Kelleher concern quashed
The emphatic nature of the final scoreline didn’t quite portray the threat Sparta Prague, buoyed by a vociferous home crowd, regularly posed the Liverpool defence.
And chief reason for that was another stellar display by Caoimhin Kelleher. A seventh consecutive start, Kelleher is this season already close to matching the number of Reds appearances of his previous four campaigns combined. And, as with outfield players, he is benefiting from the rhythm of consistent games.
Kelleher was certainly required early on when making a smart stop from the strangely unmarked Lukas Haraslin that allowed Joe Gomez to race back and clear off the goalline, the relieved goalkeeper then pouncing on the loose ball.
There was less Sparta threat once Liverpool adjusted defensively in the second half, with Kelleher’s positioning and ability on the ball making light of any potentially tricky situations.
Indeed, it says much that when Sparta did finally find a way past the Irishman, it was when a low cross was belted into his own goal by Conor Bradley, the right-back’s first touch having replaced Gomez at half-time.
Small wonder hearts were in mouths when Kelleher briefly stayed down midway through the first half when landing awkwardly after making a high claim. After long being regarded by Jurgen Klopp as the best number two goalkeeper in the world, Kelleher is now proving he is more than just an able deputy.
Salah intensifies debate
Liverpool have had good reason to bemoan video interventions this season. The latest such incident, though, was more spoilsport than shocking.
Mohamed Salah thought he had marked his return to action with a goal – becoming in the process the first player in Reds history to score 20 goals in all competitions for seven successive seasons – only for a VAR check to rule him offside by the tightest of margins.
No matter. That landmark will surely come, and despite having only been thrown on in the 76th minute, Salah did enough to suggest he is free of the injury concerns that had helped restrict him to just one Liverpool outing in the previous two months, his longest such spell on the sidelines since arriving at Anfield.
Whether that’s sufficient to earn a start against Manchester City will be a major call for Klopp, although the impact of Darwin Nunez and another goal for Luis Diaz – it’s now six in the last 12 outings for the Colombian – mean Salah needn’t be rushed back, even if Cody Gakpo was fitful playing on the right flank.
And if the Egyptian is in any way irked at having his big moment chalked off, Liverpool’s next opponents might well feel the full force.
City hints emerge
The possible injury to Ibrahima Konate was the one obvious negative from the evening, the Frenchman now facing a race against time to be fit for the weekend.
If Konate doesn’t make it, there will be at least one inexperienced face in the rearguard, whether it be Bradley at right-back or Jarell Quansah at centre-back, given Gomez will be expected to feature in some role.
Seeking further hints for the weekend, it was intriguing Kostas Tsimikas, impressive at the Etihad back in November, remained on the bench as Andy Robertson played the full game.
A bonus was midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai coming through a good 40 minutes with a performance capped with the final goal that puts him in the frame for a start on Sunday, while Bobby Clark was impressive from the bench on his European debut.
Meanwhile, this victory ended a run of 11 games without a win away from home in the Europa League for Liverpool. And every time the Reds have scored five on the road in a European knockout game, they’ve gone on to reach the final.
Dublin, though, can wait. The focus now is purely on Manchester.
