Having seen their 13-game unbeaten streak come to an end against Bournemouth at the weekend, Liverpool knew a positive start was needed under the Anfield lights.
An early injury blow to Jeremie Frimpong was far from ideal for Arne Slot’s side, but they overcame that setback and took the lead in the 15th minute when Alexis Mac Allister bundled a close-range header over the line for his second UCL goal of the league phase.
Armed with the momentum, the Reds doubled their advantage just six minutes later, with Hugo Ekitike playing a clever ball into the path of Florian Wirtz, who took one touch to compose himself before slotting a clinical finish into the bottom corner.
The one-way traffic showed no signs of slowing down with half-time approaching, as Andy Robertson fired narrowly over the bar, while Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo saw a pair of efforts saved by Mateusz Kochalski.
Having lost their last two UCL away games by a two-goal margin, Qarabag fell further behind early in the second period, with Szoboszlai teeing up Mohamed Salah for a sublime free-kick strike on the edge of the box.
That sparked another flurry from the rampant hosts, as Slot’s men added two goals in the space of four minutes to put the game beyond all reasonable doubt.
First, Ekitike raced through two challenges to net a brilliant solo strike in front of the Kop, shortly before Mac Allister bagged his second of the evening via a scruffy finish in the six-yard box.
Cruising to a top-eight spot, Liverpool rotated several of their key players as time ticked into the final 25 minutes. However, they were still able to add a sixth late on through substitute Federico Chiesa, who tucked home from Virgil van Dijk’s pass to put the seal on a resounding victory for the Reds.
As for Qarabag, despite the heavy defeat, they still made history as the first Azerbaijani side to reach the UCL knockout stages.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool)
Catch up on all the match stats with Flashscore by clicking here.
