not enough to save the Seagulls’ European debut campaign.
Roma advanced 4-1 overall to the next round.
Atalanta defeated Sporting 2-1 in the second half thanks to goals from Ademola Lookman and Gianluca Scamacca, which sent them to the quarterfinals. Pedro Goncalves gave the visitors the lead. The final score was 3-2 for Atalanta.
Benfica advanced at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow after defeating Rangers 1-0. After the teams drew 2-2 the previous week, Rafa Silva scored in the 66th minute, and the Lisbon team managed to hold on.
Friday is when the quarterfinals draw will take place.
Europa Conference League Update
Maccabi Haifa defeated Fiorentina 1-1 in the third-tier competition, although on a 5-4 aggregate score, the Italian team—who finished second the previous year—moved on to the semifinals.
Servette was defeated 3-1 on penalties by Viktoria Plzen, who had gone through both legs and extra time without scoring.
Greece’s PAOK won 5-1 at home to advance after losing 2-0 away at Dinamo Zagreb in the first leg.
Fenerbahce won the first leg 3-0 and advanced despite losing 1-0 at home against Union Saint-Gilloise.
Aston Villa advanced to the next round after defeating Ajax 4-0 at home after the teams drew 0-0 in Amsterdam. Lille drew 1-1 at home against Sturm Graz and advanced 4-1 on aggregate. Club Brugge defeated Molde 3-0 at home and went on to win 4-2 overall. Olympiacos defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv 7-5 overall after winning 6-1 on the road and scoring twice in extra time.
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