Liverpool suffered a surprising 3-2 defeat against Toulouse in the Europa League Group E, while Brighton & Hove Albion secured a 2-0 victory over Ajax Amsterdam, putting them in a strong position to advance to the knockout stages.
Despite the loss, Liverpool still lead the group with nine points, two ahead of Toulouse. However, their equalizer in the last minute of added time was denied by the VAR.
In another match, bottom-placed LASK earned their first points with a 3-1 home win over Union Saint Gilloise, who remained in third place in the group.
Liverpool started the game strongly, with Joe Gomez’s header hitting the crossbar from a set piece. However, Toulouse broke the deadlock in the 36th minute when Aron Donnum intercepted the ball, entered the box, and scored with a deflected shot. Thjis Dallinga then doubled their advantage in the 58th minute.
Liverpool managed to pull one back in the 73rd minute through an own goal from Cristian Casseres. However, Frank Magri quickly restored Toulouse’s two-goal lead by slotting home a deflected cross.
Luis Diaz, who had earlier seen his father released by kidnappers, started the match for Liverpool but was substituted by Diogo Jota in the 81st minute. Jota gave Liverpool hope by dribbling into the box and placing the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
Liverpool thought they had salvaged a draw when Jarell Quansah scored in the seventh minute of stoppage time. However, the VAR disallowed the goal due to a handball by Alexis Mac Allister earlier in the move.
Meanwhile, Brighton secured their second victory of the competition with a comfortable 2-0 win over Ajax. Ansu Fati opened the scoring in the 15th minute, calmly slotting the ball into the net. Simon Adingra then doubled their lead in the 53rd minute from close range.
With this win, Brighton moved to the top of Group B with seven points, two ahead of Olympique de Marseille, who were yet to play AEK Athens.
In other matches, AS Roma suffered a surprising 2-0 loss against Slavia Prague, slipping to second place in Group G. Bayer Leverkusen secured a last-gasp 1-0 win against Qarabag in Group H, maintaining their perfect start and securing their place in the knockout stages.
Overall, it was a surprising day in the Europa League, with Liverpool’s loss and Brighton’s impressive victory shaking up the group standings.
