MO SALAH became the first Liverpool player to score 20 goals or more in seven consecutive seasons.
However, if he could play against teams as awful as Sparta every week, the Egyptian would score 80 goals per season.
Bobby Clark sparkled as Liverpool trounced Sparta Prague in the Europa League.
Mohamed Salah became the first Liverpool player to score 20 or more goals in seven consecutive seasons.
Liverpool were rampant, but the Czech champions were completely worthless as Jurgen Klopp’s quadruple-chasing side cruised to a ridiculously easy victory.
Salah was joined in this latest Reds goalfest by Darwin Nunez, Bobby Clark, Cody Gakpo (two), and Dominik Szoboszlai, and if they had wanted to, Liverpool could have scored double figures.
It is impossible to recall a team as bad as Sparta in the knockout stages of any European event, and Liverpool is aware that today’s quarter-final draw will offer far more challenging opponents.
Klopp, who is now preparing to face Manchester United in the FA Cup on Sunday, had the option of replacing Nunez, Joe Gomez, and Wataru Endo at halftime.
However, the Liverpool manager received a yellow card after complaining about substitute Jarell Quansah’s relatively severe booking.
Incredibly, Liverpool scored three goals in the space of three goals and 12 minutes, and were 4-0 ahead after 14 minutes.
Nunez, unmarked, sent Szobozlai’s pass into the corner in the seventh minute for his 17th goal of the season.
Bobby Clark scored a second goal just 68 seconds later on his complete European debut, thanks to a kamikaze pass across the face of goal by Sparta captain Ladislav Krejci.
Salah cemented his place in Liverpool history with a low drive from inside the box after the hustling Clark snatched the ball from Jaroslav Zeleny.
Gakpo made it 4-0 with a first-time finish after being picked out by Salah, ensuring that all three forwards had their names on the scoresheet.
Play video.
Despite their team’s poor performance, the Czech fans made a lot of noise, and at least they had something to cheer about when Serb attacker Veljko Birmancevic slipped a shot past Caoimhin Kelleher.
Krejci deflected Szoboszlai’s seemingly wide shot into the net less than three minutes into the second half.
Gakpo used a wonderful flip to redirect Harvey Elliott’s shot past beleaguered keeper Peter Vindahkl, who will have nightmares about the two games against Liverpool.
Mateusz Musialowski, a 20-year-old attacking midfielder from Poland, made his debut for Klopp, and the only surprise was that skipper Virgil van Dijk was substituted in the 66th minute.
Clark scored his first senior goal in the Liverpool onslaught.
