Liverpool kept a firm group on its group while Brighton finally got a win on the board as the Europa League met Matchday 3 on Thursday in Europe.
The Reds and Seagulls were both home for their multi-goal wins, and will be feeling well-positioned for knockout round qualification at the halfway point of group stage play.
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Liverpool 5-1 Toulouse: Reds run over Les Violets
Liverpool had already been prioritizing player selection in the Premier League, and that’s not going to change one bit.
The Reds have taken 9-of-9 points Group E and have a five-point lead on Toulouse as well as a 7-point lead on Union-Saint Gilloise and an 8-point advantage over LASZ Linz.
Diogo Jota scored early for Liverpool but Toulouse struck back in the 16th minute through Thijs Dallinga.
But the Reds poured it on, with Wataru Endo and Darwin Nunez scoring five minutes apart later in the half, as everything was going Liverpool’s way.
Don’t believe it? Watch Ryan Gravenberch get a goal even after Nunez orchestrated and wasted a chance to make it 4-1. Mohamed Salah came off the bench and finished the scoring with a stoppage-time marker.
Teenage left back Luke Chambers made his first Liverpool start in the win, while Jurgen Klopp replaced him with debutant Calum Scanlon. Nineteen-year-old James McConnell also made his senior debut off the bench.
Brighton 2-0 Ajax
This was all Brighton, and should only come as a mild surprise given the Eredivisie side’s struggles this season.
Ajax had 0.01 xG in a first half that saw Brighton break through via Joao Pedro for a 1-0 lead.
The Seagulls made it 2-0 through Ansu Fati — it’s still wild that Brighton secured his loan from Barcelona — and out-attempted Ajax 12-6 while holding 66% of the ball.
Brighton’s now a single point behind Marseille and behind AEK Athens on tiebreakers.
Ajax now sits dead last in Group B on two points in addition to being 17th of 18th in the Eredivisie. Brutal.
