UEL: Liverpool put a show at Anfield as Toulouse live up to their name, Wirtz's night to remember

Liverpool survived a first-half scare against Toulouse to maintain their 100% record in Europa League Group E, with a convincing 5-1 victory extending their enviable record of scoring in every home match since January.

While Toulouse boss Carles Martínez Novell’s outfit was far from the most pressing matter at Anfield, his blue jeans certainly stood out on the touchline, and there was something equally casual about the way Diogo Jota waltzed through the visiting defence to score a dazzling solo opener. That set the tone for a frantic first period, and the sea of travelling purple-shirted fans were given something to shout about when danger man Thijs Dallinga took advantage of Liverpool’s high line, raced through on goal and fired under Caoimhín Kelleher.

It was evident that Toulouse had rocked up on Merseyside for a firefight, and while that made for an entertaining contest, it also left them defensively vulnerable. The Reds needed nothing fancy to reclaim the lead, with Wataru Endō steering in Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross to notch his first Liverpool goal, and Darwin Núñez lashed in at the near post just four minutes later to give Jürgen Klopp’s side a comfortable two-goal buffer heading into the break.

Shortly after the restart, Kelleher’s slack pass gave Gabriel Suazo a huge chance to haul Toulouse back into the tie, but with the goal gaping, the Chilean inexplicably fired his shot straight at Alexander-Arnold, who duly cleared off the line. Núñez made sure that he was credited with the miss of the game, however, wowing Anfield with a mesmerising run and rounding the goalkeeper before clattering the woodwork from close range. Thankfully for the Reds, Ryan Gravenberch was there to pick up the pieces and crown his outstanding performance with a well-merited goal, and substitute Mohamed Salah rifled in off the crossbar with virtually the final kick of the game to complete the scoring.

With three wins from three in Group E, Liverpool are firmly on course to make the knockout stages of a European competition for the seventh season running. Toulouse drop to third - five points behind the Reds - but they will take another pop at Klopp in next month’s reverse fixture.

UEL: Brighton's hungry cubs sink their fangs in weary Amsterdammer prey

Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen continued their sublime start to the 2023/24 season with a dominant 5-1 win over Qarabağ in the Europa League, making it 12 wins out of their 13 games this season.

Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen side came into the match in highflying form, sitting atop of the Bundesliga and unbeaten in 11 games this season. The home side continued that scintillating run by opening the scoring inside four minutes after Álex Grimaldo’s cross into the box was deflected into the path of Florian Wirtz, who swept the ball home with a tidy first time finish. Qarabağ clearly didn’t read the script however, as they equalised from the spot around the quarter-hour mark through Toral Bayramov’s spotkick.

Leverkusen did not allow their opponent’s equaliser affect them though and instead produced a barrage of attacks on the Qarabağ goal for the remainder of the half. A host of chances fell the way of the home side, the best of which saw Amine Adli strike the crossbar after being teed up by Nathan Tella. Die Werkself’s pressure finally paid off though as they netted twice before halftime. First, Wirtz and Grimaldo switched roles as the German starlet cut the ball back for the Spanish fullback to power the ball home. Then Wirtz continued to reign terror on the Azerbaijani side as he teed up Victor Boniface, who took one touch and fired a sublime volley into the back of the net from outside of the box - capping off a breathtaking first half.

It was more of the same in the second half as Alonso’s men didn’t take the foot off the gas, instead notching twice within 15 minutes of the restart. Wirtz, involved in three goals already, was the provider once again as he laid the ball off to Grimaldo, and the marauding fullback curled a tidy finish into the bottom corner. The Qarabağ players had the look of defeat and embarrassment on their faces when the fifth goal went in as Edmond Tapsoba tapped home a rebound after Boniface’s initial shot was parried.

With a four-goal lead and victory wrapped up, Alonso took the opportunity to rest some players, and his side strolled through the remaining 30 minutes. Grimaldo was still in search of a hat-trick though, and he almost achieved that but his freekick cannoned off the post before being taken off. A third success on the bounce in the Europa League puts the German side top of Group H, whilst also ending Qarabağ’s 100% start, ahead of their return fixture in Azerbaijan in two weeks.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE- GROUP STAGE

Thursday

Olympiakos - West Ham 2-1 (2-0)

/Fortounis 33, Ogbona 45+1 og - Paqueta 87/

TSC Backa Topola - Freiburg 1-3 (1-0)

/Petrovic 13 - Grifo 49 pen, 59, 74/

Olympique Marseille - AEK 3-1 (1-0)

/Vitinha 27, Harit 60 pen, Veretout 69 pen - Pineda 53/

Aris Limmasol - Betis 0-1 (0-0)

/DIao 75/

Sparta Praha - Rangers 0-0

Rakow - Sporting 1-1 (0-1)

/Piasecki 79 - Coates 14/

Sturm - Atalanta 2-2 (1-2)

/Prass 13, Horvat 80 pen - Muriel 34, 45+7/

Molde - Hacken 5-1 (3-1)

/Gulbransen 6, Eikrem 27, 55, Breivik 30, Bjornbak 90+3 - Sonko 21/

Brighton - Ajax 2-0 (1-0)

/Joao Pedro 42, Fati 53/

Liverpool - Toulouse 5-1 (3-1)

/Jota 9, Endo 30, Nunez 34, Gravenberch 65, Salah 90+3 - Dallinga 16/

St.Gilloise - LASK 2-1 (0-1)

/Puertas 84 pen, Burgess 90+5 - Usor 24/

Panathinaikos - Rennes 1-2 (0-1)

/Ioannidis 61 - Gouiri 8, Kalimuendo 50/

Roma - Slavia Praha 2-0 (2-0)

/Bove 1, Lukaku 17/

Sheriff Tiraspol - Servette 1-1 (0-1)

/Ankeye 80 - Crivelli 41/

Leverkusen - Qarabag 5-1 (3-1)

/Wirtz 5, Grimaldo 29, 55, Boniface 35, Tapsoba 58 - Bayramov 16 pen/