Liverpool 'could have won 12-0', claims Steven Gerrard after Galatasaray demolition in UEFA Champions League

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Both Hugo Ekitike and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard were of the opinion that Arne Slot's side could have had double figures on a rampant night on Merseyside. Liverpool beat Galatasaray 4-0 to progress to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. The Reds trailed 1-0 after the first leg, but were a "different level" in the return leg at Anfield, according to TNT Sports commentator Ally McCoist.

Highlights: Liverpool cruise into quarters as Salah scores landmark goal

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Hugo Ekitike feels that Liverpool could have beaten Galatasaray by 10 goals after their rampant victory at Anfield in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday - while Reds legend Steven Gerrard thought it could have finished 12-0.

Arne Slot's side registered 32 shots on goal as they looked to turn around a one-goal first-leg deficit, and managed to score with four of them as they ran out 4-0 winners on the night, and 4-1 on aggregate.

Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch were on target, as was Ekitike himself, while Mohamed Salah registered his 50th goal in the competition.

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"I think we deserve to be here," Ekitike told TNT Sports after the game as they booked their spot in the quarter-finals.

"Really happy. I think we did a great job tonight. We could have won 10-0. We missed a few chances but we still did a good job.

"We can be proud of ourselves tonight and we can look forward to the quarter-final.

Salah turns the provider for Ekitike as Liverpool turn on style

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"I think we needed this. We missed a few chances at the end of the first half. When I sat in the locker room at half-time, I was thinking, 'We need to keep this game'.

"I had my chance. I could have scored more tonight, to be honest. Ryan [Gravenberch] scored straight away. I think it helped the team.

"Everybody did a great job, ran for each other and that's why we won."

However, 10 goals was not enough for Gerrard, who suggested it could have been an even wider margin of victory.

Speaking on TNT Sports, Gerrard said: "Liverpool could have won 10, 11 or 12-0".

"They could have won it at a canter," the former Reds skipper added. "Liverpool were fantastic, they made Galatasaray look bang average."

TNT Sports pundit Ally McCoist, who was on co-commentary duty at Anfield, could not have spoken more highly of Liverpool's performance after the full-time whistle.

"Absolutely different level tonight," McCoist said. "I can't remember watching a game at this level where a team has dominated from start to finish the entire match.

"Liverpool, some brilliant goals. Could, should have been more. The perfect, perfect night for Arne Slot."

Liverpool will face defending champions Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals, where Ekitike played from 2022 to 2024.

The Frenchman said he "can't wait to be there" as Liverpool chase a spot in the semi-finals, while he had a few kind words for his team-mate Salah - who set him up for his goal - before scoring his landmark 50th.

"He's a legend," Ekitike told TNT Sports. "Sometimes people say that he has had a difficult season, but for players like us, who have been watching him for years, he's important.

"Tonight, he had many chances but he still had the mindset to give me a great ball to score. I'm really happy for him. He deserves it. We need to do that every game now."

Slot: We've created so many more chances than we've scored this season

Liverpool boss Slot could not believe that Liverpool underperformed their xG (expected goals) against Galatasaray, saying: "That's hardly possible!"

The hosts' xG was 5.02, but they came away with only four goals on a dominant night on Merseyside, as they comfortably moved past the Turkish outfit.

"[I liked] almost every single minute," Slot said. "I like the way we played, I liked the way we pressed, I liked the reaction of the fans when Galatasaray were trying to do what I expected them to do - being on the floor, waving, waving, waving, trying to destroy or kill our momentum, but our fans straight away reacted and our players reacted.

"The only thing that I could complain about is, throughout this whole season, we've created so many more chances than we've scored. Even today, we are under-performing in terms of xG! That's hardly possible!

"That's the only thing where improvement should be made, because you don't always get so many chances as we did today.

"We had so, so many chances, and that positive thing was that we've played very good halves and we've had spells of ten minutes in games where we have dropped a little bit in terms of intensity and that was usually immediately a moment for the other team to score.

"Today we did not drop at all. The other team, I don't even think they had a chance. We just kept on creating our chances. So, yeah, a good win, a good performance."

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