Uefa Europa League round-up: Liverpool triumph over Manchester United in battle of Britain, Tottenham’s second string chastened at Dortmund

A dominant Liverpool were worthy 2-0 winners over Manchester United as the old foes met in Europe for the first time on Thursday, while Borussia Dortmund outclassed Tottenham Hotspur in their Europa League last 16, first leg.

At a boisterous Anfield, Liverpool were on top from beginning to end as United lost to their great rivals for the first time under the stewardship of Louis van Gaal, a penalty from Daniel Sturridge and a Roberto Firmino effort separating the teams.

Juergen Klopp’s side will go to Old Trafford for the second leg next Thursday in a good position to advance to the quarter-finals, although that United retain any hope is largely down to David de Gea.

The Spanish goalkeeper could not keep out Sturridge’s 20th-minute penalty that followed a tangle between Memphis Depay and Nathaniel Clyne just inside the box, but he kept the visitors in the game for long periods after that.

De Gea saved twice from Philippe Coutinho and once each from Sturridge and Clyne before Liverpool, attacking the Kop with gusto in the second half, got a deserved second goal in the 73rd minute.

When Michael Carrick, who had replaced the suffering Marcus Rashford at half-time, made a mess of dealing with a Jordan Henderson ball, the excellent Adam Lallana pounced to set up Firmino to score.

READ MORE: Juergen Klopp braced for ‘mother of all football matches’ as Liverpool face Manchester United in Europa League showdown

“We can be confident with a two-goal advantage but that can be dangerous sometimes,” Henderson told BT Sport as he looked ahead to the return.