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.
Brighton's European adventure turned into a nightmare after they were blown away by Roma to suffer a 4-0 defeat at the Stadio Olimpico.
Roberto De Zerbi had guided the Seagulls through to the Europa League last-16 with a four-match winning run in the competition, but first-half goals by Paulo Dybala and Romelu Lukaku put the visitors on the ropes in Rome.
Worse was to follow after the break with Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante able to score in quick succession to essentially kill the tie.
The Premier League outfit did have their chances with Danny Welbeck denied on several occasions, but injury-hit Brighton need a miracle to overturn a four-goal deficit in next week's second leg.
Republic of Ireland international Evan Ferguson came on in the 82nd minute for the visitors.
West Ham drew a blank in the Black Forest as they slipped to a narrow loss to 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.
The only goal of the game came in the 81st minute after a sloppy pass from Edson Alvarez gifted the hosts possession. Roland Sallai took aim from the edge of the area and his wayward shot was tapped in by Gregoritsch.
Rangers twice surrendered the lead to draw their first leg against Benfica.
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.
Benfica's steady pressure increased as the game wore on and Di Maria somehow missed the target from 12 yards.
The return game promises more thrills and spills but Rangers will look to complete the job in Govan.
In the Europa Conference League, Aston Villa survived a testing assignment at Ajax as they drew 0-0 in the first leg of their last-16 in Amsterdam.
Villa were second best throughout the night at the Johan Cruijff ArenA but the Dutch giants, led by England international Jordan Henderson, could not make their advantage count as it ended goalless.
They were reliant on goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to produce an important save and were unable to produce their dynamic attacking football at the other end.
Both sides were reduced to 10 men in the final 10 minutes as Ezri Konsa was harshly sent off for two yellow cards, with Tristian Gooijer following for the hosts moments later.
But Unai Emery's men will now be confident of winning in next week's second leg at Villa Park, where they are so strong, and booking their spot in the quarter-finals.
