LIVERPOOL, England-- Liverpool thrashed Toulouse 5-1 at Anfield on Thursday, asserting their control over their Europa League section with a perfect record at the halfway mark of the group stage.
Diogo Jota opened the scoring for the hosts after nine minutes, embarking on a solo run that saw him navigate past four defenders before planting the ball into the bottom corner. Toulouse responded seven minutes later as Thijs Dallinga perfectly timed his run from the halfway line into the box, effortlessly slotting home in the Group E clash. The rest of the match belonged to Liverpool as Wataru Endo headed them back in front just past the half-hour mark. Four minutes later Darwin Nunez extended their lead with a shot from a tight angle, capitalising on a rebound inside the box. Nunez nearly netted again in the 65th minute but his shot from the right side of the box struck the post after a superb run. Nevertheless, Ryan Gravenberch capitalised on the rebound to score Liverpool's fourth goal. Three minutes into stoppage time late substitute Mohamed Salah completed the thrashing with a well-placed shot into the top corner from closer range having bemused his marker. Liverpool top the group by five points over Union Saint Gilloise, who beat visitors LASK 2-1, and Toulouse, with both teams on four points. LASK are bottom without a point.
