Liverpool return to Europa League with comeback victory

Liverpool have marked their return to second-tier European soccer with a come-from-behind 3-1 Europa League victory over Austrian club LASK in Linz.

Florian Flecker beat Liverpool's back-up goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher off a corner kick in the 14th minute for a shock opener for LASK against the six-time European champions.

But the illustrious visitors, who'd made 11 changes in their starting line-up after the 3-1 comeback victory over Wolves at the weekend, equalised when Darwin Nunez scored from a penalty 11 minutes into the second half after Philipp Ziereis fouled Luis Diaz.

Diaz himself had a clinical finish into the roof of the net in the 63rd minute to put the visitors ahead on Thursday after receiving a low cross from midfielder Ryan Gravenberch.

Mohamed Salah came off the bench and completed the second-half comeback with a goal in the 88th minute.

It was a winning return to the second-tier competition for the Reds for the first time since losing 3-1 to Sevilla in the 2016 final in Basel in Juergen Klopp's first season at Anfield.

Fellow EPL club West Ham also registered a win, beating Backa Topola 3-1 in London with an own goal from Nemanja Petrobic, Mohammed Kudus and Tomas Soucek securing the win.

Brighton, however, were taught a harsh lesson on their Europa League debut as Greek champions AEK Athens ran out 3-2 winners after a pulsating encounter at the Amex Stadium.

Substitute Ezequiel Ponce struck the winner on the counter attack six minutes from the end of normal time as Roberto De Zerbi's side failed to heed the signs after falling behind twice previously in the first half.

Joao Pedro equalised from the penalty spot in the first period then again in the second, both times after VAR had intervened in Brighton's favour.

The hosts had the better of the play but they lacked the clinical edge of AEK, who scored with two excellent finishes from set-pieces.

The first goal was a superb header from Djibril Sidibe, followed by a sliding finish from Mijat Gacinovic as Brighton were undone by nerves and their own naivety.

In Group G, Romelu Lukaku scored the second-half winner for last year's runners up Roma in a 2-1 victory over Sheriff in Tiraspol.

In Group H, Florian Wirtz, Aminde Adli, Victor Boniface and substitute Jonas Hofmann had a goal each for Leverkusen to rout Sweden's newcomers Hacken 4-0.

Ajax drew 3-3 with Marseille, Rangers beat Real Betis 1-0 while Panathinakos defeated Villarreal 2-0 in some of the other action.

In the Europa Conference League, Albanian forward Ernest Muci netted twice in the second half in Warsaw as Legia beat Aston Villa 3-2 to spoil the English team's return to the group stages of a European competition for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

Villa, the 1982 European Cup winners, had to come from a goal down twice in the first half in the Group E game.

Villa forward Jhon Duran headed in an equaliser just three minutes after Pawel Wszolek put the hosts ahead in the third minute.

Muci made it 2-1 in the 26th with his first before defender Lucas Digne made it 2-2 later on.