Liverpool qualified for the Europa League last 16 on Thursday night, easily defeating Austria’s LASK 4-0 at Anfield and benefiting from the stalemate between Toulouse and Union Saint-Gilloise elsewhere in the group.
With a victory, the Reds would have advanced with a game to spare, but both outcomes guarantee they will top the group and avoid the first knockout phase.
Luis Diaz’s fourth goal of the month for club and country got things started in the first half, with Cody Gakpo immediately adding to the advantage and Mohamed Salah’s 199th Liverpool goal from the penalty spot rounding off a great effort. Gakpo scored four points in stoppage time.
How the game unfolded
LASK began the game as if they had nothing to lose by taking the battle to their more renowned opponents. It was just a lack of quality in the final pass that stopped them from making more of it, but the same could be said for Gakpo, who found himself in the center of the field with no defenders in his way and could only skew his shot wide.
Diaz, on the other hand, quickly made up for what Gakpo had missed. The Colombian was in charge of sending the ball into space out wide for Joe Gomez, and he continued his run into the box as the cross fell sweetly in his path to put the Reds ahead.As admirable as their offensive play was, LASK were being passed through much too readily, and Diaz was significantly involved again seconds later when Liverpool increased their advantage. Following an interchange with Salah, the stand-in captain surged into the area and sent a cross for Gakpo to tap in.
Liverpool almost made a dramatic third-half comeback when Kostas Tsimikas blasted the crossbar from the penalty area – the Greek’s last goal came in early 2018. As Gomez, who has never scored, dragged a shot just wide, it was a day for full-backs to try their luck.LASK goalkeeper Tobias Lawal’s aggressive tackle, racing off his line to try to reach a ball before Gakpo but failing, resulted in a penalty for Liverpool early in the second half. Salah remained calm, finding the bottom corner as a hapless Lawal stayed stuck.
Gakpo was looking for his second goal of the night after winning the penalty kick, and he fired a low effort from outside the area that barely touched the foot of the post and went wide. LASK had Lawal to thank for keeping Liverpool in the game as he produced outstanding stops on a deflected Harvey Elliott drive and a close-range blast from replacement Darwin Nunez.
Caoimhin Kelleher had been watching the game for almost an hour when he produced his first save of the night, swiftly shutting down LASK replacement Ibrahim Mustapha in acres of space. As time ran down, the Irishman had to deflect a shot from Moses Usor.Gakpo was obviously anxious to add to his score, and he did so in stoppage time at the conclusion of the game, after being spotted by Trent Alexander-Arnold, cutting inside onto his right foot, and blasting in.
Liverpool player ratings
Caoimhin Kelleher, goalkeeper – 6/10 Due to Alisson’s injury, he will be in the team for a prolonged period of time and will have more to do in subsequent games than here. A handful of late stops kept the clean sheet intact.
Joe Gomez (7/10) RB Got forward to good effect and was credited with an assist. When the substitutions occurred early in the second half, he was moved to the center of defense.
CB: Ibrahima Konate – 7/10 – Commanding in duels but with nothing to do.
CB: Jarell Quansah – 7/10 – Gained more important first-team minutes.
LB: Kostas Tsimikas – 6/10 – Almost scored a wonderful goal, ending a lengthy drought.
CM: Harvey Elliott – 7/10 – Liverpool’s most daring and forward-thinking midfielder.
CM: Wataru Endo – 8/10 – Nothing extraordinary, but he got the job done efficiently.
6/10 CM: Ryan Gravenberch After being Liverpool’s best player in this tournament, this was easily his quietest Europa League game this season.
RW: Mohamed Salah (c) – 9/10 – Chasing 200 Liverpool goals, but was more frequently a creator than a shooter, particularly in the first half. I got 199 from the penalty spot.
Cody Gakpo (9/10) – He squandered a wonderful opportunity and looked to be lacking confidence until finding the goal and settling. Scored late in the game, won the penalty, and also grazed the post.
LW: Luis Diaz – 9/10 – At the core of much of the Reds’ strong attacking when he was on the field. When he was brought off, he received a standing ovation from the whole crowd.
Substitutes
SUB Trent Alexander-Arnold (56′ substitution for Konate) – 7/10
Marcelo (GK), Van Dijk, Matip, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Gordon, and Doak were not used as substitutes.
Jurgen Klopp, manager – 8/10 Mostly kept his ‘normal’ Europa League team, but decided to start Mohamed Salah in this tournament for just the second time this season, and it paid off. To keep players fresh, we took advantage of the early chance to make adjustments.