Luke Humphries registered his first Premier League night win as the world champion defeated Michael Smith 6-3 in Brighton.

The final of the tournament’s sixth night saw world number one Humphries, a competition debutant this year, surge into a 5-1 lead.

Smith, the 2023 world champion and winner of night one in Cardiff, hit back but ‘Cool Hand Luke’ was not to be denied.

Humphries said on Sky Sports: “I felt like I haven’t played my best, since the Worlds maybe for the first six weeks, and I’ve come back playing a lot better. Sometimes it takes a bit of time.

“I think after the Worlds, the way I played, everyone expected me to win everything, and that’s not going to happen. There is so much great talent out there, so many great players, and winning nights like these is fantastic because they are really hard. I’m really proud the way I played tonight.

“My dad said ‘you look a million dollars, you look like you’re throwing like you were in the Worlds’.

“I did feel really good after the Worlds – unfortunately some things happened. My Nan passed away and that did have an affect on me. But that’s no excuse. You build again, you go again, and I think in the last couple of weeks my mind has been straight again and I feel really good.

“I felt really good at the UK Open (last weekend, when he was a beaten finalist), I just didn’t win, but tonight that’s the best I’ve played since the Worlds, and the best I’ve felt.”

Humphries, who averaged 101.04 against Smith, had advanced to it by defeating Rob Cross 6-3 with an average of 113.71. It was the same score as Smith won his semi against 17-year-old World Championship runner-up Luke Littler.

In the quarter-finals, Humphries got past Gerwyn Price 6-2 and Smith ended a three-match losing streak with a 6-5 victory over Peter Wright, who remains without a win in this year’s competition.

Defending champion Michael van Gerwen, winner of three of the first five nights, suffered a second successive quarter-final loss as he was beaten 6-2 by Cross, and night five winner Nathan Aspinall lost 6-3 to Littler.

Humphries moves up to second in the table on 12 points, three behind Van Gerwen, with Littler and Cross a further point back and Smith just outside the play-off spots on 10 points.

West Ham boss David Moyes felt his side were wrongly denied a late penalty as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 meeting with Freiburg.

The Hammers were denied what looked a clear spot-kick for handball in stoppage time after the referee refused to change his decision despite checking the pitchside monitor.

The ball struck the arm of Freiburg youngster Noah Weisshaupt in a crowded penalty area, but after a long VAR check, referee Alejandro Hernandez stuck to his guns.

“If we’d had it given against us, we’d probably think it was harsh, but ultimately I have to say what are you doing with your hands above your head?” Moyes said.

“They are trying to claim there might have been a slight push and that’s why it wasn’t given – but they should have restarted the game with a free-kick if they said it was a push.

“It certainly wasn’t enough of a push to warrant a free-kick, so that shouldn’t mean that it should even come into consideration. The boy has two arms above his head.

“In the Premier League, I am not sure that would be given, but in UEFA competitions in Europe they’re normally given by the referees. I watch Spanish football and German football and nearly every handball is seen.

“If you think of the one we had against Kurt (Zouma) (at Everton) the other day, but we just have to take it and move on.”

West Ham only had themselves to blame for the defeat, however, after drawing a blank in the Black Forest.

Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta missed golden opportunities and Konstantinos Mavropanos hit a post before they were hit by a late sucker punch from Freiburg substitute Michael Gregoritsch.

A poor pass from Edson Alvarez allowed Roland Sallai to take aim from the edge of the area and his wayward shot was tapped in by Gregoritsch.

“I was really surprised we didn’t reach the standards and some of the players were below where we would expect them to be,” Moyes said, quoted on the West Ham website.

“We gave the ball away far too much and in Europe it’s more difficult (to get it back).

“In the second half we played much better and created some opportunities and found things, but the goal was a sickener, to be honest.”

It means West Ham, last season’s Europa Conference League winners, need to overturn a 1-0 deficit at the London Stadium next week to prolong this season’s continental campaign.

Moyes, though, insists all is not yet lost as West Ham look to regroup for the return leg.

“I’m not worried about turning the tie around, but I am worried about us getting back into right good form and at the levels they need to be to make the difference,” the Irons boss said.

“I’m looking forward to the game next week and bring it on and let’s see how we go.”

Philippe Clement insists Rangers came close to a “miracle” win over Benfica in their thrilling Europa League last-16 tie which ended 2-2 in Lisbon.

Midfielder Tom Lawrence gave the Light Blues the lead in the seventh minute of the first leg with a header before Argentina World Cup winner Angel Di Maria levelled with a penalty in added time after VAR intervened to highlight that Gers defender John Souttar had used his arm inside the box.

Dujon Sterling restored the visitors’ lead in added time with his first career goal only for Gers defender Connor Goldson to head into his own goal in the 67th minute and the tie is now set up nicely for next Thursday in Govan.

With a nod to Benfica’s huge budget in comparison to that of Rangers, the Light Blues boss said: “We were really close to making this miracle, the first team ever in the Europa League to win here.

“It is a pity to get a penalty against us like that, it is really an unlucky situation, the ball drops and John doesn’t see it and it drops on his arm. That is really unlucky.

“We were really close, we had two opportunities with Fabio (Silva) and Cyriel (Dessers) to make it 3-1, it would have changed a lot in this game but I am really proud of my team.

“They showed character, personality and solidarity also with the ball we scored two really good goals.

“I am really someone who is demanding but I cannot give more than what they gave today. They gave their all and also, the guys who came in.

“We missed a lot of players in the offensive position so other players had to do the job. I am very happy with Fabio and Dujon.

“We need to continue like this. If we keep this mentality that they have been showing in the last couple of months it could be an amazing season.”

Asked if Rangers now have the advantage in the tie, the Belgian boss said: “It’s only an advantage that it’s at Ibrox. If our fans are on top of it from the first second until the last second then they can give a lot of energy to the team.

“But we stay realistic about the qualities of Benfica. You guys wrote this week about the difference in the transfer budgets and that’s the reality. If we could eliminate this team I think it would be a huge, huge thing.

“I can only ask for my players to give their best and to show that they have shown tonight again on Thursday.”

Clement went on to describe the penalty as “very harsh”, saying: “I have said it already a few times that I don’t agree where the game has gone to with handball situations. I know those are the rules.

“I had more problems with some situations in the last couple of weeks.

“With the rules and how they are now, you can give this penalty. But as somebody who loves football, I have difficulty with those rules.

“And I think all the managers and all the players think the same.

“It is too harsh now that a ball that is clearly not intended to go against your arm, the moment it touches you it’s a penalty.

“Too many games all over the world are  decided in this way with these handballs and these penalties.”

Rangers twice surrendered the lead to draw the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie against Benfica 2-2.

Philippe Clement’s squad was hit by injuries but returning midfielder Tom Lawrence gave the visitors a dramatic early lead with a header before Angel Di Maria levelled with a penalty kick in first-half added time after VAR intervened to highlight that Gers defender John Souttar had used his arm inside the box.

Light Blues’ utility player Dujon Sterling restored the lead in the fifth of five minutes of added time with his first career goal only for Gers defender Connor Goldson to head into his own goal midway through the second half to take the tie back to Glasgow next Thursday night level.

Much of the pre-match talk was around Clement’s limited options in attack. He was without the services of four injured wingers – Abdallah Sima, Scott Wright, Rabbi Matondo and Oscar Cortes – albeit the latter is not in the European squad. With Ross McCausland only fit to start on the bench, it meant no natural width in attack.

Portuguese attacker Fabio Silva, who spent two seasons with Benfica as a youth player, supported main striker Cyriel Dessers from the left with Sterling working off the right.

Under-pressure home boss Roger Schmidt was looking for his side to bounce back from their 5-0 thrashing by title rivals Porto at the weekend and he had a host of big names in the starting line-up including Argentina World Cup winners Nicolas Otamendi and Di Maria.

Around 3,500 Rangers fans were in position to see Gers goalkeeper Jack Butland make an early save at his near post from David Neres’ drive.

And moments later they were off their seats cheering when Silva sent Mohamed Diomande free inside the box and he lifted the ball for the in-rushing Lawrence to head down past diving keeper Anatoliy Trubin.

Butland then made a double save, first from Neres and then from striker Arthur Cabral from the loose ball, albeit his effort had been partially blocked by Souttar.

However, after VAR Marco Fritz intervened following another Benfica corner, the Gers defender was adjudged by referee German referee Tobias Stieler to have hit the ball with his arm as he defended the delivery and Di María sent Butland the wrong way with his assured penalty.

There was more first-half drama to come in the final minute of the five added when Sterling, signed from Chelsea in the summer, stole in to convert a deflected Silva cross from close range, with a VAR check confirming his landmark goal.

Both sides went for more goals from the start of the second half, with Cabral heading wide at the back post from a Rafa Silva cross before Trubin blocked a Silva effort at the other end.

However, Benfica were level again in the 67th minute when Di Maria floated in a free-kick from 35 yards and Goldson stretched to clear but only sent it past Butland.

The home side sensed a winner was there for them and Di Maria somehow missed the target from 12 yards.

In the 77th minute Kemar Roofe, Ryan Jack and Cole McKinnon took over from Dessers, Lawrence and Sterling but Benfica’s steady pressure continued to the final whistle.

The return game promises more thrills and spills but Rangers will look to complete the job in Govan.

AC Milan saw off 10-man Slavia Prague 4-2 at San Siro in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie.

After Slavia defender El Hadji Malick Diouf was shown a straight red card in the 26th minute, the Rossoneri made the most of their advantage with first-half goals from Olivier Giroud, Tijjani Reijnders and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

David Doudera had earlier given the Czech side hope with an fine strike to make it 1-1 and Ivan Schranz reduced the deficit midway through the second half before Christian Pulisic’s close-range effort late on gave Milan breathing space heading into the return leg.

Having dropped out of the Champions League, Stefano Pioli’s men came through the play-off round, beating Rennes 5-3 on aggregate, while Slavia had finished first in Group G ahead of Roma.

It had been a bright start by the home side, with right-back Alessandro Florenzi clipping a free-kick from the edge of the penalty area just over the crossbar.

Slavia Prague, though, created the clearest opening of the early exchanges when an angled ball picked out Diouf in the left side of the penalty area, but the defender completely missed his kick.

The Czech visitors continued to offer a threat on the counter attack, and in the 15th minute Doudera sliced his shot wide after breaking into the right side of the box.

Slavia Prague found themselves down to 10 men after just 26 minutes when Diouf was shown a straight red card for catching Pulisic on the ankle with his late sliding challenge.

Milan broke the deadlock in the 34th minute when Giroud headed in at the far post from Rafael Leao’s deflected curling cross out on the left.

Slavia, however, hit back straight away as Doudera fired a superb right-footed volley in off the post when the ball dropped to him at the edge of the penalty area following a corner.

Giroud saw his effort saved by Slavia keeper Jindrich Stanek, who then got down to palm away Matteo Gabbia’s header.

Milan’s pressure finally told just before the break when Reijnders drove in a low shot from 20 yards after a quick corner was pushed out to the left side of the penalty area.

It was 3-1 in first-half stoppage time when England midfielder Loftus-Cheek powered in a header from a corner.

Soon after the restart, Leao flashed a low drive across the face of goal and Slavia continued to sit deep looking to limit further damage.

The Czechs, though, reduced the deficit in the 65th minute when Schranz fired in an angled strike after Milan again failed to clear a free-kick.

Frustration started to creep in from the home crowd as the Rossoneri failed to break down Slavia’s resolute backline.

Milan eventually restored some breathing space with five minutes left when Leao’s angled chip across goal was touched over the line by Pulisic.

West Ham drew a blank in the Black Forest as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 meeting with Freiburg.

Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta missed golden opportunities to give the Hammers a lead to take back to the London Stadium next week.

But instead they will have to come from behind after they were hit by a late sucker punch from Freiburg substitute Michael Gregoritsch.

They were also denied what looked a clear penalty for handball in stoppage time after the referee refused to change his decision despite checking the pitchside monitor.

Nine months to the day since they lifted the Europa Conference League trophy in Prague, West Ham were back on their continental travels, and against familiar opponents.

Freiburg were the visitors to east London for the final group game just 84 days ago when a 2-0 win secured top spot for the Hammers.

West Ham also won 2-1 on their previous visit to south-west Germany in October, and travelled buoyed by back-to-back Premier League wins following a below-par start to the year.

Boss David Moyes, keen on another strong run in Europe, named his strongest line-up with cup goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski replacing Alphonse Areola in the only change from Saturday’s victory at Everton.

West Ham were, as usual, happy to let their opponents have the ball but Freiburg gave them a scare when Roland Sallai’s through-ball split their defence.

Fortunately, Lucas Holer hit his shot into the ground and straight at Fabianski.

Moments later Bowen made a horrible mess of West Ham’s only chance of the first half.

The forward, who has not scored in Europe since his famous last-minute winner against Fiorentina in the Czech capital, peeled away at the far post to meet a Mohammed Kudus cross but badly fluffed his volley.

At the start of the second half Ghana winger Kudus cut inside Freiburg full-back only to curl his shot straight at keeper Noah Atubolu.

Bowen then scampered down the right wing and crossed for Paqueta, who also scuffed a volley wide.

A James Ward-Prowse corner should have been converted by Konstantinos Mavropanos but the centre-half’s header grazed the far post.

Paqueta then met another superb cross from Kudus but the finish, a simple header, again did not match the quality of the delivery, before Atubolu did well to tip Bowen’s curler wide.

Tomas Soucek also fired straight at Atubolu and Bowen just missed Aaron Cresswell’s cross before Freiburg struck.

A sloppy pass from Edson Alvarez gifted them possession and when Sallai took aim from the edge of the area, his wayward shot was tapped in by Gregoritsch.

Four minutes into stoppage time the ball struck the arm of Freiburg youngster Noah Weisshaupt in the area but after a long VAR check, referee Alejandro Hernandez checked the replay and stuck to his guns.

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has been ordered to go hunting for the ball when he makes his full England debut in Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash with Ireland.

With two replacement appearances in the bank, including a try-scoring cameo against Scotland in round three, the Cardiff-born 21-year-old is considered ready to start on the right wing at the expense of veteran Elliot Daly.

One of the most exciting young talents in the Gallagher Premiership was persuaded by Steve Borthwick to opt for the Red Rose over Wales in January – less than a year after he was playing in the third tier of English rugby for struggling Taunton Titans.

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Now that his rapid development has accelerated with a first Test start, he has been instructed to make his pace, power and work rate count against the Grand Slam champions.

“When I watch Manny, I see his ability to come off the wing and pop up off scrum-half – as he did against Scotland – and pop up inside and outside fly-half,” Borthwick said.

“I have seen him several times pop up in the middle and do a pick and go at the ruck because he wants the ball in his hands. That is the encouragement I have for him – get that ball in his hands.

“After I told him he was starting, he was very grateful and thanked me numerous times then asked me ‘what do you want from me?’.

“I said ‘find the ball and get it in your hands’. There are some nuances, but the message was ‘I want you to get the ball in your hands as many times as possible’.”

Feyi-Waboso missed last week’s training camp in York in order to sit an exam for his medical degree at Exeter University, and Borthwick believes he has the temperament to thrive against Ireland.

“Basically we think he’s one of those people who is good at everything. We’re yet to find something he’s not good at, but we’ll keep trying,” Borthwick said.

“We certainly asked him how his exam went, he said he felt it went OK, which I took as he’d aced it. But we’ll find out in due course when he tells us his results.

“I sense he’s a guy who takes things in his stride. He’s a really calm and composed character. And given everything he’s doing in his life, and what he’s gone through so far, it’s a real strength.

“Each challenge that has been thrown towards him, he’s risen to that level and I expect he’ll do the same again on Saturday.”

Roberto De Zerbi acknowledged Brighton’s 4-0 hammering at Roma was a reality check for his Europa League novices.

The Seagulls’ adventure in Europe turned into a nightmare at Stadio Olimpico after they conceded twice in each half to lose heavily in the club’s first ever European knockout tie.

First-half goals by Paulo Dybala and Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku put the visitors on the ropes, but worse was to follow with Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante able to score in quick succession to essentially kill the last-16 tie ahead of next week’s second leg.

This defeat made it three in a row for injury-hit Brighton, who were without a number of key individuals, which has contributed towards their season derailing in recent weeks with poor Premier League form coupled with an FA Cup exit leaving the Europa League as the club’s main focus.

“We played our game. We gave our best. Maybe our best now is this performance,” De Zerbi admitted.

“I think Roma is much better in terms of experience to play this type of game and we suffer a lot. Too much I think. We are not used to playing this competition and today we paid everything.

“We paid (for) a squad not so long, we paid to play away in this stadium, we paid with too many injured players and for us, it is the first time so we have to improve.

“We have to progress and if we want to compete in this level, from the owner to the coach to the players we have to progress to reach one level higher.

“We are proud we reach this game. We know very well the situation. I know very well the situation.

“I spoke with the owner a lot of times before February on the transfer market and I told him the problems we are finding, but it is the first time Brighton plays this competition. Europa League final eight is a big level for us so we have to improve to progress.”

Roma broke the deadlock after 12 minutes when Leandro Paredes’ superb through ball found Dybala, who rounded Jason Steele and fired into the empty net with VAR subsequently awarding the goal.

Brighton did respond with Simon Adingra, who had an early cross deflected onto a post by Roma’s Evan Ndicka, able to pick out Danny Welbeck, but Mile Svilar denied the former England international’s header with his feet.

Welbeck would be thwarted again by Svilar before half-time, although by this point the hosts had extended their advantage.

A poor touch by Lewis Dunk from Paredes’ long ball allowed Lukaku the opportunity to dribble into the area where he slotted beyond Steele for his 18th goal of the campaign.

More Adingra magic created another opening early into the second period, but Welbeck scooped over and Roma hit Brighton with a double sucker-punch.

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First, a Stephan El Shaarawy cross was poked home by Mancini, who had looked marginally offside but VAR awarded the 64th-minute goal before four minutes later another El Shaarawy centre was headed home by Cristante to ensure De Zerbi endured a night to forget on his return to Italy.

He told TNT Sports: “Yes, we create a lot of chance and maybe the same in terms of numbers, but if you watch the game, you can understand Roma played with different power, with different speed and with different habits I think. Habits to play this game.

“We are not used to playing at this level and so we showed our problems, but I love this club, I love these players and I know we played 20 per cent of our potential.”

Meanwhile, Brighton supporters’ were alleged to have had objects thrown at them inside Stadio Olimpico.

“We are aware of the bottles, coins and lighters being thrown by home supporters into the away end. We have reported to UEFA and Italian police and requested immediate action be taken,” a Brighton statement read.

Emma Raducanu moved into the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells with victory in straight sets over Rebeka Masarova.

The 21-year-old Briton, given a wild card at this tournament, set up a meeting with Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska as she got past Spanish qualifier Masarova 6-2 6-3 in an hour and 45 minutes.

Raducanu claimed the opening three games with a double break, then was broken herself in the fourth before hitting back to secure the first set.

The second set followed the same pattern across the first four games, with the 2021 US Open champion going a double break up and Masarova replying by breaking back.

Raducanu subsequently wrapped things up with another break of Masarova’s serve, after her opponent had saved three match points, for her fourth win in eight matches in 2024.

She told Sky Sports: “Super important I think for me to get through that. I really think it’s one of the trickiest tournaments conditions-wise to play because it varies so much. I think I dealt with that really well and overcame a really tough opponent who is dangerous in these conditions.

“I really enjoy playing in America, some of my best results have been here, so I am very happy to be back here playing. I really appreciate all the love I was receiving.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp praised Darwin Nunez’s attitude after the striker scored twice – including the 1,000th goal of the manager’s reign – in a comfortable 5-1 Europa League victory over Sparta Prague.

The Uruguay international took his tally for the season to 16 – just two behind Mohamed Salah who had a goal disallowed by VAR on his return from injury – with a performance which was a perfect warm-up for Sunday’s visit of Premier League title rivals Manchester City.

After an up-and-down first season following his potential club-record move from Benfica the 24-year-old has found more consistency this season and but for a touch more luck would have been pushing Salah as leading scorer.

“He had absolutely more than (an) OK first season but he had to adapt, that’s done, and he is settled in the middle of the team,” said Klopp after the last-16 first leg which has put them within touching distance of the quarter-finals of the only trophy he has not won in his career.

“Wonderful guy, wonderful boy. He loves to play for this team together with these boys and has quality coming out of his ears, to be honest.

“It’s like strikers are, they score and then they don’t score. Is he at his absolute peak in general? Not now for us. But can he develop? Yes. Is he a threat all the time? Yes.

“He has the most important attitude a striker needs to have; he missed chances but all strikers are doing that but he is not bothered by it and just keeps going.

“That’s why he now has a nice number of goals, games to come, opportunities to come.

“When he’s not scoring he for us is incredibly important as he is a constant threat and gives us spaces in areas and options.”

The only blemish on the night appeared to be an injury to centre-back Ibrahima Konate but Klopp played down the concerns over the defender and said his substitution minutes into the second half was precautionary.

“We don’t know (yet). Ibou said to me when he passed me in that moment ‘I thought if I do another sprint then it could be bad.’ So, he said he should be fine, but we don’t know,” added the manager.

Klopp was afforded the chance to rest a number of players – Virgil van Dijk started on the bench alongside Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai, a late goalscorer, but all got minutes after the break – while also easing back Salah with a gentle quarter-of-an-hour at the end.

He was also able to manage the minutes of some of his more over-worked players with utility man Joe Gomez coming off at half-time, Nunez after 51 minutes and the increasingly important Alexis Mac Allister, who opened the scoring with a sixth-minute penalty, with a quarter of the game to go after Luis Diaz had made the game safe with a fourth goal.

“Joey is fine. We took him off. He played a lot of games so that was more rotation, precaution. Now let’s see what (it) is with Ibou,” said Klopp.

Celtic have allowed winger Liel Abada to leave the club for a fresh start in Major League Soccer.

The Israel international has signed for Charlotte FC in North Carolina, having not featured for the past five weeks due to personal reasons. Manager Brendan Rodgers had previously admitted he was struggling to focus as the conflict in Gaza continued.

Abada, 22, had faced pressure in his home country because of the support for Palestine among the club’s fanbase.

The situation first flared up the day after the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, which led to more than 1,100 deaths plus the taking of hostages, when two banners among Celtic fans at Parkhead read: “Free Palestine” and “Victory to the Resistance”.

Palestine flags have continued to be flown among Celtic supporters amid Israel’s ongoing military assault, which has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead or wounded according to the Gaza health ministry.

Abada returned to the side on December 30 but was unable to recreate his previous good form in six subsequent appearances, which proved to be his last for Celtic.

His signing was announced by Charlotte, whose general manager Zoran Krneta focused on football rather than politics.

“Liel has been one of the most exciting young wingers in Europe and we’re delighted to welcome him to Charlotte,” he said.

“He’s an elite goalscorer and chance creator who is a proven winner that is determined to bring trophies home to the club and our supporters,” said General Manager Zoran Krneta. “To bring a player of his calibre to Major League Soccer speaks to the strength of the league, but also that Charlotte FC is an attractive destination for top foreign talent.”

Speaking last month after Abada opted to step away, Rodgers offered his understanding as he opened the exit door to the player.

“I have had lots of conversations with Liel and I am really empathetic towards the issue he has. It’s more than football. It’s at a human level, so I have to respect that.

“There’s many situations I have had to deal with as a manager over time, and lots of them you don’t get on the coaching courses. You have to understand and sit in his shoes. When he’s ready, if he ever is ready, then he will be able to give us everything.”

Abada was the second player to leave Celtic Park on Thursday, with left-back Alexandro Bernabei joining Brazilian side Internacional on loan for the rest of 2024.

The Porto Allegre-based club confirmed the deal for the Argentinian, who has only made 16 starts since arriving at Celtic Park in the summer of 2022.

Four of those starts came under Brendan Rodgers, all of them since the winter break when Greg Taylor was missing with a calf problem.

The 23-year-old came off the bench in the subsequent game but was culpable as Celtic conceded a stoppage-time equaliser against Kilmarnock.

That could prove to be his final appearance for the club if the loan move is made more permanent, although Bernabei is under contract at Celtic Park until the summer of 2027.

Substitute Patrick Schick glanced home an injury-time equaliser to preserve Bayer Leverkusen’s remarkable unbeaten record and hand his side control of their Europa League last-16 tie against FC Qarabag.

The Bundesliga leaders looked like giving up their run of 34 matches unbeaten in all competitions when they went in 2-0 down at half-time in Baku, Juninho setting up the first and scoring the second with a silky piece of skill.

But Alonso, who had made eight changes to his starting XI, turned to his bench for inspiration and was rewarded as Florian Wirtz scored a delicate chip and Schick nodded in from close range in added-time.

It was a cruel finish for the Azerbaijani side, who lost twice to the same opponents in the group stages, but a further reminder of the resolve that Leverkusen have developed during a revelatory campaign.

Only Jonathan Tah, Robert Andrich and Alex Grimaldo survived the weekend win over Cologne and Qarabag took their chance to assert themselves in a lively start.

After forging three good chances in quick succession they deservedly took the lead in the 26th minute, Juninho robbing Tah on the press before cutting back across the box for Yassine Benzia. His powerful finish thudded into the roof of the net as the hosts turned up the heat.

The Germans were slow to respond, allowing Leandro Andrade a free header at the far post, and could have no complaints when they conceded again. This time it was brilliance from Juninho, who collected a beauty of a pass to spring the offside trap and race through one on one with Matej Kovar. With the deftest of touches he dragged the ball across the keeper, bouncing it over him with a kick off the pitch and leaving an open net to tap into.

Jeremie Frimpong, Granit Xhaka, Wirtz and Schick were all summoned for the rescue job and it was a much improved Leverkusen who hit back when Wirtz produced an inch-perfect lob in the 70th minute.

Kovar made a strong save from Juninho to keep the scoreline down and the ruthless visiting side hit their sucker punch just as time was running out, Schick planting Andrich’s cross into the bottom corner.

Leverkusen almost turned a draw into a win when Frimpong put a last-gasp header wide and will fancy themselves to finish the job on home soil.

Darwin Nunez scored the 1,000th goal of Jurgen Klopp’s reign in Liverpool’s comfortable 5-1 Europa League win over Sparta Prague but it was not quite the perfect warm-up for Sunday’s title clash with Manchester City after another injury blow.

The Uruguay international finished the last-16 first-leg tie with another on the stroke of half-time but it was his first in the 25th minute which was massively important – and not just because of the landmark it brought up.

Liverpool had been under a sustained spell of pressure after Alexis Mac Allister, taking over penalty duties from Nunez after his failure against Chelsea in January, had put them ahead.

Perhaps spurred on by that snub Nunez – out of nowhere, as is often his inclination – cut in from the left to whip a brilliant 25-yard dipping shot over goalkeeper Peter Vindahl.

His second effectively came when Mac Allister, head and shoulders above everyone else in possession, played a superb ball over the top which his fellow South American lashed across Vindahl and inside the far post.

Luis Diaz scored the fourth and Klopp even had the luxury of giving much-needed minutes to midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai – who scored the fifth – and forward Mohamed Salah on his return to tune them up for the weekend, but the loss of centre-back Ibrahima Konate to injury is another unwanted headache.

The gulf in class in terms of finishing was evident as Sparta, unbeaten at home all season, squandered a number of chances which could have made this much trickier whereas Liverpool were clinical and had plenty in reserve.

When the two sides last met in 2011 Kenny Dalglish’s side played with a back five – which included such luminaries as Danny Wilson and Sotiros Kyrgiakos – with David Ngog leading the line.

The 2024 upgrade was quite considerable even though Klopp made three changes from the last-gasp win at Nottingham Forest with Jarell Quansah, Wataru Endo and Nunez coming in and put Salah on the bench after recovering from a muscle injury which had restricted him to one 46-minute substitute appearance since he suffered an injury at the Africa Cup of Nations mid-January.

It took them just six minutes to score as defender Asger Sorensen was a fraction late with his attempt to win the ball as Mac Allister charged out of midfield on the press.

With Salah absent, the Argentina international converted his ninth spot-kick in 10 attempts for English clubs, having previously scored eight for Brighton.

Sparta’s response was immediate and sustained with Lukas Haraslin placing his shot too close to Caoimhin Kelleher with only the keeper to beat but it still needed Joe Gomez to acrobatically clear off the line.

Konate blocked Angelo Preciado’s shot and then Kelleher tipped over when the Ecuadorian’s header was helped on – but just when the pressure was reaching a peak Liverpool broke the shackles and Nunez doubled their advantage in true maverick style.

However, Sparta’s bold approach in keeping three players high at all times succeeded in causing problems.

Jan Kuchta flicked over before Kelleher parried his shot into the path of Velijko Birmancevic six yards out but his finish was more suited to the circus pitched up across the road from the stadium as he bundled wide of an open goal after kicking the ball against his standing foot.

Cody Gakpo had two chances in quick succession to make the game safe but his shot on the turn was well saved by Vindahl and then he fired straight at the keeper from Diaz’s delightful through ball.

Conor Bradley’s first involvement after replacing Gomez at half-time in a pre-arranged swap was to divert Birmancevic’s cross into his own net seconds after the restart and the unmarked Haraslin was crowded out by Kelleher.

The chaotic start to the second half continued when Konate was injured and replaced by Virgil van Dijk, with Szoboszlai coming on for Nunez.

Diaz’s deflected 53rd-minute toepoke eventually put the game to bed before Salah had a goal ruled by VAR and Szoboszlai scored with the last kick of the game – however, Manchester City will not be so accommodating at Anfield.