They may have been without Falcao, but Atlético Madrid got their UEFA Europa League title defence off to a successful start while Liverpool also opened with victory on Thursday.
Diego Simeone opted to rest his star forward, who has been the top scorer in this competition for the past two seasons. It did nothing to knock Atlético out of their stride, though, as they easily beat Hapoel Tel-Aviv 3-0.
Liverpool also won away from home in an eight-goal thriller. After jumping out to a 2-1 lead, they found themselves trailing 3-2 to BYoung Boys midway through the second half. Then Jonjo Shelvey came off the bench to score Liverpool’s fourth and fifth goals to secure the win.
In the other Group A’s other game, Antonio Di Natale also came off the bench to make an impact, scoring a added-time equaliser Udinese got a draw against big spending Anzhi Makhachkala.
Another Serie A side that needed a late to grab a share of the points was Inter Milan, as an added-time goal from Yuto Nagatomo gave them a point at home to Rubin Kazan.
There was no late heroics as Tottenham Hotspur has three goals disallowed by the officials, including one by Clint Dempsey as Spurs and Lazio drew 0-0 at White Hart Lane.
Bordeaux and Napoli both won big, 4-0 at home, while perennial Champions League contestants Lyon beat Sparta Praha 2-1 at home.
In probably the big surprise of the night, Maribor defeated Panathinaikos 3-0, while FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk may have raised a few eyebrows by scoring two without reply against former European champions PSV Eindhoven.
