Liverpool routs Sparta to reach Europa League quarterfinals. Late goals propel Leverkusen

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Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, left, scores his side’s third goall during the Europa League round of 16, second leg, soccer match between Liverpool and Sparta Praha at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Thursday March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

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Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah reacts after scoring his side’s third goall during the Europa League round of 16, second leg, soccer match between Liverpool and Sparta Praha at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Thursday March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

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Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring his side’s third goal during the Europa League round of 16, second leg, soccer match between Liverpool and Sparta Praha at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Thursday March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

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Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick, right, celebrates after scoring his side’s third goal during the Europa League round of sixteen, second leg, soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Qarabag FK at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

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AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic, right, scores the first goal against Slavia Praha during the Europa League group of 16 second leg soccer match between Slavia Praha and AC Milan at the Fortuna Arena in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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AC Milan’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek, right, scores the second goal against Slavia Praha during the Europa League group of 16 second leg soccer match between Slavia Praha and AC Milan at the Fortuna Arena in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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AC Milan’s goalkeeper Mike Maignan is seen on the ground after an injure during the Europa League group of 16 second leg soccer match between Slavia Praha and AC Milan at the Fortuna Arena in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen, centre, is challenged by Freiburg’s Christian Guenter during the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between West Ham United and SC Freiburg at the London stadium in London, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta, centre left, celebrates after scoring his side’s opening goal during the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between West Ham United and SC Freiburg at the London stadium in London, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Freiburg supporters cheer during the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between West Ham United and SC Freiburg at the London stadium in London, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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West Ham’s Mohammed Kudus, right, scores his side’s fourth goal during the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between West Ham United and SC Freiburg at the London stadium in London, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Marseille’s Jonathan Clauss, right, and Marseille’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrate after scoring during their Europa League round of 16, second leg, soccer match between Villarreal and Olympique de Marseille in Villarreal, east Spain, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

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Villarreal’s Yerson Mosquera celebrates after scoring during the Europa League round of 16, second leg, soccer match between Villarreal and Olympique de Marseille in Villarreal, east Spain, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

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Marseille’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang kicks the ball during the Europa League round of 16, second leg, soccer match between Villarreal and Olympique de Marseille in Villarreal, east Spain, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

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Villarreal’s Etienne Capoue scores during the Europa League round of 16, second leg, soccer match between Villarreal and Olympique de Marseille in Villarreal, east Spain, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

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Benfica’s Joao Neves celebrates after the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Rangers FC and SL Benfica at the Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

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Benfica’s Joao Neves, left, and Rangers’ Nicolas Raskin challenge for the ball during the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Rangers FC and SL Benfica at the Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

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Benfica’s Rafa Silva, left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Rangers FC and SL Benfica at the Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

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Benfica’s Rafa Silva scores the opening goal during the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Rangers FC and SL Benfica at the Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

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A Palestinian flag is being waved by Fiorentina’s supporters during the Europa Conference League round of 16, second leg soccer match between Fiorentina and Maccabi Haifa FC at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Thursday March 14, 2024. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

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PAOK’s players celebrate their win against Dinamo after the end of the Europa Conference League round of 16, second leg soccer match between PAOK and Dinamo Zagreb at Toumba stadium in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, Greece, Thursday, March 14, 2024. Paok qualify after winning Dinamo 5-1. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

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PAOK’s Baba Rahman tries to score during the Europa Conference League round of 16, second leg soccer match between PAOK and Dinamo Zagreb at Toumba stadium in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, Greece, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

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Enzo Crivelli of Servette Geneva, left, and Robin Hranac of Viktoria Plzen challenge for the ball during the Europa Conference League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Servette FC and FC Viktoria Plzen at the Doosan Arena in Pilsen, Czech Republic, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Slavomir Kubes/CTK via AP)

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Viktoria Plzen’s Pavel Sulc, left, and Ibrahim Traore, right, challenge for the ball with Servette Geneva Timothe Cognat, centre left, and Enzo Crivelli during the Europa Conference League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Servette FC and FC Viktoria Plzen at the Doosan Arena in Pilsen, Czech Republic, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Slavomir Kubes/CTK via AP)

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Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo, right, celebrates with Mohamed Salah after scoring his side’s fourth goal during the Europa League round of 16, second leg, soccer match between Liverpool and Sparta Praha at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, Thursday March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

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Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during the Europa League round of sixteen, second leg, soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Qarabag FK at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

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Qarabag’s Juninho, centre, scores his side’s second goal during the Europa League round of sixteen, second leg, soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Qarabag FK at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

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Brighton’s Julio Enciso, right, is tackled by Roma’s Zeki Celik during the Europa League, round of 16 second-leg soccer match between Brighton and Hove Albion FC and Roma, at the Amex Stadium in Brighton, England, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

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Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke, center, reacts after failing to score during the Europa League, round of 16 second-leg soccer match between Brighton and Hove Albion FC and Roma, at the Amex Stadium in Brighton, England, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

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Brighton’s Julio Enciso gestures at the end of thre match during the Europa League, round of 16 second-leg soccer match between Brighton and Hove Albion FC and Roma, at the Amex Stadium in Brighton, England, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

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Sporting’s fans support their team during the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Atalanta and Sporting CP at Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

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Atalanta’s Gianluca Scamacca celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Atalanta and Sporting CP at Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

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Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman, right, and Sporting’s Eduardo Quaresma challenge for the ball during the Europa League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Atalanta and Sporting CP at Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

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Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran celebrates after scoring his side third goal during the Europa Conference League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Aston Villa and Ajax at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

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Brugge’s Michal Skoras, left, is congratulated by Brugge’s Ferran Jutgla after scoring his sides third goal during the Europa Conference League Round of 16, second leg, soccer match between Club Brugge and Molde at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

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Molde’s Casper Oyvann, left, and Molde’s Mats Moller Daehli, right, fight for the ball with Brugge’s Igor Thiago, center, during the Europa Conference League Round of 16, second leg, soccer match between Club Brugge and Molde at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

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Sturm’s Dimitri Lavalee, left, and Lille’s Remy Cabella challenge for the ball during the Europa Conference League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Lille and Sturm Graz, at the Pierre Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve d’Ascq, northern France, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthieu Mirville)

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Olympiacos’ Youssef El Arabi celebrates with teammates after scoring his side’s 6th goal during the Europa Conference League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Olympiacos at the TSC Arena in Backa Topola, Serbia, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

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Olympiacos’ Youssef El Arabi celebrates after scoring his side’s 6th goal during the Europa Conference League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Olympiacos at the TSC Arena in Backa Topola, Serbia, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

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By KAREL JANICEK

Mohamed Salah scored one goal and set up three to help Liverpool demolish Sparta Prague 6-1 and march into the Europa League quarterfinals on Thursday.

After winning 5-1 the opening leg of their last 16 tie in Prague, Liverpool scored four in the opening 14 minutes at Anfield to advance on a massive 11-2 aggregate score.

Sparta had no answer to Liverpool’s high pressure.

Salah seized the ball on the right of the area before shooting inside the far post over Sparta goalkeeper Peter Vindahl for his 20th goal of the season, becoming the first Liverpool player to score at least 20 goals in seven straight seasons.

Salah, who injured his hamstring with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations in January, started after having been used as a substitute in both the first leg in Prague and a 1-1 draw with Manchester City on Sunday.

Darwin Nunez opened the rout with a clinical low finish seven minutes into the game after scoring two in Prague.

A minute later, Salah won the ball on the edge of the box to feed 19-year-old Bobby Clark to score his first senior goal for Liverpool to jump 2-0 up.

Salah then scored before finding Cody Gakpo with a cross to make it 4-0.

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Dominik Szoboszlai made it 5-1 in the second half with a deflected shot before Gakpo added his second.

Veljko Birmančević had the lone goal for Sparta.

In Germany, Patrik Schick came off the bench against 10-man Qarabag to score two goals in stoppage time to complete Leverkusen’s 3-2 comeback win and secure a quarterfinal spot for the Bundesliga leader.

In a dramatic second half, Abdellah Zoubir and Juninho gave the visitors a 2-0 advantage before Jeremie Frimpong started the comeback.

Leverkusen made the quarters 5-4 on aggregate to extend its unbeaten streak to 37 games across all competitions this season — a German record.

Qarabag’s Elvin Jafarguliyev received a red card in the 62nd when his team was leading 1-0.

AC Milan cruised past 10-man Slavia Prague 3-1 to reach the quarterfinals. Milan advanced 7-3 on aggregate after winning the first leg of the last 16 tie 4-2 at San Siro a week ago.

The seven-time European champion has never won the second-tier Europa League or its predecessor, the UEFA Cup.

The competition gives the Italian powerhouse its only realistic chance to win a trophy this season after it was eliminated from the Italian Cup and currently trails Serie A leader Inter Milan by 16 points.

Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Rafael Leão put the result in the second leg beyond doubt with first-half goals in Prague.

Pulisic netted from 10 meters with a low shot to open the scoring in the 33rd minute and Loftus-Cheek tapped in the second into an empty net off a precise cross from Theo Hernández before Leão curled a right-footed drive from outside the area into the top right corner in first-half stoppage time.

Slavia got a consolation goal from substitute Matěj Jurásek.

Pulisic now has 11 goals in 38 appearances across all competitions in the U.S. international’s first campaign with the Rossoneri to match his most productive season — the 2019-20 campaign at Chelsea.

Slavia’s early pressure lost steam after captain Tomáš Holeš received a straight red card in the 20th minute for fouling his counterpart Davide Calabria.

Milan first-choice goalkeeper Mike Maignan was injured early and was replaced by Marco Sportiello.

West Ham made the last eight by routing Freiburg 5-0 at London Stadium.

The Hammers reversed the first leg 1-0 defeat with the first-half goals from Lucas Paquetá and Jarrod Bowen.

Paquetá netted from close range after Tomáš Souček headed to him from a corner less than 10 minutes into the game. Bowen doubled the advantage in the 32nd.

Aaron Cresswell made it 3-0 early in the second half before Mohammed Kudus completed the rout with two late goals.

West Ham, last year’s Europa Conference League champion, has won 11 straight home games in European competitions in the last two seasons.

Marseille nearly blew a 4-0 lead from the first leg against Villarreal, which scored three goals Thursday before Jonathan Clauss netted in stoppage-time for the French visitors to seal a 5-3 aggregate victory despite a 3-1 loss on the evening. Étienne Capoue, Alexander Sørloth and Yerson Mosquera scored to hand Marseille its first defeat since coach Jean-Louis Gasset took charge after five wins.

Danny Welbeck netted to lift Brighton 1-0 past Roma but that was not enough to prevent the end of the debut season for the Seagulls in Europe.

Roma made the next round 4-1 on aggregate.

Ademola Lookman and Gianluca Scamacca scored early in the second half to rally Atalanta to a 2-1 win over Sporting and into the the quarterfinals. Pedro Goncalves scored for the visitors. Atalanta advanced 3-2 on aggregate.

Benfica advanced after a 1-0 win over Rangers at Ibrox Stadium in Glagow. Rafa Silva scored in the 66th minute and the Lisbon team held on after the sides drew 2-2 last week.

The quarterfinals draw is scheduled for Friday.

EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE

In the third-tier competition, Maccabi Haifa held Fiorentina 1-1 but the Italian team — last year’s runner-up — advanced to the quarterfinals on a 5-4 aggregate score.

Viktoria Plzeň prevailed 3-1 on penalties over Servette after they played both legs and extra time without scoring a goal.

Greece’s PAOK recovered from a 2-0 loss at Dinamo Zagreb in the opening leg with a 5-1 home win to advance.

Fenerbahce advanced despite a 1-0 home loss to Union Saint-Gilloise after taking 3-0 the first leg.

Aston Villa moved to the next phase after a 4-0 home victory over Ajax following their 0-0 draw in Amsterdam. Lille progressed 4-1 on aggregate after drawing Sturm Graz 1-1 at home. Club Brugge advanced with a 3-0 home win over Molde and 4-2 overall. Olympiacos scored twice in extra time to win 6-1 away and eliminate Maccabi Tel Aviv 7-5 on aggregate.

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