Liverpool crashed to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Italian side Udinese, as Newcastle, Inter Milan and Atletico scored victories in the Europa League.
Athletic Bilbao suffered a shock loss to Sparta Prague, while Spurs were held by a second half goal from Panathinaikos.
However, it was the Liverpool vs Udinese game that caught the eye, with Jonjo Shelvey opening the scoring for his side in the first half. Antonio Di Natale equalized for the visitors early in the second half, before an own goal from Sebastian Coates and a well-worked strike courtesy Antonio Pasquale made it 3-1 for the Italians.
Luis Suarez pulled one back for the home team, but Liverpool could not find the all-important third goal.
"It was very frustrating," Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said. "It was a game where we were much the better side but lost our concentration at the beginning of the second half. I thought we'd moved on from that, to be honest.
"We had total control in the first half and were deservedly in the lead, but we were so loose at the beginning of the second half it was frightening.
"Our concentration was very poor and before we knew it we were 3-1 down. The last 20 minutes was very good but it's too late by then.
"I thought we were lazy. Lazy in our play, loose and sloppy.We didn't do what I call the dirty bit: we didn't track runners. If you don't do that, if you don't earn the right...
"Whether we thought the game was too comfortable? At this level it never is."
Rodgers stressed on the importance of improving defensively. "It's constant reminders and constant work. Some of our play, our movement and passing -- you can sense the excitement within the players and the stadium.
"But you can't keep having to score two, three and five goals to win games. Defensively, as a group, we need to be better.
"I will be open with my communication with the players, but they are disappointed as well."
Results: Neftci 1-3 Internazionale; Anzhii 2-0 Young Boys; Rubin 2-0 Partizan; Panathinaikos 1-1 Tottenham; Metalist 2-0 Rapid Wien; Basel 2-2 Genk; Videoton 3-0 Sporting; H. Kiryat Shmona 3-4 Lyon; Sparta Praha 3-1 Athletic; Lazio 1-0 Maribor; Rosenborg 0-1 Leverkusen; Hannover 2-1 Levante; Helsingborg 2-2 Twente; Atlético 1-0 Plzen; Marseille 5-1 AEL; Mönchengladbach 2-4 Fenerbahce; Club Brugge 2-0 Marítimo; Molde 2-0 Stuttgart; AIK 2-3 Dnipro; PSV 3-0 Napoli; Steaua 1-0 FC Copenhagen; Liverpool 2-3 Udinese; Académica 1-1 H. Tel-Aviv; Newcastle 3-0 Bordeaux.
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