Liverpool’s old and new combine in whirlwind start to forge Jurgen Klopp’s legacy

Liverpool 6-1 (11-2) Sparta Prague: Jurgen Klopp’s combination of youth and experience was too much for the visitors

Jurgen Klopp’s combination of new and old blew Sparta Prague away (Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

When Jurgen Klopp’s reign is over, when they remember the great European nights at Anfield in his tenure, a 4-0 scoreline will spring to mind. Barcelona remains the touchstone and, lacking the same sense of jeopardy, a second leg against Sparta Prague was never going to rival it. Yet there was nevertheless something remarkable in seeing Liverpool 4-0 up so soon: only one team had ever been four goals to the good after just 14 minutes of a match in a major European competition before.

Make that two now. Whirlwind starts have been a feature of many a match in the Klopp years but they do not normally produce such an immediate reward. It was Czech mate for a rather hapless Sparta side – with Liverpool staging another blitz at the start of the second half to make the eventual score 6-1 and the aggregate 11-2 – as, with their hunger and ruthlessness, they turned a formality into an occasion and a warning for Manchester United, Sunday’s opponents.

It was a landmark night for new and old, for two scorers in swift succession and men who set each other up to find the net. For Bobby Clark, there was a first Liverpool goal; for Mohamed Salah, a 20th of the season. It made the Egyptian the first player in Liverpool’s illustrious history to reach 20 goals in seven successive seasons.

He had a hat-trick of sorts, too, with three assists; it would have been four but for another of Nunez’s catalogue of comedic misses, spooning a shot over the bar when Salah seemed to have laid a goal on a plate for him. If it mattered not, it was still a hugely successful comeback for Salah. He had not begun a game for Liverpool since New Year’s day, interrupted by the African Cup of Nations, two spells on the treatment table and three games as a substitute. Unleashed by Klopp, he was swift to show his sharpness. The surprise was that, as Klopp made a raft of substitutions, Salah completed the game.

Liverpool gave some of their youngsters an outing, alongside seniors like Salah (Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Instead, Clark got the ovation when he went off. His evening had begun inauspiciously. When the teams were read out, he was announced as Lee, his father and the former Newcastle, Sunderland and Fulham player. The midfielder is nevertheless making a name for himself in his own right and a first Liverpool goal was another sign of his progress. So, too, was his role in Liverpool’s first and third: Clark has a willingness to seize every opportunity, which is standing him in good stead.

Rather overshadowed, as he tends to be, was Cody Gakpo, but his brace took his tally to 13 goals for the season. His second was Liverpool’s 73rd goal at Anfield this season. In 2014-15, their last campaign before Klopp, they only mustered 74 home and away.

The Europa League has proved them prolific and Klopp only made four changes to a side with a four-goal lead from the first leg. Within a quarter of an hour, the aggregate score stood at 9-1. Nunez, who scored twice in Prague last week, dispatched a shot from Dominik Szoboszlai’s low cutback to begin the demolition job.

Then Sparta made it more of a mismatch, twice losing the ball near their own box with costly consequences. First Salah intercepted Ladislav Krejci’s pass and allowed Clark to slot in. Then there was a role reversal, Clark robbing Jaroslav Zeleny and Salah curling in a trademark goal from 20 yards.

Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo scored twice (AP)

Sparta were complicit in the fourth, too, with a lack of marking allowing Salah to pick out Gakpo. After Klopp made a trio of half-time changes, a revamped side started the second half with similar speed, scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes. Szoboszlai’s shot deflected in off Krejci and then Gakpo improvised to deflect in the substitute Harvey Elliott’s effort. Gakpo skied a chance to get a hat-trick and goalkeeper Peter Vindahl then made a trio of fine saves but, while Liverpool’s record win – 11-0 against Stromsgodset in 1974 – may have appeared under threat, they had less need to amass further goals. Klopp was still sufficiently agitated to collect a caution in the second half, but thoughts were turning to Old Trafford.

First Joe Gomez, Wataru Endo and Nunez went off, then Jarell Quansah and finally Clark. Gomez’s departure brought the unusual sight of Andy Robertson playing centre-back. Liverpool had conceded before then. If the scoreline had an ignominy for Sparta, their supporters had nonetheless sounded oddly jubilant, jumping up and down and earning them a bouncing Czechs sobriquet. They at least had a goal to celebrate, when Veljko Birmancevic pierced the offside trap to beat Caoimhin Kelleher. But when Liverpool scored as early and as often, it was a footnote. The favourites advanced and Klopp may yet leave Anfield as a Europa League and Champions League winner.