Liverpool qualified for the Europa League knockout stages as Group E winners following their dominant 4-0 win over Austria’s LASK at Anfield on Thursday. The Reds made it 10 victories in 10 games at Anfield this season with two quick goals in the first 15 minutes from Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo, before Mohamed Salah’s second-half penalty, his 199th goal for Liverpool made it 3-0 after the break. Salah was substituted shortly after scoring, meaning he will have the opportunity to reach a double century of goals for the club when his team plays Fulham on Sunday afternoon. A brilliant pass from substitute Trent Alexander-Arnold helped Gakpo to score the fourth in the added time.
Liverpool qualified with a game to spare after second-placed Toulouse was held to a goalless draw by Union Saint-Gilloise. Jurgen Klopp’s men secured the top spot (12 points) in Group E and made a direct route to the last-16 round rather than a February play-off for finishing second.
When Harvey Elliott played Gakpo through for an open chance on goal, he fired over from inside the box and failed to score an easy opener. A minute later, however, Liverpool took the lead when Luis Diaz found Joe Gomez on the right and the Colombian striker continued his move into the area. Diaz was waiting for him when the defender discovered him unmarked in the area.
LASK started brightly, with Sascha Horvath breaking down the right and squared for the unmarked Moses Usor in the box – but the striker’s touch failed him down, allowing Liverpool to clear. Diaz slipped Salah down the right, with the Egypt international squaring for Gakpo, who could not miss this time. LASK kept attacking Liverpool, and Kostas Tsimikas cleared off the line from Usor’s low finish, but the rest of the half belonged to the hosts. Tsimikas struck the bar with a stunning long-range effort.
Salah was then given a penalty spot opportunity as Lawal took down Gakpo in the box. With Lawal immovable in the LASK goal, Salah slotted home his penalty into the corner. Darwin Nunez had many opportunities within minutes of entering the game. Lawal saved a close-range effort from the Uruguayan, who also made an excellent save to deny Elliott. Gakpo finished inside the box to cap off a fantastic night.
In another encounter, Marseille advanced from the group stage with a hat-trick from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang against 10-man Ajax. Ajax had equalized three times, with Brian Brobbey scoring twice, but in the second half, Steven Berghuis was sent off for a challenge on Joaquin Correa.
