Liverpool advance to Europa League quarterfinals with win over Sparta Prague

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

English Premier League side Liverpool advanced to the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals with a massive win over Sparta Prague on Thursday.

The Reds beat the Czech team 6-1 to pass the Round of 16 with an aggregate score of 11-2.

Liverpool hit the ground running as Darwin Nunez, Bobby Clark, Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo each netted goals in the first 14 minutes of the game at Anfield.

Serbian midfielder Veljko Birmancevic netted the only goal for Sparta in the 42nd minute, but Liverpool didn't seem to calm down.

Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai netted the fifth goal in the 58th minute, then Gakpo scored once more in the 55th minute.

Liverpool joined AC Milan, Benfica, Olympique Marseille, West Ham United, Atalanta, Roma and Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League quarterfinals.

The draws for the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals, semifinals and final will be held on Friday

- Round of 16 Second Leg Results:

Rangers-Benfica: 0-1 (Agg: 2-3)

Slavia Prague-AC Milan: 1-3 (Agg: 3-7)

Villarreal-Olympique Marseille: 3-1 (Agg: 3-5)

West Ham United-Freiburg: 5-0 (Agg: 5-1)

Atalanta-Sporting Lisbon: 2-1 (Agg: 3-2)

Liverpool-Sparta Prague: 6-1 (Agg: 11-2)

Bayer Leverkusen-Qarabag: 2-2 (Agg: 5-4)

Brighton-Roma: 1-0 (Agg: 1-4)