Liverpool thrash Galatasaray 4-0 to reach Champions League quarterfinals | Football News
Liverpool shrugged off their Premier League malaise to storm into the Champions League quarterfinals by thrashing Galatasaray 4-0 at Anfield.
Goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, Hugo Ekitike, Ryan Gravenberch and Mohamed Salah on Tuesday overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit for Arne Slot’s men to set up a reunion with defending champions Paris Saint-Germain in the last eight.
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Slot needed a reaction from the English champions after they were booed off at Anfield on Sunday for the latest in a series of lacklustre displays in a 1-1 draw against struggling Tottenham.
Languishing fifth in the Premier League, the Champions League could save Liverpool’s season and Slot’s job.
The Dutchman had given a rest to some of his stars at the weekend and was rewarded with a dominant display that could have resulted in an even more comprehensive scoreline.
Galatasaray’s hopes of causing an upset were dealt a massive blow inside the first few minutes when star striker Victor Osimhen injured his forearm in a clash with Ibrahima Konate.
The Nigerian international was clearly hobbled as he continued on until half-time, when he was replaced by Leroy Sane.
By that point, the Turkish champions’ advantage had already been erased.
Szoboszlai has been Liverpool’s outstanding performer in a troubled season and levelled the tie with a cushioned finish from a well-worked corner on 25 minutes.
Galatasaray somehow escaped further punishment before the break.
Salah missed a glorious chance to immediately double the Reds’ lead when he failed to chip Ugurcan Cakir.
Florian Wirtz’s deflected effort flew just over, and Cakir repelled another sweet Szoboszlai strike.
The Turkiye goalkeeper then saved Salah’s poor penalty after Szoboszlai was upended inside the box.
But the floodgates opened on the visitors in the second half. Salah atoned for the penalty miss with an inch-perfect pass for Ekitike to slot home.
Two minutes later, Gravenberch fired in the rebound off a Salah shot that had been saved.
Salah has been a shadow of his former self this season, either side of a public bust-up with Slot after being dropped in December.
He could and should have had many more on the night, but did register his 50th Champions League goal in some style with a spectacular strike from Wirtz’s backheel.
Salah also hit the bar before asking to be replaced due to an injury concern, as Galatasaray offered little resistance to the waves of Liverpool attacks.
The Reds face a very different challenge against PSG, who crushed Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate to reach the last eight.
Slot has repeatedly spoken in glowing terms of the French champions.
Liverpool came as close as anyone to stopping PSG last season as Luis Enrique’s men emerged victorious on penalties in the last 16 after a titanic tussle.
Szoboszlai said he was delighted to get the win in such emphatic style, but warned that PSG would pose a formidable task.
“Today, we showed the right direction where we want to go and what we want to show everybody,” he told TNT Sports.
“I watched [PSG] play against Chelsea yesterday, they didn’t become a worse team than last season. But we showed today that we are able to do everything.”
Elsewhere, Harry Kane scored a brace in Bayern’s 4-1 over Atalanta to complete a 10-2 aggregate win.
Barcelona were not far off when they thrashed Newcastle United 7-2 for an overall 8-3 score, with captain Raphina getting two goals and assists apiece, and Robert Lewandowski also claiming a brace.
Tottenham Hotspur put up a fight against Atletico and won 3-2 from Xavi Simons’s late penalty for a personal brace, but the damage was done last week in Spain, where they lost 5-2.
The results mean that Liverpool and Arsenal are the only two of six Premier League teams to progress, as Chelsea and Manchester City went out on Tuesday against title-holders Paris Saint-Germain and record winners Real Madrid, respectively. Arsenal, for their part, ousted Bayer Leverkusen.
The quarterfinals, to be played April 7-8 and 14-15, are Real vs Bayern, Atletico vs Barcelona, PSG vs Liverpool and Sporting vs Arsenal.
