Liverpool 6-0 Qarabag: Premier League champions finish third to secure automatic place in last 16
Arne Slot’s Liverpool may not be firing in the Premier League but they are a Champions League team, as opined by Jamie Carragher earlier this week. A 6-0 demolition of Qarabag at Anfield left no doubt in anyone’s minds as Alexis Mac Allister, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Federico Chiesa, and Mohamed Salah got their shot at the Azerbaijani side’s goal.
The night started with blistering attacking football and ended that way, from Mac Allister’s 15th minute opener to Chiesa’s goal in the final minute of normal time. Weirdly, the referee still gave two minutes of added time.
As advertised before the game, Slot fielded a backline comprising a midfielder and a defender, Ryan Gravenberch lining up alongside Virgil van Dijk after the weekend’s injury to Joe Gomez and the compassionate leave given to Ibrahima Konate. The case of injury blues worsened for Liverpool after right-back Jeremie Frimpong had to be withdrawn just two minutes into the game.
A morale-boosting win is just what Slot would have been hoping for before his side head into the Premier League weekend seeking to overturn a five-game winless run, but here, just as important was a victory that marked his side’s capabilities and ambition, the Champions League trophy perhaps the only realistic chance of still ending this most fraught of seasons on a might high.
With Liverpool now the certified third-most in-form team in Europe, behind only Bayern Munich and Arsenal, it is difficult to dismiss their chances of securing the trophy in Budapest come May.
Mac Allister opened the scoring with a scrappy header and Wirtz doubled the lead with 21 minutes played, but remarkably the score was still just 2-0 heading into the break. Renewed attacking vigour from the home side first allowed Dominik Szoboszlai to set up Mohamed Salah from a freekick, the Egyptian scoring his first goal for the club since his outburst back in December, before Ekitike scorched past white shirts to make it four before the hour.
By now the Reds were genuinely enjoying themselves, although there were still some 30 minutes between Mac Allister getting his second and Chiesa coming off the bench to close the tie.
