Reds riding good: Liverpool warm up for City with 5-1 victory in Prague

London, March 8

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Darwin Nunez scored twice to help Liverpool rout Sparta 5-1 and take a big step closer to the Europa League quarterfinals.

Nunez’s right-footed shot from 25 yards on Thursday flew past goalkeeper Peter Vindahl to double Liverpool’s early lead after Alexis Mac Allister’s penalty in Prague in the first leg of the Round of 16.

The Uruguay international’s first strike of the evening was the 1,000th Liverpool goal scored under manager Jurgen Klopp, whose team will host the second leg next week at Anfield.

“We’re happy about the result and the performance,” Klopp said. “Our goals were fantastic.” Next for Liverpool is a seismic meeting at Anfield against Manchester City on Sunday.

In a positive sign for the Reds, Mohamed Salah returned from injury as a substitute in the 74th minute.

Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen made a long trip to Baku and needed a stoppage-time equaliser to draw 2-2 with Qarabag and extend their German record unbeaten run to 35 games across all competitions this season.

Roma’s renaissance under coach Daniele De Rossi continued with a 4-0 thumping of Brighton at Stadio Olimpico. — AP