Liverpool And West Ham Win From Behind But Brighton Fall To Defeat On UEFA Europa League Debut
Liverpool began their bid for UEFA Europa League glory by beating LASK in Austria on Thursday.
The Reds fell behind to an early 20-yard strike from Florian Flecker but leveled in the 56th minute through a Darwin Nunez penalty kick.
Goals from Luis Diaz and substitute Mohamed Salah then wrapped up a 3-1 victory for Jurgen Klopp's men.
Mohamed Salah pictured (center) scoring for Liverpool in a 3-1 win away to LASK
IMAGO/Pro Sports Images/Nigel Keene
West Ham United also won 3-1 after falling behind on Thursday.
The Hammers overcame TSC Backa Topola in London, despite Petar Stanic putting the Serbian side 1-0 up in the 48th minute following a mistake by Angelo Ogbonna.
A Nemanja Petrovic own goal drew West Ham level before strikes from Mohammed Kudus and Tomas Soucek secured three points.
West Ham players pictured celebrating during a 3-1 win over TSC Backa Topola
IMAGO/Pro Sports Images/Toyin Oshodi
Elsewhere on Thursday, Brighton & Hove Albion fell to a defeat in their first ever Europa League game as AEK Athens won 3-2 on the South Coast.
Djibril Sidibe, Mijat Gacinovic and Ezequiel Ponce got the goals for Athens as the Greek side stunned the AMEX Stadium, where Joao Pedro twice equalized for Brighton.
The defeat was a big blow for the Seagulls, who will also face Ajax and Marseille in a tough Group B.
UEFA Europa League Results (September 21)
Group A
- Olympiacos 2-3 Freiburg
- West Ham 3-1 TSC Backa Topola
Group B
- Ajax 3-3 Marseille
- Brighton 2-3 AEK Athens
Group C
- Rangers 1-0 Real Betis
- Sparta Prague 3-2 Aris Limassol
Group D
- Atalanta 2-0 Rakow Czestochowa
- Sturm Graz 1-2 Sporting CP
Group E
- Union Saint-Gilloise 1-1 Toulouse
- LASK 1-3 Liverpool
Group F
- Panathinaikos 2-0 Villarreal
- Rennes 3-0 Maccabi Haifa
Group G
- FC Sherriff 1-2 Roma
- Servette 0-2 Slavia Prague
Group H
- Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 BK Haecken
- Qarabag 1-0 Molde
