During a resounding 5-1 victory in Prague, Darwin Nunez scored Liverpool’s 1,000th goal of the Jurgen Klopp era. Liverpool made significant progress towards the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League by triumphing over Sparta Prague in the first leg of their round of 16 matchup in the Czech Republic.

The Reds took an early lead in the sixth minute through an Alexis Mac Allister penalty kick. Darwin Nunez then found the back of the net twice before halftime, propelling Liverpool to a commanding 3-0 advantage. Shortly after the break, Conor Bradley inadvertently scored an own goal, reducing Liverpool’s lead. However, Luis Diaz and Dominik Szoboszlai sealed an impressive away victory for the English club.

Nunez’s first goal of the night was a remarkable long-range strike that dipped into the net. This goal marked Liverpool’s 1,000th under the management of Jurgen Klopp, who assumed the position in October 2015. By the end of the match, the Klopp era had produced 1,003 goals for Liverpool, averaging 2.11 goals per game over Klopp’s 476 matches in charge.

In other Europa League fixtures on Thursday, Brighton & Hove Albion suffered a 4-0 defeat against Roma, while Bayer Leverkusen salvaged a 2-2 draw against Qarabag with a 92nd-minute equalizer, maintaining their unbeaten record in all competitions this season. West Ham fell 1-0 to Freiburg in Germany, and Rangers and Benfica played out a 2-2 draw in Portugal.

Meanwhile, AC Milan secured a 4-2 victory over Slavia Prague at the San Siro, with Christian Pulisic among the goal scorers.