Liverpool have cruised to the last 16 of the Europa League thanks to a 4-0 win over LASK that saw Mohamed Salah close in on another stunning achievement.
The Reds were unanimous favourites to win Group E after failing to secure their spot in the Champions League last season, and have managed to do so with a game to spare.
Liverpool knew that beating Austrian side LASK and second-placed Toulouse failing to beat Union Saint-Gilloise would secure a top spot finish for them, and they had more or less filled their end of the bargain inside the opening 15 minutes.
Luis Diaz scored their first of the night as Joe Gomez’s cross found the Colombian’s head and flew into the back of the net, leaving goalkeeper Tobias Lawal rooted to his spot.
Diaz was involved once again shortly after as he passed out to Salah on the right, who then teed up Cody Gakpo for a simple tap-in.
Liverpool were firmly in control of the match as a result, with LASK not looking likely to get themselves back in the game.
Klopp and co. then sealed the deal six minutes into the second-half when Lawal fouled Gakpo in the area and conceded a penalty. Salah was the man to take the spot-kick and he fired into the bottom-right corner, his 199th goal for Liverpool.
One more goal and he will become the fifth player in the club’s illustrious history to score 200. Ian Rush is on top with 346.
The Egyptian is already on 13 goals in 19 appearances this season, with this one his third in the Europa League.
Gakpo scored his side’s fourth and final goal of the night in second-half stoppage-time, firing into the top corner inside the area after latching onto a smooth Trent Alexander-Arnold pass.
Salah was denied the chance to score his 200th goal as Klopp opted to substitute him in the 56th minute for Curtis Jones, with Liverpool top of Group E on 12 points.
However, the rest will surely gear him up to potentially hit the landmark on Sunday when they host Fulham in the Premier League.
Should he do so, his status as a Liverpool legend will more than certainly be cemented in the history books.
