Share

WRAP: Europa League

Liverpool - Udinese produced a stirring comeback to beat Liverpool 3-2 away in the Europa League on Thursday, joining fellow Italian teams Inter Milan and Lazio in notching maiden group-stage victories in this season's competition.

Trailing 1-0 at half-time at Anfield, Udinese stunned the five-time European champions with a second-half fightback sparked by Antonio Di Natale's well-taken equaliser and completed by Giovanni Pasquale's drilled finish that proved to be the winner.

Anzhi Makhachkala is level on four points with Udinese at the top of Group A thanks to a 2-0 win over Young Boys, courtesy of a brace by veteran Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o.

Inter scored all their goals in the first half in a 3-1 win at Neftci of Azerbaijan to leave Andrea Stramaccioni's side level on four points in Group H with Rubin Kazan, who beat Partizan Belgrade 2-0.

Lazio heads Group J on four points following a 1-0 home win over Maribor of Slovenia but Tottenham are languishing in third place after conceding a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw at struggling Panathinaikos.

The only dampener on the night for Serie A clubs was Napoli's 3-0 loss at PSV Eindhoven that ceded top spot in Group F to Dnipro.

Elsewhere, Cristian Rodriguez grabbed an injury-time winner for Atletico Madrid in a 1-0 victory over Plzen, the defending champions' second straight triumph in Group B. French club Lyon also left it late to beat Hapoel Kiryat Shmona 4-3 in a thrilling match in Israel, with Gueida Fofana scoring a stoppage-time winner.

However, there was no end to the woes of Athletic Bilbao, last season's beaten finalists, who lost 3-1 to Sparta Prague to slump to the bottom of Group I. Bilbao are also in the relegation zone in the Spanish league.

In other results, France forward Loic Remy scored twice in Group C leader Marseille's 5-1 thrashing of AEL Limassol, fellow French club Bordeaux were sunk 3-0 at Newcastle and Hannover beat Levante 2-1 despite playing with 10 men for 80 minutes. In another surprising result, unheralded Hungarian side Videoton swept past Sporting Lisbon 3-0 in Group G.

Liverpool came into the match against Udinese in buoyant mood after finally ending their winless run in the English Premier League with a 5-2 demolition of Norwich on Saturday. They started well, with Jonjo Shelvey putting the team ahead in the 23rd minute with a fine header.

But the evergreen Di Natale equalised 32 seconds after the break and after Sebastan Coates headed into his own net, Pasquale ran onto Di Natale's lay-off and thumped a low shot into the corner in the 72nd minute. Substitute Luis Suarez pulled a goal back from a free kick but late pressure failed to produce an equaliser for Liverpool.

Inter warmed up for Sunday's city derby with AC Milan with a victory courtesy of goals by Philippe Coutinho, Joel Obi and Marko Livaja.

"Even though there were a lot of changes to the side, Inter put in a really solid first half," said Stramaccioni. "This group of players is on the way up."

Ederson's 62nd-minute winner left Lazio in control of a group containing Spurs, who took a first-half lead through Michael Dawson but failed to make their dominance count before Toche levelled in the 77th minute for Panathinaikos.

The men from Greece were there for the taking after their poor start in the domestic league, which resulted in officials throwing captain Costas Katsouranis off the team on Wednesday.

"There is a sense of disappointment," said Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas, who won the Europa League with Porto in 2011. "In the second half, we made a lot of mistakes in passing and that let them in the game. But a point away from home is positive."

Europa League results on Thursday (home teams shown first):

Group A

Anzhi Makhachkala (Russia) 2, Young Boys (Switzerland) 0
Liverpool (England) 2, Udinese (Italy) 3

Group B

Atletico Madrid (Spain) 1, Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic) 0
Academica (Portugal) 1, Hapoel Tel Aviv (Israel) 1

Group C

Marseille (France) 5, AEL Limassol (Cyprus) 1
Borussia Moenchengladbach (Germany) 2, Fenerbahce (Turkey) 4

Group D

Brugge (Belgium) 2, Maritimo (Portugal) 0
Newcastle (England) 3, Bordeaux (France) 0

Group E

Molde (Norway) 2, VfB Stuttgart (Germany) 0
Steaua Bucharest (Romania) 1, Copenhagen (Denmark) 0

Group F

PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) 3, Napoli (Italy) 0
AIK Stockholm (Sweden) 2, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine) 3

Group G

Basel (Switzerland) 2, Genk (Belgium) 2
Videoton (Hungary) 3, Sporting Lisbon (Portugal) 0

Group H


Neftci (Azerbaijan) 1, Inter Milan (Italy) 3
Rubin Kazan (Russia) 2, Partizan Belgrade (Serbia) 0

Group I

Sparta Prague (Czech Republic) 3, Athletic Bilbao (Spain) 1
Kiryat Shmona (Israel) 3, Lyon (France) 4

Group J

Panathinaikos (Greece) 1, Tottenham (England) 1
Lazio (Italy) 1, Maribor (Slovenia) 0

Group K


Metalist Kharkiv (Ukraine) 2, Rapid Vienna (Austria) 0
Rosenborg (Norway) 0, Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) 1

Group L

Hannover (Germany) 2, Levante (Spain) 1
Helsingborg (Sweden) 2, FC Twente (Netherlands) 2

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
25% - 1140 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1321 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2020 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE