Liverpool routs Sparta 5-1 and Roma tops Brighton in Europa League

Darwin Nunez scored twice to help Liverpool rout Sparta 5-1 and take a big step closer to the Europa League quarterfinals on Thursday, according to AP.

Nunez’s right-footed shot from 25 meters (yards) flew past goalkeeper Peter Vindahl to double Liverpool’s early lead after Alexis Mac Allister’s penalty in Prague in the first leg of the round of 16.

The Uruguay international’s first strike of the evening was the 1,000th Liverpool goal scored under manager Jürgen Klopp, whose team will host the second leg next week at Anfield.

“We’re happy about the result and the performance,” Klopp told Czech public television. “Our goals were fantastic.”

In first-half stoppage time, Nunez let a pass from Mac Allister bounce in the right corner of the area before firing inside the far post for his second.

Nunez scored in the ninth minute of stoppage time Saturday to earn Liverpool a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

Conor Bradley reduced the lead to 3-1 with an own goal a minute after he came on as substitute at the start of the second half. Luis Díaz restored the three-goal advantage seven minutes later.

Dominik Szoboszlai added a goal in stoppage time.

Next for Liverpool is a seismic meeting at Anfield against Manchester City on Sunday.

In the third-tier competition, Aston Villa held Ajax 0-0 in Amsterdam. Both teams finished the game with 10 men after Ajax midfielder Tristan Gooijer and Villa defender Ezri Konsa received their second yellow card in the last 10 minutes.

Lille relied on two goals from Canadian striker Jonathan David en route to a 3-0 victory at Sturm Graz.

Maccabi Tel Aviv also recorded a comprehensive 4-1 victory at Olympiacos and Norway’s Molde beat Club Brugge 2-1.

Antonín Barák scored five minutes into stoppage time for last year’s runner-up Fiorentina’s 4-3 victory over Maccabi Haifa in a game played in Budapest, Hungary due to the Israel’s war with Hamas.

Fenerbahce won 3-0 at Union Saint-Gilloise in Brussels. Dinamo Zagreb defeated PAOK 2-0 while Servette played to a goalless home draw with Viktoria Plzeň.