Matchday one of the UEFA Europa League saw plenty of tight encounters but a decent start for all the English clubs involved.
In Group A, Liverpool’s youngsters impressed in Bern, winning an eight goal thriller with Young Boys.
In a game littered with defensive mistakes and comedy errors, the Reds fought back from 3-2 down on the hour mark, to fully justify Brendan Rodgers team selection in leaving eight first-team players on Merseyside.
Frustration for Newcastle and Tottenham
Jonjo Shelvey (pictured) came off the bench to score twice in the final quarter of an hour.
The young Englishman added to a third minute own goal, a header from Andre Wisdom on his debut and a first European goal for Sebastian Coates as the Merseysiders won 5-3.
The Reds go top of this group, after a late equaliser from Antonio Di Natale rescued a point for Udinese in a 1-1 draw with dangerous Russian side Anzhi.
Both Newcastle and Tottenham were frustrated in 0-0 draws with Maritimo and Lazio respectively.
Like Liverpool, the Magpies went to Portugal without many of their first choice regulars such as Demba Ba, Yohan Cabaye and Tim Krul.
Shola Ameobi was denied by the post in a hard-fought goalless stalemate in Group D.
Bordeaux vaulted into top spot after thrashing Club Brugge 4-0 in France.
The Ligue 1 side stretched their unbeaten home run in Europe to 10 games in the process.
Tottenham controlled their match against in-form Lazio in Group J but were denied the three points, by a well-drilled defence and some dodgy refereeing decisions.
Clint Dempsey was denied a first goal for his new club by a suspicious offside decision and Steven Caulker had a header ruled out for the dubious push in the second half.
The frustration was clear to see from Andre Villas-Boas on the touchline.
The surprise leaders are Maribor after they recorded an impressive 3-0 home victory against Panathinaikos.
Dnipro overcome PSV
One of the bigger upsets came in Group F, as Juande Ramos’s Dnipro side overcame high-flying PSV Eindhoven 2-0.
Two early second half goals secured the points in Ukraine for Ramos side, tucking them in behind Napoli after one game.
The Italians are among the favourites for this competition and they proved it, with a 4-0 thumping of AIK Solna, who had eliminated CSKA Moscow in the qualifiers.
Eduardo Vargas scored a hat-trick for the Partenopei, which were his first goals since signing for the club back in January.
In Group C, Joey Barton made his competitive debut for Marseille as they fought back superbly to earn a 2-2 draw with Fenerbahce.
The Turks raced into a 2-0 lead and Barton was withdrawn after 71 minutes, having had little impact on proceedings.
With seven minutes to go, Mathieu Valbuena pulled a goal back and then in the fourth minute of time added on, Andre Ayew scored a brilliant equaliser to stun the home supporters in Istanbul.
On their group stage debut, AEL Limassol recorded a fine home point with Borussia Monchengladbach.
Oscar Wendt missed a penalty in the eighth minute of injury time, as the German side were frustratingly held to a 0-0 draw.
Routine start for Atletico Madrid
Another English representative is Steve McClaren at FC Twente.
He saw his side lose the lead twice at home to Hannover 96 in Group L.
An own goal from Peter Wisgerhof allowed Hannover to leave Holland with a share of the points, after an exciting 2-2 draw.
Full back Juanfran was the unlikely match winner as Levante made their Europa League bow with a 1-0 success over Helsinborgs.
Reigning holders Atletico Madrid made a routine winning start to their Europa League title defence in Group B.
Goals from Cristian Rodriguez, Diego Costa and Raul Garcia helped the Super Cup winners to an easy 3-0 away win in Israel against Hapoel Tel-Aviv.
Meanwhile, three second half headers from Viktoria Plzen saw them fightback from a goal down to overcome Portuguese debutants Academica 3-1.
Lastly in Group H, Inter Milan had to come from behind twice to rescue a 2-2 home draw with Rubin Kazan.
A volley in the last minute from Yuto Nagatomo meant it finished honours even in the San Siro.
Nefcti from Azerbaijan earnt a very good point in Belgrade in their first ever group stage match, to ensure every team in Group H has one point after one game.
EUROPA LEAGUE MATCHDAY ONE RESULTS
Thursday, 20 September 2012
Group A: Udinese 1-1 Anzhi
Group A: Young Boys 3-5 Liverpool
Group B: Hapoel Tel-Aviv 0-3 Atletico Madrid
Group B: Viktoria Plzen 3-1 Academica
Group C: Fenerbahce 2-2 Marseille
Group C: AEL Limassol 0-0 Borussia Monchengladbach
Group D: Bordeaux 4-0 Club Brugge
Group D: Maritimo 0-0 Newcastle United
Group E: VFB Stuttgart 2-2 Steaua Bucharest
Group E: FC Copenhagen 2-1 Molde FK
Group F: Napoli 4-0 AIK Solna
Group F: Dnipro 2-0 PSV Eindhoven
Group G: Sporting Lisbon 0-0 FC Basle
Group G: KRC Genk 3-0 Videoton
Group H: Inter Milan 2-2 Rubin Kazan
Group H: Partizan Belgrade 0-0 Nefcti
Group I: Lyon 2-1 Sparta Prague
Group I: Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Hapoel Kiryat Shamona
Group J: Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Lazio
Group J: Maribor 3-0 Panathinaikos
Group K: Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Metalist Kharkiv
Group K: Rapid Vienna 1-2 Rosenborg
Group L: FC Twente 2-2 Hannover 96
Group L: Levante 1-0 Helsinborgs
By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
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