On Thursday, Liverpool defeated Toulouse with relative ease, 5-1, to record their third consecutive success in the Europa League, while Brighton defeated the struggling Dutch giants Ajax to record the club’s first ever win in European competition.
Diogo Jota gave Liverpool the lead at Anfield, but Thijs Dallinga brought the team currently holding the French Cup back into it.
At the half-hour mark, Wataru Endo scored his first goal for the Reds to regain their lead, and a few minutes later, Darwin Nunez smashed in a third goal to put the Reds up by three.
Midway through the second half, Ryan Gravenberch added a fourth goal by capitalising on a rebound after Nunez had rounded the keeper but was unable to score after striking the post. In added time, Mohamed Salah scored his fifth goal of the match.
“For the most part, we exercised full command over the situation. “Perfect night,” as Jurgen Klopp, manager of Liverpool, put it to TNT Sports, “we scored some good goals, and nobody got hurt.”
Liverpool is currently in first place in Group E with nine points, and with another victory in France in two weeks, they might clinch a spot in the round of 16.
They are currently five points ahead of Toulouse and Union Saint-Gilloise of Belgium, who won 2-1 over LASK of Austria thanks to two late goals scored by their players.
Ajax is now in the midst of a crisis, and on Monday, the club announced that it had parted ways with coach Maurice Steijn just four months into his stint. Brighton was able to earn their first win in Europe with a 2-0 victory over Ajax.
Ajax, who have won four consecutive European championships, are currently in last place in the Eredivisie and were put behind by a tap-in goal scored by Joao Pedro at the Amex Stadium right before halftime.
Ansu Fati scored a second goal for the home team early in the second half, narrowing the gap between Roberto De Zerbi’s team and the team in first place in Group B to just one point.
“This is Brighton’s first ever win in European competition. It’s a wonderful day for all of us, including our supporters, our club, and our owners. According to what De Zerbi said to TNT Sports, “We are very proud to give them this day.”
At the Velodrome, Marseille defeated AEK Athens 3-1 despite playing with 10 men.
Orbelin Pineda was able to equalise for Marseille after Vitinha had given them the lead, but AEK custodian Cican Stankovic committed a moment of insanity that cost his club dearly.
Stankovic played a pass that was sent directly to Vitinha, and then he dragged the Portuguese forward to the ground, which resulted in the awarding of a penalty kick and the showing of a red card to Stankovic.
Amine Harit made the goal from the penalty spot, and then Jordan Veretout scored another goal from the spot for the team coached by Gennaro Gattuso.
West Ham was unsuccessful in Greece.
The 2-1 loss that West Ham suffered on the road against Olympiakos brought an end to their 17-match unbeaten streak in Europe.
The Greek team took the lead thanks to a long-range goal scored by Kostas Fortounis, and Rodinei added a second goal with a deflected shot just before the halftime break.
A late consolation goal was scored by Lucas Paqueta on a volley for the Hammers, who are still in first place in Group A after three games and six points.
“We need to do better in all of our performances. And it is imperative that we rise to the situation. I was hoping for better from our first half of the game. David Moyes, the manager of West Ham, stated that the contest was difficult but that they will continue playing.
Following their 3-1 victory over Backa Topola of Serbia, Freiburg have tied their record with the Hammers.
Jack Butland, the custodian for the Rangers, turned up a strong performance in the team’s 0-0 draw at Sparta Prague.
The Scottish team is currently in third place in Group C, which is led by Real Betis, who defeated Aris Limassol 1-0 on the road courtesy to a goal scored by Ayoze Perez.
Bayer Leverkusen, who are currently on top of the Bundesliga standings, defeated Qarabag by a score of 5-1 to maintain their unblemished record in Group H and to continue their stellar start to the season under the direction of Xabi Alonso.
Edoardo Bove and Romelu Lukaku scored for Roma in their 2-0 victory over Slavia Prague, which gave them a perfect record of three wins out of three in Group G.
At Dutch front-runners AZ Alkmaar, in-form Aston Villa cruised to a 4-1 victory with relative ease in the Europa Conference League.
In the first half, goals from Leon Bailey and Youri Tielemans gave Aston Villa a two-goal lead against a team that entered the game having surrendered only two points in the Eredivisie this season.
Before Ibrahim Sadiq got on the scoreboard, Ollie Watkins and John McGinn put the game out of reach for the opposition.