Liverpool Crash Out of Europe After Sporting Lisbon Demolish Reds With Mané Double

Liverpool were demolished last night by Sporting Lisbon in their NextGen Series round-of-16 clash.

Sporting Lisbon were fierce and determined from the start as they looked to capitalise on Liverpool’s exclusions of Samid Yesil and Marc Pelosi through injury.

Carlos Mane was clinical as his brace set them on their way before Joao Palhinha and Wilson Janco sealed Sporting’s passage into the next round.

The rout started after 11 minutes when Mane used his pacy legs to run clear of the defence and chipped the ball over the advancing Ryan Fulton and head into the net.

He didn’t take long to get his second either when he was found unmarked at the near post midway through the first half to convert a cross.

Palhinha extended Sporting’s lead at the start of the second half when his powerful effort rifled into the net from a corner.

Krisztian Adorjan desperately tried to restore some hope for Liverpool with a long range effort as the game closed but it would have been nothing more than a mere consolation as Janco fired home from outside the box in the final seconds.

Aston Villa, Tottenham and Chelsea have all qualified for the quarter finals but the Merseyside club will not be joining them – gutting after their semi-final exit last year.