The unexpected defeat against Toulouse in the previous round caused Liverpool to miss the chance to win a ticket to the next round of the Europa League. However, the joy of The Kop was only delayed by one round. Because, in the match of the 5th round, they completed this task after a 4-0 victory over LASK Linz.
Liverpool qualified after a 4-0 win over LASK Linz (Photo: Getty).
In this match, coach Klopp's team showed their superiority over the Austrian representative. They opened the score after only 12 minutes of play. From Gomez's cross from the right wing, Luis Diaz had a beautiful header to open the score.
Just 3 minutes later, LASK Linz's net shook for the second time. Salah made a run down the right wing, before passing to Gakpo who easily tapped the ball into the empty net. The first half ended with a score of 2-0 in favor of Liverpool.
In the second half, the English team continued to show their superiority. In the 51st minute, Salah increased the score to 3-0 from the 11m mark. In the remaining minutes, Liverpool played leisurely.
However, they still added a fourth goal through Gakpo in injury time. The 4-0 win over LASK Linz ensured Liverpool secured top spot in Group E with 12 points, four points ahead of second-placed Toulouse with just one round left in the group stage.
In Group E, Toulouse are likely to win the second ticket to the next round after Liverpool. They are 3 points ahead of Union Saint-Gilloise before the final match. According to UEFA rules, the group leader will go straight to the Europa League round of 16, the second-placed team must participate in the play-off round with the third-placed team in the Champions League.
West Ham won against Backa Topola. However, they still finished second in Group A (Photo: Getty).
Along with Liverpool, the other two English representatives, West Ham and Brighton, have both qualified. In Group A, West Ham beat Backa Topola 1-0. However, they are only in second place with the same 12 points as Freiburg but with a lower goal difference. In the final round, West Ham must beat Freiburg to win the group.
In Group B, Brighton also completed their task after a 1-0 win over AEK Athens. However, like West Ham, Brighton are only second with 10 points, one point behind Marseille. They will face Marseille at home in the final round.
Meanwhile, AS Roma were held to a 1-1 draw by Swiss side Servette in Group G. Lukaku opened the scoring for AS Roma in the 21st minute after a pass from Diego Llorente. This was the Belgian striker's 10th goal in 16 games in all competitions for AS Roma.
Lukaku scored but could not help AS Roma win against Servette (Photo: Getty).
Despite having a big advantage, the Wolves threw away their chances. They wasted too many scoring chances and finally paid the price when Chris Bedia equalized 1-1 for Servette in the 50th minute.
This draw left AS Roma in second place in Group G, two points behind Slavia Prague. It is worth mentioning that AS Roma no longer has the right to decide when in the final round, they will face Sheriff Tiraspol.
Up to this point, the Europa League has only seen three teams advance with the top spot being Atalanta (Group D), Liverpool (Group E), Leverkusen (Group H). The final round promises to be extremely tense.
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