Liverpool have one foot in the Europa League quarter-finals after making light work of Sparta Prague in their last-16 first leg on Thursday night.
Liverpool took a huge step towards the Champions League quarter-finals with a dominant 5-1 win over Benfica at Anfield.
Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring with a penalty in the sixth minute, followed by a brilliant brace from Darwin Nunez before half-time.
Benfica pulled one back with a Conor Bradley own goal early in the second half, but Luis Diaz restored Liverpool’s three-goal cushion with a fine finish in the 53rd minute.
Mohamed Salah thought he had added a fifth for the Reds, but his goal was ruled out by VAR for offside.
However, Liverpool were not done yet, as Dominik Szoboszlai scored a stunning goal in injury time to complete the rout.
Harvey Elliott was the star of the show for Liverpool, providing three assists and creating several chances for his teammates.
Elliott set up Nunez’s first goal and Diaz’s strike, and his pass also launched Szoboszlai’s solo run for the fifth goal.
Elliott has been a vital part of Liverpool’s squad, especially after recovering from a knee injury that sidelined him for most of the 2021/22 season.
He has played more minutes than any other Liverpool player in the last four games, showing his quality and versatility.
Elliott is still only 20 years old, but he has already shown glimpses of his immense potential.
It will be fascinating to see how he develops further and reaches his peak in the years to come.