Here it is!
The perfect night for Liverpool in Prague. Almost. Jürgen Klopp’s quadruple-chasing team effectively booked their place in the Europa League quarter-finals with an emphatic and clinical defeat of Sparta Prague.
Darwin Núñez warmed up for the top of the table clash against Manchester City with two superb goals, including the 1000th of Klopp’s Liverpool reign, and Mohamed Salah made his comeback after over a fortnight out as a late substitute. Only the sight of Ibrahima Konaté hobbling off injured prevented Klopp basking in the ideal preparation for Sunday’s showdown at Anfield.
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Well this match report hasn’t turned up, but the very moment it does I’ll plop it in here for your delectation. In the meantime, ta-ra!
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And this has arrived from Ed Aarons at the Stadio Olimpico:
Spare a thought for Lewis Dunk. The Brighton captain made his debut for his hometown club in 2010 when they were still languishing in League One and has ridden the wave all the way to Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.
Yet it was two mistakes from the England defender that were the catalyst for a nightmare evening in the Italian capital that leaves Roberto De Zerbi’s side needing a minor miracle in next week’s second leg. Dunk had already been at fault by playing Paulo Dybala onside for Roma’s first goal when he inexplicably presented the ball to Romelu Lukaku and he rammed home the second just before half-time. Things only worsened for Brighton as Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante scored second-half goals to round off a ruthless display from Daniele De Rossi’s seasoned European campaigners.
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While we wait for a report on this match, here’s Ben Fisher on Ajax 0-0 Aston Villa, a game of no goals but two red cards.
Meanwhile, here’s where to head for updates on this evening’s later Europa League matches.
In further final-score-based news, Brighton have lost 4-0 at Roma.
Final score: Sparta Prague 1-5 Liverpool
90+5 mins: And it’s all over! The scoreline is everything Liverpool could have hoped for, with only possible injuries to Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konaté clouding their silver lining.
GOAL! Sparta Prague 1-5 Liverpool (Szoboszlai, 90+4 mins)
One for the road! Szoboszlai runs from just beyond halfway and out on the left towards the centre edge of the penalty area, benefits from Gakpo’s run taking Laci away, and sends in a low shot that goes in off Vindahl’s boot.
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90+1 mins: There will be four minutes of stoppage time, or thereabouts.
90 mins: Into the last minute, and it’s been an almost completely sane final half-hour after a pretty wild opening 60 minutes or so.
88 mins: Back to the Liverpool team bus, then. “That’s not a UK license plate,” insists Martin Kerr. “Clearly Liverpool have paid to have a local bus decorated with their official club livery. Which seems a bit excessive, but still cheaper than driving their own bus a 2000 mile round trip.” Much as I love the idea that Liverpool paint local coaches wherever they travel, it is a UK license plate – I’ve checked, and can also tell you that it is taxed, has an MOT, was new last January, weighs 26,000kg, has a cylinder capacity of 12,902 cc and has a three-axle rigid body.
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84 mins: The goal is disallowed for offside after a VAR check.
NO GOAL! Sparta Prague 1-4 Liverpool
Sparta lose the ball from their own throw-in and Liverpool work it quickly to Salah, who sidefoots it into the far corner off Vindahl’s fingertips.
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80 mins: And another, but Gakpo’s pass to Salah is slightly overhit and allows Vindahl to get out and smother the shot.
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78 mins: Chance for Liverpool! The ball drops to Szoboszlai, who cuts left, cuts right, works an excellent shooting chance, from a central position, a yard or two inside the area, but sends the ball straight down the middle and Vindahl saves.
74 mins: Salah duly replaces Luis Diaz. Sparta meanwhile take off Kairinen, Kuchta and Birmancevic, and bring on Indrit Tuci, Victor Olatunji and Adam Karabec.
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73 mins: Jaroslav Zeleny is booked for tugging Luis Diaz.
72 mins: After a scrappy 10 minutes or so, it looks like the Mo-ment has arrived for Liverpool.
69 mins: Meanwhile at the Stadio Olimpico, Roma are 3-0 up against Brighton.
65 mins: Bobby Clark comes on for Mac Allister, and for Sparta Qazim Laci replaces Haraslin.
63 mins: Chance for Liverpool! Gakpo turns and reaches a bouncing, spinning ball just before Vindahl, but can only prod the ball into the keeper.
62 mins: Krejci, the Sparta captain, talks his way to the game’s first booking.
60 mins: Three sane minutes, most of them spent with Liverpool keeping the ball around the halfway line.
57 mins: This game is a pleasingly silly. “My theory on the strategic planning of LFC’s coach drivers,” writes Justin Kavanagh, “is that they probably always have transport on hand, wherever they are in Europe, in case of volcanoes. Barcelona’s experience driving to Italy after the Icelandic eruption must have been noted by all good coaching staff (of the wheely not the footy variety).” That is not implausible.
55 mins: Preciado tries a Nayimesque effort from way out and way wide, and Kelleher tips it over the bar!
GOAL! Sparta Prague 1-4 Liverpool (Luis Diaz, 53 mins)
Bradley makes up for his own goal with a good pull back from near the right corner flag to Harvey Elliott, who prods on to Luis Diaz, whose shot from seven yards deflects past Vindahl!
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52 mins: There’s been no word on the reason for Joe Gomez’s halftimely substitution, but if he too is injured this game is turning into a bit of a nightmare for Liverpool.
51 mins: Van Dijk comes on for Konate. There’s no sign of a limp from Konate as he leaves the field, but still, not a good sign for Liverpool ahead of a crucial couple of weeks in three competitions. Szoboszlai comes on for Nunez at the same time.
48 mins: Another chance for Sparta! Birmancevic has the beating of Robertson on their right flank, but all was well while Haraslin was being covered by Konate in the middle – but Konate pulls up with a muscle injury, Haraslin runs onto the low cross, and Kelleher comes out to save!
GOAL! Sparta Prague 1-3 Liverpool (Bradley og, 46 mins)
OK, there was a halftimely substitute (coming on for Gomez), and he’s just stuck the ball in his own net! Birmancevic gets down the right and sends in a low cross, Bradley beats Kuchta to it and thumps it into the top corner!
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46 mins: Peeeeeeep! Back under way in Praha.
Right then, the players are back out and ready to go again, with no halftimely substitutions.
Half time: Sparta Prague 0-3 Liverpool
45+3 mins: And the referee decides to end the half there. It’s been a pretty closely contested half in every way except for finishing quality, in which it’s been extraordinarily one-sided.
GOAL! Sparta Prague 0-3 Liverpool (Nunez, 45+3 mins)
They’ve got another one! It’s an absolutely great pass from Mac Allister that lets Nunez run into the right side of the area, and he volleys across goal and in at the far post!
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45+1 mins: It has been a breathless and entertaining first half, and we’re going to have three more minutes of it. They start with Haraslin shooting low but without enough venom from 20 yards or so and giving Kelleher another save to make.
45 mins: Nice play from Liverpool to work a clear shooting chance for Luis Diaz from the edge of the area, but he can’t hit the target.
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44 mins: Good work and then a bad miss from Gakpo, who carriees the ball to the edge of the area, spins away from two defenders and in so doing leaves Vindahl horribly exposed and out of position, before shooting into the keeper anyway.
43 mins: Asgar Sorensen has been forced off, and Matej Rynes has replaced him.
42 mins: Save! Gakpo’s snap shot on the turn is kept out by Vindahl.
40 mins: Haraslin is played through, but Kelleher and Konate combine to stop him scoring, and the linesman’s flag means it wouldn’t have counted anyway.
39 mins: Anyway, to more important matters. “So, are we just completely discounting the idea that the squad travelled on that bus? Embracing their inner Pensioners-on-a-Saga-Coach-Trip?” posits Matt Dony. Well, these don’t look like the steps of a coach (though we never actually see a plane, so I suppose it’s possible).
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37 mins: What sorcery is protecting the Liverpool goal tonight? Kuchta has a good chance from just to the left of goal, which Kelleher does well to divert into the path of Birmancevic, who gets his feet in the most hopeless muddle and somehow misses an open goal!
36 mins: Endo sidefoots over the bar from a corner. Liverpool have scored with every shot on target.
33 mins: A chance of sorts for Sparta, but the cross is fired in from the right with such venom that Jan Kuchta has no time to change his body position and is left with no choice but to try to turn the ball goalwards from 10 yards with the nearest available body part, which is his stomach. It goes over.
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30 mins: It is Klopp’s 476th game as manager, so he’s running at 2.1 goals per game. This is an absurdly harsh scoreline for Prague, who should really have scored at least once themselves and are yet to concede a shot from a decent position in open play.
Individual brilliance at its finest! 😮💨
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 7, 2024
Darwin Nunez produces a moment of magic for the Reds ✨#UEL pic.twitter.com/RrN5om2lLm
28 mins: Landmark alert! That is the 1,000th competitive goal scored by Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp.
🎇 - Darwin Núñez🇺🇾 scores Liverpool's 1⃣0⃣0⃣0⃣th competitive goal under manager Jürgen Klopp🇩🇪. The first was scored by Emre Can🇩🇪 in a 1-1 Europa League group stage draw at home against Rubin Kazan on 22 October 2015. #UEL #SPPLIV
— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) March 7, 2024
GOAL! Sporting Prague 0-2 Liverpool (Nunez, 25 mins)
And that’s another way to lift the pressure! Nunez cuts onto his right foot and then curls a shot over Vindahl and into the back of the net from 25 yards! The keeper thinks it’s heading to the top corner and is then wrong-handed when it ends up curling over his right shoulder.
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22 mins: Kelleher catches a cross, lands on his back and stays down for a while, as much to deflate Sparta’s balloon as anything I’d imagine.
21 mins: Top save from Kelleher! This is a barrage from Sparta (although it was a defensive back-header that caused the issue that time)!
20 mins: Kounate with a double butt-cheek save! Preciado gets down the right and crosses but Kounate gets his arse in the way. It rebounds back to Preciado who has a shot this time, but Kounate’s bum saves the day again!
17 mins: And another good break from the home side, but it ends with a cross floating into Kelleher’s hands.
15 mins: Incredible save and clearance from Liverpool! Sparta send in a low cross from the right and Haraslin is entirely unmarked coming in at the far post. He shoots across goal but Kelleher gets a glove on it to take all the pace off it, and Gomez overhead-clears it back to his keeper!
14 mins: A decent run from Gakpo ends when he goes down 22 yards from goal, and is told to get back up again.
13 mins: Lukas Haraslin has a very long throw.
10 mins: Haraslin is rugby-tackled by Endo, who could have been booked for that kind of nonsense, but isn’t. “So somebody spends a couple days driving the bus from Liverpool to Prague, just so the players can ride in it from the hotel to the stadium?” boggles Joe Pearson. “That strikes me as absolutely bizarre. Maybe they have a few buses just salted away in garages across Europe. That would seem more reasonable.” I suppose they want to do everything they can to make the players comfortable and relaxed. Every little counts, amiright?
8 mins: Sparta win a free-kick on the left, which Gakpo heads out of danger.
GOAL! Sparta Prague 0-1 Liverpool (Mac Allister, 6 mins)
The keeper dives to his left, and Mac Allister rolls the ball just inside the opposite corner!
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Penalty to Liverpool!
6 mins: The VAR has spoken, and Mac Allister will have a chance to score from the spot!
5 mins: Liverpool are going to get a penalty here. Sorensen turns into trouble, Mac Allister nicks the ball and he’s then brought down. VAR is having a look.
2 mins: Chance for Liverpool! Endo intercepts a goal kick and then dispossesses a defender, and the ball runs into the box to Nunez, who doesn’t really do anything very much with it. He takes it round the advancing keeper, but then takes an unnecessary touch rather than shooting and when the effort eventually does come, it’s rubbish..
2 mins: The capacity of Stadion Letna is just 18,887, but they appear to be making a right racket.
1 min: Peeeeeeep! Football! Liverpool get the ball rolling.
The players are out, hands have been shaken, and team photos taken. Football very shortly!
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The players have gathered in a dark subterranean space I assume to be the tunnel. Football shortly!
Jurgen Klopp has a chat:
We have players available and we had to make decisions about who should play again, or already. It’s a good line-up, we have options on the bench, but it will be a tough game, very positive and optimistic opponent I would say, so we have to deal with that. Rotation, it’s a luxury. You have to figure out how we could use who and when. We didn’t have that problem for a long time, the boys who were available played all the time. Now a few have come back but it stays intense. You just have to make sure you’re ready for each single game.
Presumably Liverpool drive their club coach to every European away game, but that’s a lot of miles – according to a popular online search and mapping company the best route from Anfield to Stadion Letná is 1,006 miles long.
We’ve arrived 👋 #UEL pic.twitter.com/gjA0zgqGzd
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 7, 2024
The teams!
The teams are in and they look like this:
Sparta Prague: Vindahl, Sorensen, Vitik, Krejci, Preciado, Solbakken, Kairinen, Zeleny, Birmancevic, Kuchta, Haraslin. Subs: Olatunji, Karabec, Tuci, Sadilek, Mejdr, Laci, Vorel, Vydra, Wiesner, Sevcik, Rynes, Surovcik.
Liverpool: Kelleher, Gomez, Quansah, Konate, Robertson, Elliott, Endo, Mac Allister, Nunez, Gakpo, Diaz. Subs: van Dijk, Szoboszlai, Salah, Adrian, Tsimikas, Clark, Gordon, McConnell, Koumas, Bradley, Mrozek, Musialowski.
Referee: José María Sánchez (Spain)
1️⃣1️⃣ SESTAVA | V tomto složení zahájíme úvodní duel osmifinále Evropské ligy proti Liverpoolu 👥 #acsparta | #UEL pic.twitter.com/7s2EzlCIZI
— AC Sparta Praha (@ACSparta_CZ) March 7, 2024
Our team to take on Sparta Prague 💪
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 7, 2024
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Preamble
The bad news for Liverpool, less than 72 hours before their crunch Premier League encounter with Manchester City, is that their weekend opponents have their feet up, having eased past Copenhagen in the Champions League last night despite resting seven members of the team that started the Manchester derby and taking another one off at half-time.
Liverpool meanwhile have a first leg in Prague to deal with, and there must be a temptation, with a rematch at Anfield next week to fall back on, to see what they can get away with. Sparta came second in their group to Rangers while losing away to both them and Real Betis, and again at Galatasaray in the knockout round play-offs. Travelling doesn’t seem to be their strong point (they’re four points clear at the top of the Czech league, and unbeaten at home, but haven’t won as many away points as Slavia Prague). So keep it tight tonight and run rampant at Anfield, yes?
Mo Salah is back in the squad having played just once for the club since January. But how much will we see of him? Presumably, just enough to send him into the weekend purring. “What can we give him? How much can we use him? We will see that,” promised Jurgen Klopp.
“We expect a very tough game,” Alexis Mac Allister said yesterday. “We know that they are unbeaten at home, top of the league, and that tells you that they are a very good team. Of course we have seen some videos and we know what they do, but we need to focus on ourselves. If we focus on ourselves we have the chance to win this game and that’s what we want. But they are definitely a very good team and it’ll be a great battle.”
It promises to be an interesting evening. Here’s Andy Hunter’s preview:
Mohamed Salah is in line to make his Liverpool comeback against Sparta Prague on Thursday with Jürgen Klopp admitting he needs his leading goalscorer for a critical period in the quadruple-chasing season.
Salah has given Liverpool another lift ahead of the Europa League last‑16 first leg tie and Sunday’s top of the table clash with Manchester City by resuming training after more than a fortnight out with a hamstring injury.
Klopp claimed the forward, who has scored 19 goals this season, may not have been considered for the trip to Prague under normal circumstances, having only returned to training on Monday. But with both legs of the Europa tie, City’s visit to Anfield plus an FA Cup trip to Manchester United all to come in the next 11 days, the Liverpool manager needs Salah back up to speed urgently.
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