Liverpool is one step closer to the Europa League quarterfinals after easily defeating Sparta Prague in their last-16 first leg on Thursday night.
Alexis MacAllister opened the scoring for the Reds with a sixth-minute penalty, and Darwin Nunez scored a remarkable first-half brace for a 3-0 advantage at the break.
Conor Bradley scored an unlucky own goal shortly after the restart, but Luis Diaz restored Liverpool’s three-goal lead in the 53rd minute.
Mohamed Salah came in late in the game and appeared to have scored, but VAR ruled it off for offside.
Nonetheless, Liverpool had the final say, as Dominik Szoboszlai scored a fifth goal late into injury time to give the Reds a commanding 5-1 first-leg advantage.
Although Harvey Elliott did not score, the 20-year-old deserves a lot of credit for a fantastic performance that included three assists.
Elliott set up Nunez‘s first goal and Diaz’s score, and his ball put Szoboszlai up to add the finishing touch late on.
The Liverpool Echo rated the former Fulham player a seven out of ten, describing him as “neat and tidy in possession and always looking to keep Liverpool on the front foot.””Moved wide right in the second half, demonstrating his versatility.”
Harvey Elliott continues to excel for Liverpool while pursuing glory.
Elliott also recorded some outstanding stats on the night, according to Sofascore.
The youngster made three vital passes and had a pass accuracy of 96%. He also got one attempt on board and won two ground duels.
Elliott has had to be patient at Liverpool, especially given the knee injury he sustained during the 2021/22 season.
He has been an important member of the squad for the past two seasons and is now getting more starts.
Indeed, Elliott has played the most minutes of any Liverpool player in the last four games.
He is a rising star, and given how young he is, it will be intriguing to see how he develops.
Exactly how How excellent will Elliott be when he reaches his peak in his mid- to late twenties?
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