The Reds cruised to a 4-0 win over the Austrian side at Anfield to secure top spot in Europa League Group E and move into the knockout stage.
Advertisement Jurgen Klopp’s side opened the scoring in the 12th minute through Luis Diaz before Cody Gakpo doubled the advantage three minutes later. Liverpool could well have gone into half-time further in control but did increase their lead through a Mo Salah penalty on 54 minutes. Gakpo then put the gloss on the triumph in stoppage-time when netting his second of the encounter.
LASK are unable to reach the knockout stage of the Europa League but can still secure a place in the Europa Conference League if they finish third in the group.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, Sagader said: “They were very, very impressive throughout the match. We took a lot of risks, a lot of our risks were punished. In the first few minutes, we noticed the team were under pressure but until the end, we kept up our fight. We were in the game, we pushed and had we scored it would have been well-earned. We weren’t defeated through lack of effort. “Everything did start well for us. Having said that, perhaps we weren’t passionate enough, brave enough maybe. We were in the game, certainly, but only when we were behind.
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“We tried perhaps too much pressing, high line at the beginning of the game. That’s why in a rapid short order, we were 2-0 down. We can only do what’s possible, especially about the second goal. As a team, we can learn something, maybe as a coach, I can learn something from a match like this.”
LASK manager Thomas Sageder reckons that his side’s overzealous pressing in the early stages against Liverpool proved their downfall.
