Liverpool have one foot into the Europa League quarter-finals after beating Sparta Prague 5-.
Darwin Nunez scored twice for Liverpool on Thursday night in their 5-1 win over Sparta Prague in the Europa League. The result puts Jurgen Klopp’s side, whose injury issues have been well-documented of late, into a commanding lead in the tie ahead of next week’s second leg at Anfield.
Alexis Mac Allister got the first for the Reds in the Czech Republic, converting from the spot in the just the sixth minute of the game, and that was before Nunez bagged his brace with two goals of the highest quality. The Uruguayan scored his first from distance, hitting a dipping effort that deceived Sparta goalkeeper Peter Jensen to hit the back of the net.
His second came as a result of a composed finish, running onto a bouncing ball before finding the back of the net. Luis Diaz bagged a fourth for Liverpool, who found themselves tested, particularly in the first half, by their hosts before Dominik Szoboszlai grabbed a fifth late on, underlining the Premier League quality that runs through the Reds line-up.
Ex-Liverpool striker Peter Crouch has questioned some of the Prague side’s goalkeeping, though, particularly when Nunez scored his first of the night. The ball appeared to move in the air on its way to goal but Crouch believes Jensen should have done more to prevent Nunez from finding the back of the net.
“Yeah, he goes for the top corner and just dives past it,” Crouch said while working as part of TNT Sports’ coverage of the contest. “When you play in these games you need your goalkeeper to play well and that was poor.
On Nunez’s second, he added: “What I love about this is its the third bounce he hits it on. He’s not panicked at all there. He could have rushed that and hit it on the second bounce but he waits and it’s perfect timing. The keeper comes across, he settles himself, what a finish!”
