PARIS: Liverpool thrashed Toulouse 5-1 at Anfield to reach the halfway point of the Europa League group stage with a perfect record, while Brighton & Hove Albion secured their first victory in continental football with a 2-0 home win over ailing Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam on Thursday.

Diogo Jota opened the scoring in the ninth minute for Liverpool when he beat several defenders before netting but Thijs Dallinga hauled the French Cup holders level.

The rest of the match belonged to Liverpool as Wataru Endo headed in a Trent Alexander Arnold cross on the half-hour mark for his first goal for the Reds and Darwin Nunez slammed in a third four minutes later.

Ryan Gravenberch capitalised on the rebound to score Liverpool’s fourth goal in the 65th before substitute Mohamed Salah finished it off in stoppage time with a well-placed shot into the top corner from close range.

That goal took the Egyptian’s tally to 43 for Liverpool in major European competitions, a record for any player at an English club.

“Most of the time we were in complete control. We made good goals, nobody got hurt, perfect night,” Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp told TNT Sports.

Liverpool top Group E with nine points and could seal a place in the last 16 with another win in France in two weeks.

They are five points clear of Toulouse and Belgium’s Union Saint Gilloise, who grabbed two late goals to overcome LASK of Austria 2-1.

Brighton achieved a European milestone by beating Ajax and reigniting their chances of reaching the knockout stages. Roberto De Zerbi’s men are now level on four points with second-placed AEK Athens in Group ‘B’, a point behind Olympique de Marseille.

Brighton got a break three minutes before halftime when Joao Pedro capitalised on a rebound from a save by goalkeeper Diant Ramaj and slotted the ball into the net.

The Seagulls extended their lead eight minutes after the break when Ansu Fati received a lofted pass into the box and the 20-year-old calmly slotted home into the far bottom corner.

“The first victory in Europe for Brighton. It’s a great day for our fans, our club, our owners. We are very proud to give them this day,” De Zerbi told TNT Sports.

The result leaves Ajax in a difficult position as the Dutch side are now bottom of the group with two points. The former European champions are also second-bottom of the Eredivisie and parted ways with coach Maurice Steijn on Monday.

Amine Harit and Jordan Veretout both scored from the penalty spot in Marseille’s 3-1 home win over 10-man AEK.

Vitinha — whom coach Gennaro Gattuso preferred to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang — put the hosts in front in the first half. Orbelín Pineda equalised in the second before Harit and Veretout secured the win.

Olympiakos Piraeus beat Europa Conference League holders West Ham United 2-1 in Group ‘A’ to end the visitors’ 17-match unbeaten run in Europe.

The Londoners remain top, albeit level on six points with Freiburg who beat Serbia’s TSC Backa Topla 3-1 away. Olympiacos are two points behind while TSC remain on one point.

Kostas Fortounis opened the scoring for the Greek side before Rodinei’s shot was sliced into his own net by Angelo Ogbonna. West Ham pulled one back with Lucas Paqueta’s volley.

“We have to improve our performance. And we must rise to the occasion. I am disappointed by our first half. It was a tough match, but we carry on,” said West Ham manager David Moyes.

ROMA, LEVERKUSEN KEEP PERFECT RECORDS

AS Roma maintained their dominant form in Group ‘G’ with a 2-0 victory over Slavia Prague as Edoardo Bove scored after 45 seconds and striker Romelu Lukaku extended his remarkable streak by netting in a 14th consecutive Europa League match.

Jose Mourinho’s side top the group with a maximum nine points, three clear of second-placed Slavia.

Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen thrashed Qarabag 5-1 to stay perfect in Group ‘H’ and continue their brilliant start to the season under Xabi Alonso.

Alejandro Grimaldo scored twice and Leverkusen now lead the group with nine points, three clear of their Azerbijani visitors. Molde routed Hacken 5-1 in the group’s other game.

Forward Luis Muriel’s two goals helped Atalanta draw 2-2 at Sturm Graz and top Group ‘D’ with seven points. Sporting Lisbon got a 1-1 draw at Rakow in Poland.

Rangers relied on a fine display from goalkeeper Jack Butland in a 0-0 draw at Sparta Prague. The Scottish side are third in Group ‘C’, led by Real Betis who won 1-0 away to Aris Limassol thanks to an Ayoze Perez goal.

Stade Rennais moved top of Group ‘F’ with a 2-1 victory at Panathinaikos to move two points clear of their second-placed opponents with goals from Amine Gouiri and Arnaud Kalimuendo. The Villarreal and Maccabi Haifa match has been rescheduled to Dec 6.

In the third-tier Europa Conference League, in-form Aston Villa eased to a 4-1 win at Dutch high-flyers AZ Alkmaar.

Leon Bailey and Youri Tielemans gave Villa a two-goal lead in the first half against a side who have dropped just two points in the Eredivisie this season.

Ollie Watkins and John McGinn put the game out of reach before Ibrahim Sadiq pulled one back.

Lucas Beltran’s two early goals inspired Fiorentina to a 6-0 win over 10-man Cukaricki from Serbia. Eintracht Frankfurt beat Finland’s HJK by the same score.

KI Klaksvik, the first team from the Faroe Islands to make the group stage of a European competition, recorded their first victory, 3-0 over Olimpija Ljubljana.

KI are third in Group ‘A’ with four points, with Lille in the lead on seven after a 2-1 home win over Slovan Bratislava, who is a point behind.

Another newcomers, Breidablik of Iceland, were routed 5-0 at Gent in Group ‘B’.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2023