EUROPEAN MASTERCLASS: EVERYTHING YOU MISSED IN LIVERPOOL’S 6-0 DEMOLITION OF QARABAG
Liverpool put Premier League struggles aside to hammer Qarabag 6-0, with Mohamed Salah sending a message to the fans.
Forget the Premier League struggles for a moment—Arne Slot’s team have had a real blast in Europe. This was their sixth group-stage win, and honestly, it looked like the easiest one yet.
Just like in Marseille last week, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike (both on the scoresheet) plus Dominik Szoboszlai pulled the strings. But the moment that really got people talking? Mohamed Salah is pounding the badge on his chest after finally scoring for the club again. First goal since November 1. It felt like a message: the old guard still has something left.
You could see right away that the Azerbaijani side looked a bit stunned by the occasion. They never really managed to keep up with Liverpool’s pressing or deal with the slick passing—Wirtz, especially, looked every bit the £116 million man.
Ekitike matched him for energy, dropping deep, running at defenders, and showing real leadership up front.
The second half? Four more goals. Anfield was bouncing, all those Premier League headaches suddenly on hold. But with Newcastle coming to town on Saturday and the injury list getting worse, reality might bite again soon.
Before kickoff, Slot admitted things had been rough lately. Curtis Jones was missing due to illness, so only three senior outfield players made the bench—two of them, Rio Ngumoha and Wataru Endo, barely played.
Then Frimpong pulled his hamstring just three minutes in, so Endo, a defensive midfielder about to turn 33, had to fill in at right-back. Not ideal, especially since Gravenberch, normally a holding midfielder, was already covering at centre-back.
Even so, Qarabag couldn’t lay a glove on Liverpool. The home side took charge and, for once, never let their visitors get a sniff.
The opener came in the 15th minute. Szoboszlai whipped in a corner, Ekitike flicked it on, Van Dijk stooped for a header, and Mac Allister reacted fastest—stabbing it over the line before the keeper could claw it out. Just his second goal this season, and his first since he grabbed a winner against Real Madrid.
Moments later, Ekitike did brilliantly to hold off defenders and tee up Wirtz to score from the edge of the box.
Chances kept coming: Andy Robertson blasted over, Szoboszlai shot straight at the keeper, and both Gakpo (twice) and Ekitike had efforts deflected wide.
Five minutes into the second half, Liverpool wrapped it up. Szoboszlai, this time, back-heeled for Salah to smash in a free-kick. Salah celebrated like a man possessed, thumping the Liverbird on his chest and soaking up the Kop’s roar.
Ekitike then bagged a solo goal—taking down Van Dijk’s long ball, nudging it past Mustafazade, and finishing calmly before the Kop. He took his own bow.
Mac Allister made it five, bundling in from close range after a lucky deflection. He could’ve had a hat-trick, missing from almost the same spot, but Chiesa made no mistake when his turn came.
ARSENAL POCKET INSANE £125.18M FOLLOWING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL QUALIFICATION
Mikel Arteta's side has added £15.97m to their cash reserves, eclipsing the total earned by current champions PSG last year.
Arsenal have added another £15.97 million to their UEFA prize money haul after securing a spot in the Champions League final with a win against Atletico Madrid. They are set to face either Bayern Munich or the current champions, Paris Saint-Germain, in Budapest on May 30, aiming for their first-ever triumph in this prestigious competition.
Beyond that, there’s an additional £5.61 million up for grabs in Hungary later this month. But up to now, Arsenal have amassed an eye-watering £125.18 million in Champions League prize money this season alone. A place in next season’s European Super Cup also carries a potential reward of around £3.45 million. It’s been a remarkable European run under Mikel Arteta, with the team dominating the group stage by winning all eight matches.
From the very beginning, the club benefited from the initial distribution of TV revenue and the rankings pool, which together amounted to £49.6 million. Even before the knockout rounds kicked off, Arsenal had already secured £85.3 million in prize money.
That total doesn’t even cover the bonuses linked to their on-field success, as each of their eight victories in the group stage brought in roughly £15.8 million altogether.
By finishing first out of 36 group-phase clubs, Arsenal earned an extra £8.6 million, and progressing straight to the round of 16 as one of the top eight teams secured them another £11.3 million.
They continued their strong run by eliminating Bayer Leverkusen after a 1-1 draw away and a 2-0 win at the Emirates, which added £10.8 million more to their earnings.
Overcoming Sporting CP in the quarter-finals also brought a £10.8 million bonus. While Arsenal’s motivation isn’t just financial, this level of income certainly aids in meeting profit and sustainability rules and other financial fair play criteria.
It’s also likely to support their summer transfer budget, as sporting director Andrea Berta looks to build on Arteta’s squad.
Last season, Arsenal took home £98.63 million after reaching the semi-finals before falling to PSG.
PSG, who went on to win the title, collected about £124.62 million last year, so Arsenal have now already surpassed that figure.
Meanwhile, UEFA has set aside a record £2.13 billion in prize money for the 2025-26 Champions League season, highlighting the competition’s growing financial stakes.
JAN OBLAK CONFESSES ATLETICO WERE "AFRAID TO PLAY" AGAINST ARSENAL
Following their Champions League exit, skipper Jan Oblak analysed where Atletico went wrong and paid tribute to Griezmann.
Jan Oblak didn’t hold back after Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Champions League against Arsenal. He said straight up that the team just didn’t do enough to earn a spot in the final. Sure, he’s proud of how far the squad has come recently, but the way they went out still stings.
Oblak was pretty open about where things went wrong, especially after the first leg, when Atletico failed to take an advantage back to London. “I'm disappointed, just like all the fans. Honestly, I can’t find the words. We didn’t do enough to be in the final, and it’s just a tough moment. We had our chances to win, but we didn’t take them. All that’s left is to congratulate Arsenal.”
He didn’t stop there, either. Speaking to CBS Golazo, Oblak was even more direct about the team’s mentality, especially in the first half of both matches. He felt Atletico were hesitant, too respectful of Arsenal, and afraid to play. Both times, they fell behind before halftime and then tried to play catch-up, but it was always a little too late. “This has happened several times this season,” Oblak said, “and while we’ve managed to win those games before, not today when it mattered most.”
On the flip side, Oblak did give some credit to the young players and the growth the team’s shown, especially after a couple of big summers that saw a huge part of the squad change. “The last two seasons, we’ve switched out something like 15 players. A lot of young guys with not much experience came in. They did great in the cup, and they’ve held up in the Champions League too. In the league, we weren’t good enough for the biggest matches, but I’m proud of how the younger ones are growing. Still, when the goal is to win a title, and you don’t, you can’t call it a success. All we can do is look forward and hope we’ll be fighting for trophies next season.”
Saying goodbye to Antoine Griezmann made this exit even sadder for Oblak and the rest of the squad. Griezmann’s heading to Orlando City this summer, bringing the curtain down on his Champions League career with Atletico. “Everyone’s going to miss Griezi; he’s an incredible player and a great guy. The kind of person who’s always smiling, always positive, and does things on the pitch nobody else can. We’ll miss him a lot; the fans will miss him, but he deserves nothing but the best wherever he goes.”
At 33, Oblak is one of Atletico’s true leaders, right behind Koke for the captain’s armband. Alongside Jose Maria Gimenez and Marcos Llorente, he’s been a
_1777554856.webp)
