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• Jurgen Klopp plays down value of 50th European win after Liverpool beat LASK

  Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp played down his record-breaking 50th European win after the 3-1 victory over LASK in Austria.

  His side came from behind for the fourth time in six matches as goals from Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and substitute Mohamed Salah secured the German’s 50th European victory for the club – surpassing the record he held with Rafael Benitez.

  “Let me say it like this, if I still have 50 after the group stage, then even if I’ve still got the most wins in Europe as a Liverpool manager then everybody will hate that,” he said.

  “The highest number of wins but everybody will hate it.

  “So it’s nice – we have played a lot of games in Europe, but it is good we have won that many and we have frequently qualified for finals.

  “No it’s great but probably because the competition now has so many more games than in the past.”

  Klopp made 11 changes from the weekend win over Wolves and that contributed to the disjointed, sluggish start.

  LASK, in the biggest game in their history, took full advantage as they flew out of the blocks and scored through Florian Flecker’s expertly taken strike from a well-rehearsed corner.

  “Tough start, yes. Obviously the first shot on target after a set-piece and we conceded,” the Reds boss added.

  “We had very good moments but I saw the boys didn’t feel that. It was not that we could gain confidence from our good moments – we didn’t seem to think we should do that again.

  “So we suffered from the less good moments confidence-wise and frustration grew. It makes no sense. Human, but it makes no
  sense anyway.

  “We showed them (at half-time) two football situations from the first half where we did pretty well. The boys clearly thought there was nothing good in the first half but that was not true.

  “We told them they had to get rid of the frustration getting back into the game again, and then we would have a good chance to turn it around, and that’s what we did eventually.

  “I’m really, really happy because I said before I knew it would be really difficult, and it was difficult, even if people didn’t believe me. Well-deserved win in the end and that’s it.

  “I know that people expect us to fly through this competition. In the group stage it will not happen, in the knockout it will not happen. We have to dig in, dig into it.”

  LASK coach Thomas Sageder was disappointed they could not capitalise on their good start.

  “We played very brave, we were aggressive and we had a chance to score the second goal but it was only 1-0 at half-time,” he said.

  “In the second half we saw how good a team Liverpool were but we fought to the end.”

• Dante Polvara goal in vain as Aberdeen are edged out by Eintracht Frankfurt

  Aberdeen stunned Eintracht Frankfurt by equalising in the Waldstadion before succumbing to a 2-1 Europa Conference League defeat.

  Dante Polvara finished off a clinical counter-attack in the 22nd minute to cancel out an early penalty opener and the Dons looked comfortable for the majority of the first half.

  The German side stepped up a gear after the break and on-loan Leeds defender Robin Koch headed what proved to be the winner in the 61st minute.

  But Frankfurt, third-favourites to win the competition behind Aston Villa and Fiorentina, had to withstand some late pressure and Aberdeen substitute Ester Sokler missed a good chance in stoppage-time.

  Barry Robson’s side had only beaten Stirling Albion in their eight previous games this season and it looked like it might be a long night in Germany when Frankfurt took the lead inside 11 minutes.

  Jack MacKenzie was caught out by a pass inside him and Dina Ebimbe muscled his way in front of the wing-back. The Frenchman went down amid a tangle of legs and MacKenzie was penalised. Omar Marmoush converted from the spot.

  Aberdeen delighted their 2,900 travelling fans by drawing level against the side that beat Rangers in the 2021 Europa League final.

  Bojan Miovski collected a loose pass just inside the Eintracht half and was joined by several team-mates in bursting forward. The lone striker played the ball out wide to Nicky Devlin whose low cross found Polvara, who took a touch six yards out and fired high into the net past two home players and the goalkeeper. It was the American’s first goal for Aberdeen.

  Some Dons fans took their celebrations too far amid reports that a lit pyrotechnic was thrown into the home end. More missiles followed amid loud jeers from the Frankfurt fans, although they appeared to be plastic cups.

  There was only one scare for the visitors before the break when Paxten Aaronson got in behind MacKenzie to meet a lofted pass. Kelle Roos got down well to stop the volley before the offside flag was raised but the VAR decision would have been interesting if the ball had gone in as there was very little in it.

  Frankfurt’s winner came after some sustained pressure and Stefan Gartenmann cleared a header off the line just before the corner that made the difference. Koch managed to get away from his marker and guide a free header just inside the far post.

  The home side continued to press and Gartenmann was perhaps fortunate to only receive a yellow card for a hefty challenge before Roos stopped a long-range strike from Hugo Larsson and Devlin produced a goal-saving challenge.

  But Aberdeen came back into the game after a triple substitution in the 71st minute when Connor Barron, Jonny Hayes and Ryan Duncan came on.

  Richard Jensen headed over from Duncan’s corner before Roos saved from Ansgar Knauff and Aberdeen then forced a series of set-pieces in the final third.

  Their chance for a memorable night eventually fell for the unmarked Sokler but he went for power rather than accuracy with his volley and fired off target.

  PAOK beat HJK 3-2 in Finland in the other game in Group G.

• T&T's Soca Warriors back in top 100 on FIFA World Rankings list; Reggae Boyz now at 56th

   Eight-time Caribbean Cup champions Trinidad and Tobago have surged inside the top 100 on the FIFA World Rankings list for the first time in almost five years following recent wins over El Salvador and Curacao.

  The Soca Warriors – in the latest list published Thursday – climbed four places up to 98th from 102, a spot they held in the last rankings in July. They were last inside the FIFA top 100 at 92nd in December 2018. Based on their world position, the twin island republic remains the fourth highest rated in Caribbean Football Union (CFU).

  Meanwhile, Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz jumped two places up the FIFA list to 56th and remain number in CFU ahead of Haiti at 87th world ranked and Curacao (90th). Antigua and Barbuda complete the CFU’s top five at 137th.

  In the only change to the CFU’s top 10, Guyana have climbed into 10th position with a three place move to 165th in the world, as Barbados – the result of Nations League losses to Montserrat and Nicaragua – slipped out of the top 10. The fell six places on the world list from 166th to 172nd.

  World champions Argentina strengthened their grip at the summit of the world rankings. The Argentines, who dethroned Brazil at the top in April, defeated Ecuador and Bolivia in their 2026 World Cup qualifiers earlier this month to improve their status.

  Despite losing to Germany in a friendly last week, France retained second place, followed by Brazil (third), England (fourth) and Belgium (fifth).