LONDON: Ryan Gravenberch scored his first goal for Liverpool as they beat Union Saint-Gilloise in the Europa League.

Summer signing Gravenberch struck just before half-time, slotting in after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s shot was parried by Anthony Moris.

That goal provided the spark in an otherwise dull first half of few chances at Anfield.

Darwin Nunez missed a big opportunity when he prodded wide from Mohamed Salah’s cross, while Gustaf Nilsson headed over from close range for the visitors.

The excellent Gravenberch was denied a second just after the hour when his dipping effort was pushed behind by Moris.

The Belgian side applied a bit of late pressure but Liverpool wrapped up the win late on when Diogo Jota slotted in after a quick break.

This was not a memorable performance by Liverpool but, after the video assistant referee controversy following Saturday’s Premier League defeat at Tottenham, it was a routine and incident-free win.

Liverpool top Group E with six points from two games.

West Ham win

West Ham continued their successful start to life in the Europa League with a record-breaking victory at Freiburg.

Lucas Paqueta leapt highest to set the Irons on course with a goal from a well-timed cross by Jarrod Bowen.

Following their first-half dominance, West Ham were rocked when Roland Sallai struck a close-range equaliser shortly after the restart.

However, Nayef Aguerd nodded a James Ward-Prowse corner past Noah Atubolu to secure the win.

The London club clinched an impressive record by becoming the first English side to go 17 consecutive games in European competition without defeat.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City team, Don Revie’s Leeds in the 1960s and Bill Nicholson’s 1970s Tottenham side all managed 16 games unbeaten.

West Ham were particularly threatening on the break in the first half as Bowen and Mohammed Kudus troubled the Freiburg defence.

David Moyes’ men limited Freiburg to just one shot on target before the break – a tame effort that was easily caught by Lukasz Fabianski.

Freiburg were unsettled and struggled to cope with the pressure from West Ham but managed to remain in contention given the visitors’ slim lead.

The game’s momentum shifted when Sallai lashed the equaliser past Fabianski, and Lucas Holer should have put Freiburg in front when he somehow blasted over the bar from six yards.

West Ham were therefore relieved when careless positioning from Atubolu allowed Aguerd to meet Ward-Prowse’s corner and restore the lead, the decisive goal coming against the run of play.

West Ham, who beat Backa Topola in their opening Europa League game, top Group A with six points. Freiburg are second and sit three points behind.

Brighton fightback

Joao Pedro scored a late penalty as Brighton fought back from two goals down to earn their first point in European football with a battling Europa League draw at Marseille.

The Seagulls were looking to bounce back after they thrashed 6-1 by Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday.

Two goals in as many first-half minutes gave them a mountain to climb as former Newcastle defender Chancel Mbemba swept in before Jordan Veretout took advantage of a mistake by Brighton captain Lewis Dunk to add a second moments later.

Brighton thought they were awarded a penalty by the video assistant referee (VAR) soon after, with the referee appearing to point to the spot after consulting the pitchside monitor, but instead a free-kick for a foul was given to Marseille.

The visitors overcame that disappointment to pull a goal back early in the second half when Pascal Gross drove in from a Kaoru Mitoma cutback, before Pedro kept his cool to complete the impressive recovery.

Conference League

John McGinn’s header in stoppage time ended Zrinjski Mostar’s resistance and earned Aston Villa their first win in the Europa Conference League.

It looked set to be another disappointing night for Villa in the Conference League, having lost 3-2 at Legia Warsaw in their opening game.

However, captain McGinn met Matty Cash’s cross in the fourth added minute to deliver the win.

The win was no less than Villa deserved and is their first at home in the group stage of a European competition since they beat Ajax 2-1 in the Uefa Cup in October 2008.

Villa had plenty of the ball in the first half but were ponderous in possession and lacked any real fluidity, finding it difficult to break down a well-organised Zrinjski defensive unit.

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