Europa League round of 16 first legs: Liverpool, Roma, Marseille and Milan soar

There were goals galore in the opening matches of the round of 16 with the likes of Liverpool, Roma, Marseille and Milan flexing their muscles.

UEFA.com rounds up all the first-leg action.

Sparta Praha 1-5 Liverpool

The Reds were ruthless in Prague, opening up a sizable lead to take back to Anfield. Alexis Mac Allister earned and converted an early penalty and Jürgen Klopp's side were three up by the break thanks to two fantastic strikes from Darwin Núñez. Sparta created numerous chances of their own but failed to take them or were denied by Caoimhin Kelleher, though they did pull one back through Conor Bradley's own goal just after half-time. However, Luis Díaz and Dominik Szoboszlai added further gloss.

Key stat: Sparta Praha have not won the first leg in any of their last 16 UEFA competition two-legged ties (D6 L10).

Roma 4-0 Brighton

Romelu Lukaku had an early bullet header saved but there was no let-up for Brighton; Paulo Dybala rounded the keeper to put Roma ahead on 13 minutes and though Danny Welbeck had chances saved at the other end, it was 2-0 by half-time, Lukaku exploiting a defensive error to get his seventh Europa League goal of the season. Gianluca Mancini's finish and a diving Bryan Cristante header left Roberto De Zerbi's side facing an impossible-looking deficit in the second leg.

Key stat: Roma have lost only one of their last 31 UEFA home matches (W23 D7), while Lukaku has now scored 27 Europa League goals; only Radamel Falcao (30) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (33) have more.

Qarabağ 2-2 Leverkusen

Patrik Schick equalised in stoppage time as Bayer Leverkusen extended their remarkable unbeaten run this season to 35 matches. Yassine Benzia's emphatic strike gave the hosts a deserved lead, before Juninho doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time following a fine solo run. After Florian Wirtz's dinked finish had reduced the arrears, Schick rose highest inside a crowded penalty area to salvage a draw for the Bundesliga leaders.

Key stat: Leverkusen scored their 100th and 101st goals of the 2023/24 season in the Azerbaijani capital.

Marseille 4-0 Villarreal

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck twice as Marseille secured a comprehensive first-leg victory over the 2020/21 Europa League winners. Two goals in the space of six first-half minutes – a close-range Jordan Veretout header and a Yerson Mosquera own goal – stunned the visitors, before Aubameyang's coolly-taken penalty made it 3-0 before half-time. Aubameyang's exquisite finish increased the hosts' advantage, with Villarreal's misery compounded when sub Alberto Moreno was dismissed for a second bookable offence midway through the second period.

Key stat: Aubameyang bagged his 32nd and 33rd Europa League goals against Villarreal, extending his lead over Radamel Falcao (30) at the top of the all-time goalscorers' list in the competition.

Benfica 2-2 Rangers

In a thrilling, often end-to-end game in Lisbon, Rangers struck first through Tom Lawrence's seventh-minute header. Benfica eventually settled and David Neres forced several fantastic stops from Jack Butland, including a 13th-minute double save from Neres and Arthur Cabral. Harry Souttar's handball allowed Ángel Di María to level from the spot, but Dujon Sterling tapped in Fábio Silva's cross in first-half added time to shock the Eagles once more. Rangers defended impressively until Connor Goldson headed past his own keeper amid intense Benfica pressure.

Key stat: Benfica have never lost a Europa League home match at Estádio do SL Benfica.

Freiburg 1-0 West Ham

West Ham were left to rue missed second-half opportunities as they went down to a late goal. The Hammers beat Freiburg home and away during the group stage but return to London in arrears after substitute Michael Gregoritsch tapped in Roland Sallai's driven ball across the area. West Ham had been on top prior to that moment with Lucas Paquetá heading over and Jarrod Bowen's curler being superbly tipped away by Noah Atubolu.

Key stat: Gregoritsch has scored five goals in the Europa League this term – the most ever by a Freiburg player in a single campaign in European competition.

AC Milan 4-2 Slavia Praha

Milan established a two-goal advantage over ten-man Slavia Praha, who had El Hadji Malick Diouf sent off at San Siro. David Douděra's volley cancelled out Olivier Giroud's opener before Tijjani Reijnders and Ruben Loftus-Cheek put the hosts in control. Although Ivan Schranz pulled one back, Christian Pulišić proceeded to restore the Rossoneri's cushion late on.

Key stat: Milan have won all seven of their meetings with Czech sides on home soil.

Sporting CP 1-1 Atalanta

These teams, who also met in the group stage, head back to Bergamo all square after an action-packed opener in Lisbon. Unerring first-half finishes from the hosts' Paulinho and the visitors' Gianluca Scamacca kept the tie in the balance while the woodwork was struck an incredible four times. Emil Holm and Scamacca hit the same post within 60 seconds of each other, before Atalanta's equaliser, with a third La Dea player, Ademola Lookman, and Sporting's Sebastián Coates being denied by the frame of the goal after half-time.

Key stat: Sporting CP have won just two of their last 25 UEFA competition matches against Italian clubs (D10 L13).