Klopp lauds 'wonderful' Nunez as Liverpool warm up for City clash with crushing Europa win

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp praised Darwin Nunez after the striker scored twice during a comfortable 5-1 Europa League victory over Sparta Prague.

The Uruguay international took his tally for the season to 16 - just two behind Mohamed Salah who had a goal disallowed by VAR on his return from injury - with a performance that set him and the team up perfectly for Sunday's visit of Premier League title rivals Manchester City.

Alexis Mac Allister got the visitors off to the perfect start in the Czech capital as he won and converted a penalty after just seven minutes.

Sparta had dumped out Galatasaray in the previous round and created plenty of chances against a weakened Liverpool defence. But the difference in quality between the sides showed in the final third.

Darwin Nunez's dipping shot from long range beat Peter Jensen to make it 2-0, before the Uruguayan smashed home Mac Allister's through ball in first-half stoppage time.

Conor Bradley replaced Joe Gomez at half-time and his first act was to fire into the top corner of his own goal one minute into the second half.

But Luis Diaz's deflected effort quickly restored Liverpool's three-goal cushion.

Salah made his comeback from a hamstring injury as a substitute and thought he had marked his return with a goal, but a VAR review disallowed his strike for offside.

Instead, it was another substitute Dominik Szoboszlai who fired in the fifth in stoppage time.

"He had absolutely more than (an) OK first season but he had to adapt, that's done, and he is settled in the middle of the team," said Klopp of Nunez after the last-16 first leg which has put them within touching distance of the quarter-finals of the only trophy he has not won in his career.

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