Liverpool overturned a one-goal deficit from the first leg and advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday. The team defeated Galatasaray 4-0 at Anfield for a 4-1 aggregate win.
Dominik Szoboszlai gave Liverpool the lead in the 25th minute. The Hungarian midfielder controlled a low delivery from Alexis Mac Allister and slotted the ball into the bottom corner.
Liverpool dominated possession after that strike. However, Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah missed a penalty moments later. Galatasaray goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir saved the tame effort down the middle.
Liverpool exploded after the interval. French striker Hugo Ekitike made it 2-0 in the 51st minute. He finished a precise low cross from Mohamed Salah. Two minutes later Ryan Gravenberch added the third goal.
He swept home the rebound after Cakir parried another shot from Salah. Then Mohamed Salah scored the fourth in the 62nd minute. He exchanged passes with Florian Wirtz on the edge of the box and curled a trademark shot into the top corner.
The strike marked Mohamed Salah’s 50th goal in the Champions League. The Egyptian became the first African player to hit that total. Salah also provided an assist for Ekitike and created the chance for Gravenberch.
Galatasaray offered little response throughout the night. The Turkish side played without away fans because of a UEFA ban for previous crowd issues. Liverpool could have won by a bigger margin but settled for the four goals.
After the match French striker Hugo Ekitike said: “We’re really happy. We did a great job tonight. We could have won 10-0 but we still did a good job. We can be proud of ourselves tonight and look forward to the quarter-final. When I sat in the locker room at half-time I was thinking we need to kill this game. I had my chance. I could have scored more tonight to be honest. I think we felt more free in the second half.”
