"Pray for Man City", "What a game that was" - Fans react as a Darwin Nunez brace helps Liverpool defeat Sparta Praha 5-1 in UEL fixture

Fans have waxed lyrical about Liverpool following the Reds' thumping 5-1 victory over Sparta Praha in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday (March 7).

Liverpool have placed one foot in the quarter-finals of the Europa League after running riot in Czech Republic. They take a four-goal lead into the second leg at Anfield next Thursday (March 14).

Alexis Mac Allister gave the Reds the lead just six minutes into the game after converting a penalty that he had won himself. A superb brace from Darwin Nunez saw the scoreline read 3-0 in the visitors' favor at half-time. The Uruguayan's first was the 1000th goal the Premier League giants have scored under Jurgen Klopp.

Sparta Praha pulled one back early on in the second half, courtesy of a Conor Bradley own goal. The joy did not last long though as Luis Diaz restored the three-goal lead for the Anfield outfit seven minutes later.

Mohamed Salah thought he had netted his 20th goal of the season before VAR ruled out his goal for offside in the 86th minute. Nevertheless, Dominik Szoboszlai rounded up the scoring for Liverpool in injury time.

The Merseyside-based club now have little to worry about in the second leg of the fixture next week. They also go into their crunch Premier League clash against Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday (March 9) high on confidence.

Impressed by Liverpool's performance, one fan expressed concern for Manchester City ahead of their trip to Anfield:

"Pray for Man City."

Another fan was in awe of the Reds' performance on the evening:

"What a game that was!"

Here is how fans on X (formerly Twitter) reacted to Klopp and Co. thrashing Sparta Praha:

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Ibrahima Konate's injury the only concern for Liverpool

It was a fruitful evening for Liverpool as they return from Prague with an emphatic 5-1 win. The trip also saw Mohamed Salah get some minutes under his belt ahead of Saturday's game against Manchester City.

However, defender Ibrahima Konate picked up an injury early on in the second half, giving Jurgen Klopp a headache. The France international appeared to pull up his hamstring before being replaced by Virgil van Dijk. Although he walked off the pitch without help, it is certainly cause for concern for the Reds.

The Premier League leaders are already without Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota. An injury to Konate will leave Klopp short of options at center-back. Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah are his only available central defenders.

Konate has made 32 appearances, including 19 in the league, across competitions for the Reds this season. The Frenchman has helped the team keep clean sheets on 11 of those occasions.