Liverpool side continued their perfect record in the Europa League with a ruthless 5-1 victory over French club Toulouse in Group E.
The home team quickly took the lead at Anfield when Diogo Jota skipped past a few defenders and put the ball in the back of the net in the ninth minute.
To make things even, Toulouse sent on Thijs Dallinga, who was set up by Trent Alexander-Arnold and scored after a 40-yard run.
But stand-in captain Alexander-Arnold quickly made up for it by crossing the ball for Wataru Endo to score his first goal for Liverpool in the 30th minute. Darwin Nunez then scored a third goal to put the Reds ahead 3-1 at halftime.
Around the middle of the second half, Nunez slid past Guillaume Restes, the Toulouse custodian, but hit the post. He was lucky that Ryan Gravenberch scored a fourth goal from the rebound.
In the end, Liverpool easily won because Mohamed Salah scored a fifth goal in stoppage time, coolly putting in a shot from close range that hit the crossbar. It was his ninth goal of the season.
With the win, Liverpool stayed on top of Group E with nine points after three games. Toulouse fell to third place, five points behind the Reds.
It’s clear that Liverpool is focused on their league season; the Reds are only three points behind the leaders.
After the win over Everton, Jurgen Klopp made eight changes to the team that will play Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Sunday.
Even so, his second team was still precise, intense, and clearly better than the French Cup winners. Midfielders Endo and Gravenberch stood out as especially good.
Luke Chambers, a teenager, made his first start, and Callum Scanlon and James McConnell, two substitutes, played their first games. Cody Gakpo came off the bench halfway through the second half to play again after being out for a month.
Liverpool had a lot of chances, but they left holes at the back, and they almost gave up right away after the break when keeper Caoimhin Kelleher lost the ball. Gabriel Suazo of Toulouse had a shot, but Alexander-Arnold blocked it on the line.
The Reds were entertaining throughout their win, though, and if they beat Toulouse in their next Europa League game in two weeks, they will be in the knockout stages with two games to spare.
Photo by EPA/ADAM VAUGHAN
