Champions League:Liverpool 6-0 Qarabag FC

Liverpool are having to stomach “a very bad cocktail” of cheap goals against and wasted chances in the Premier League, according to Arne Slot. To extend the mixologist’s analogy, his team are enjoying life with a few margaritas in the Champions League.

Slot’s team cruised into the last 16 for the second successive season with a demolition of Qarabag at Anfield. Mohamed Salah was among the goalscorers for the first time since accusing Liverpool of throwing him under the bus in December, while Alexis Mac Allister, Florian Wirtz, the influential Hugo Ekitiké and Federico Chiesa were also on the scoresheet.

A rout and a clean sheet were just what Slot craved following defeat at Bournemouth on Saturday. Avoiding next month’s two-legged playoff will be an added bonus given his mounting injury problems. Six wins out of eight in the Champions League group, including against both Madrid clubs and Inter Milan, serve as a reminder of the pedigree that Liverpool possess but have not shown consistently on the domestic front.

The champions of Azerbaijan started the final round in 18th place, above the likes of Marseille, Leverkusen, Napoli and Benfica, and with hopes of continuing their rise in European football by qualifying for the playoffs. Getting there via a positive result at Anfield proved too much of an ask, however, with Liverpool’s Champions League form providing a stark contrast to their Premier League woes once again.

Slot’s night did not get off to the most encouraging start. Already shorn of defensive options and needing Ryan Gravenberch to deputise for Ibrahima Konaté in central defence, Liverpool lost Jeremie Frimpong to injury in only the second minute. Frimpong pulled up while pursuing a Qarabag clearance down his right flank. Credit to visiting captain Abdellah Zoubir for putting the ball out of play immediately for the full-back to receive treatment. Frimpong has previously suffered two hamstring injuries during his debut season at Anfield and, while the nature of this latest blow was not immediately clear, he was distraught when limping off around the pitch.

The thought went to Slot’s pre-match press conference, when he defended withdrawing Frimpong against Bournemouth on the basis the Netherlands international looked tired and his workload needed to be managed carefully. “If people knew the struggles we and I are facing, they would be more understanding of the decisions I make,” the head coach had said.

Frimpong’s exit and Wataru Endo’s arrival left Liverpool with a back four comprising of two defenders and two midfielders. Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson and Milos Kerkez are the only fit, recognised defenders available to Slot until Konaté returns from compassionate leave.

Liverpool ensured the disruption had no immediate impact with two goals in quick succession against a willing but limited opponent. Wirtz and Ekitiké had both tested the Qarabag defence before Slot’s team took the lead from a set-piece, much to his delight. Dominik Szoboszlai’s corner flicked off defender Kevin Medina and was met at the back post by Van Dijk. His header bounced up for Mac Allister to nod over the line before goalkeeper Mateusz Kochalski could claw clear.

It was soon two when Ekitiké held up Robertson’s pass and spun away from two Qarabag players before squaring inside to Wirtz. A chasm opened up in the middle of the visitors’ defence, giving the Germany international time and space to pick his spot in the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

There was no let-up for Qarabag after the interval. In a role reversal of their free-kick routine at Bournemouth on Saturday, Szoboszlai back-heeled the ball for Salah to sweep a similarly emphatic finish into the top corner. It was the Egypt international’s 49th goal in the Champions League, his first in any competition for Liverpool since 1 November and, notably, his first since that interview at Leeds. Salah pointedly marked the moment by facing the Kop and thumping the Liver bird on his chest.

Ekitiké got the goal his performance deserved when beating one Qarabag central defender after the other to a long clearance out of the Liverpool penalty area. Having sprinted away from both Bahlul Mustafazade and Medina, the striker swept a clinical finish past their goalkeeper.

The visitors’ display was by now disintegrating and Mac Allister claimed his second goal of the night when right-back Matheus Silva sliced a Szoboszlai pass into the path of the Argentina midfielder. Mac Allister duly waltzed around Kochalski and tapped into an empty net.

Substitute Chiesa added a sixth in the final minute of normal time when found unmarked in front of goal by Van Dijk.