Daniel Sturridge and Roberto Firmino scored as Liverpool deservedly defeated eternal rivals Manchester United 2-0 in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie on Thursday (Mar 10).

Liverpool dominated the first ever European meeting between the teams from first minute to last, scoring through Sturridge’s 20th-minute penalty and Firmino’s 73rd-minute effort to put Jurgen Klopp’s men firmly in the driving seat ahead of next week’s return leg.

United would have lost much more heavily had it not been for the brilliance of goalkeeper David de Gea and failed to create a meaningful chance as manager Louis van Gaal’s four-game winning run against Liverpool came to a juddering halt at a fervent Anfield.

With both teams struggling to finish in the top four in the Premier League, victory in the Europa League looks their best hope of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

It is Liverpool who have one foot in the quarter-finals and while United must gather themselves for Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final at home to high-flying West Ham United, Klopp has a full week to prepare his side for their trip to Old Trafford.

United breakthrough star Marcus Rashford started wide on the right and although he kneed the ball wide from an early Memphis Depay cross, he spent most of the first period deep in his own half tracking the forward runs of Liverpool left-back Alberto Moreno.

It was the same story on the opposite flank, where the recalled Nathaniel Clyne was keeping Depay on the back foot, and it was from their confrontation that the opening goal stemmed.

Depay was adjudged to have pulled Clyne back after getting caught the wrong side of the England full-back and Sturridge planted the ensuing penalty past De Gea.

UNITED RESHUFFLE

With United’s wingers pinned back and Firmino, Adam Lallana and Philippe Coutinho buzzing around behind Sturridge, the visitors found themselves under siege and De Gea had to come to their rescue three times before half-time.

Coutinho gave United a huge let-off when he used the outside of his right foot to prod a dribbly shot from Sturridge towards a vacant goal, allowing De Gea to claw the ball off the line in spectacular fashion.

The Spaniard then flew out to block from Sturridge, after Chris Smalling had misjudged a flighted pass from Firmino, before producing a stunning reflex stop to repel a Lallana volley from point-blank range.

Booked for a late challenge on Moreno shortly before half-time, Rashford came off at the interval and was replaced by Carrick, who dropped into a back three as Van Gaal sought to stem Liverpool’s first-half dominance.

It gave United a foothold in the game and they registered their first effort on target when Morgan Schneiderlin shot at Simon Mignolet from the edge of the box.

Depay also created a chance for Anthony Martial, only for the Frenchman — a peripheral figure throughout — to get the ball caught under his feet.

But De Gea had to remain alert at the other end and he dealt authoritatively with powerful efforts from first Coutinho and then Clyne, before Jordan Henderson hoisted a shot into the Kop from Lallana’s lay-off.

The second goal that Liverpool richly merited duly arrived 17 minutes from time as Lallana teed up Firmino to stroke home left-footed after Carrick made a weak attempt to clear Henderson’s cross.

Daniel Sturridge and Roberto Firmino scored as Liverpool deservedly defeated eternal rivals Manchester United 2-0 in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie on Thursday (Mar 10).

Liverpool dominated the first ever European meeting between the teams from first minute to last, scoring through Sturridge’s 20th-minute penalty and Firmino’s 73rd-minute effort to put Jurgen Klopp’s men firmly in the driving seat ahead of next week’s return leg.

United would have lost much more heavily had it not been for the brilliance of goalkeeper David de Gea and failed to create a meaningful chance as manager Louis van Gaal’s four-game winning run against Liverpool came to a juddering halt at a fervent Anfield.

With both teams struggling to finish in the top four in the Premier League, victory in the Europa League looks their best hope of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

It is Liverpool who have one foot in the quarter-finals and while United must gather themselves for Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final at home to high-flying West Ham United, Klopp has a full week to prepare his side for their trip to Old Trafford.

United breakthrough star Marcus Rashford started wide on the right and although he kneed the ball wide from an early Memphis Depay cross, he spent most of the first period deep in his own half tracking the forward runs of Liverpool left-back Alberto Moreno.

It was the same story on the opposite flank, where the recalled Nathaniel Clyne was keeping Depay on the back foot, and it was from their confrontation that the opening goal stemmed.

Depay was adjudged to have pulled Clyne back after getting caught the wrong side of the England full-back and Sturridge planted the ensuing penalty past De Gea.

UNITED RESHUFFLE

With United’s wingers pinned back and Firmino, Adam Lallana and Philippe Coutinho buzzing around behind Sturridge, the visitors found themselves under siege and De Gea had to come to their rescue three times before half-time.

Coutinho gave United a huge let-off when he used the outside of his right foot to prod a dribbly shot from Sturridge towards a vacant goal, allowing De Gea to claw the ball off the line in spectacular fashion.

The Spaniard then flew out to block from Sturridge, after Chris Smalling had misjudged a flighted pass from Firmino, before producing a stunning reflex stop to repel a Lallana volley from point-blank range.

Booked for a late challenge on Moreno shortly before half-time, Rashford came off at the interval and was replaced by Carrick, who dropped into a back three as Van Gaal sought to stem Liverpool’s first-half dominance.

It gave United a foothold in the game and they registered their first effort on target when Morgan Schneiderlin shot at Simon Mignolet from the edge of the box.

Depay also created a chance for Anthony Martial, only for the Frenchman — a peripheral figure throughout — to get the ball caught under his feet.

But De Gea had to remain alert at the other end and he dealt authoritatively with powerful efforts from first Coutinho and then Clyne, before Jordan Henderson hoisted a shot into the Kop from Lallana’s lay-off.

The second goal that Liverpool richly merited duly arrived 17 minutes from time as Lallana teed up Firmino to stroke home left-footed after Carrick made a weak attempt to clear Henderson’s cross.

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Liverpool handed their fiercest rivals a painful lesson on Thursday with a dominant 2-0 win over Manchester United in the first leg of a Europa League last-16 clash.

As the two sides took their bitter domestic rivalry on to the European stage for the first time, a penalty from Daniel Sturridge and a second-half effort from Roberto Firmino gave Liverpool a commanding advantage to take into next week’s return leg.

Juergen Klopp’s team are well placed to progress along with the German coach’s former club Borussia Dortmund who underlined their status as favourites with a masterclass show against Tottenham Hotspur.

Dortmund’s Marco Reus scored twice in the second half, after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had given them a 30th-minute lead, in a classy 3-0 victory over a Spurs side who rested a number of players with one eye on their Premier League title challenge.

Shakhtar Donetsk will also take a good lead into the second leg with Anderlecht after a 3-1 home victory, as will Villarreal who beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 thanks to a double strike from Cedric Bakambu.

Sevilla’s Steven N’Zonzi was sent off with three minutes to go as the holders, bidding for a third straight trophy, drew 0-0 at Basel while Athletic Bilbao beat Spanish rivals Valencia 1-0 with a 20th-minute goal from Raul Garcia.

Liverpool’s rivalry with United stretches back over 122 years but the 195th meeting between the pair was the first in Europe.

The encounter, played at a simmering Anfield, was fast and furious. It was Liverpool who were in control and they would have won more emphatically if it were not for a string of brilliant saves from United keeper David De Gea.

Klopp’s side, bidding to avoid a club record fifth successive defeat to United, went ahead in the 20th minute when Nathaniel Clyne was tugged back by Memphis Depay and Sturridge finished from the penalty spot.

De Gea kept the visitors in the tie with stops to deny Sturridge, Adam Lallana and Philippe Coutinho on two occasions but he was powerless to prevent Firmino converting from close range with 17 minutes remaining.

“We were really good from the first second, everything was there but we could have scored more,” a beaming Klopp told BT Sport.

Aubameyang goal

The match in Dortmund promised to be an exciting fixture featuring the second-place sides in the Bundesliga and the Premier League.

Some of the gloss was taken off the clash, however, when Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino chose to make seven changes to the side that had played on Saturday.

The game also promised to pit two of Europe’s leading marksmen against each other, a spectacle that was denied for the majority of the tie as Spurs left leading scorer Harry Kane on the bench until late in the second half.

That left Dortmund’s Aubameyang as the leading attraction and the Gabon striker, who has scored 22 times in the Bundesliga this season, lived up to his billing.

He had a goal disallowed for offside before breaking the deadlock by heading a Marcel Schmelzer cross accurately past keeper Hugo Lloris and into the bottom corner.

It was largely one-way traffic but Spurs stayed resolute at the back until Reus scored twice in nine minutes after the break.

His first came from a corner when he lashed the ball into the net on the volley at the far post while the second was a sidefooted finish from close range after a perfectly-weighted pass from Gonzalo Castro.

“There was a lot of speed in the game in the first half and in the second we were able to move up higher and dominate completely,” said Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel.

In the Ukraine, goals from Brazilian Taison and Oleksandr Kucher gave Shakhtar a 2-0 lead before Anderlecht hit back through Frank Acheampong.

Striker Eduardo then headed home from a corner in the 79th minute to make it 3-1.

Fenerbahce’s tie against Braga looked destined to end goalless until Mehmet Topal curled in a superb effort from the edge of the area with eight minutes remaining to secure a 1-0 win.

Sparta Prague took the lead against Lazio through Martin Frydek but the Italians replied through Marco Parolo to grab a 1-1 draw in Poland.

Inter Milan kept pace with the pack in the race for Champions League qualification after easily seeing off flatlining Palermo 3-1 on Sunday (Mar 6) to win for just the fourth time in 2016.

Adem Ljajic’s low 11th minute strike, Mauro Icardi’s deft 12th of the season 12 minutes later and a diving header from Ivan Perisic nine minutes after the break saw Inter stay fifth on 51 points, two behind Fiorentina and five behind third-placed Roma, who walloped Paulo Sousa’s Viola 4-1 on Friday.

Palermo reacted well to going two down so early and pulled a goal back through a sliding Franco Vazquez finish on the stroke of half-time.

But Giuseppe Iachini’s side haven’t won in seven and are now just a point above the relegation zone following Sunday’s defeat and third-from-bottom Frosinone’s 2-0 win over Udinese earlier in the day.

The win for Inter also sees them extend their lead on AC Milan to four points after their local rivals fell 2-0 at Sassuolo thanks to Alfred Duncan’s first half piledriver and Nicola Sansone’s well-worked fifth of the season 18 minutes before the end.

However automatic Champions League qualification looks a tall order for Roberto Mancini’s team, as second-placed Napoli are 10 points away after an entertaining 3-1 defeat of Chievo Verona on Saturday that saw them move temporarily level with leaders Juventus.

Reigning champions Juve responded by taking their unbeaten run to 17 wins in 18 on Sunday with a 2-0 win at Atalanta.

Gianluigi Buffon reached 836 minutes without conceding a goal, a record in Serie A’s three-points-for-a-win era and just 93 minutes away from the all-time total of 929 minutes, which was established in 1993/94 by AC Milan keeper Sebastiano Rossi.

Italian Serie A results:

Torino 1 Lazio 1

Bologna 0 Carpi 0

Atalanta 0 Juventus 2

Sassuolo 2 AC Milan 0

Genoa 1 Empoli 0

Frosinone 2 Udinese 0

Inter Milan 3 Palermo 1

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Two goals each from Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott saw holders Arsenal stretch their three-year unbeaten run in the FA Cup thanks to a comfortable 4-0 win at Hull City on Tuesday (Mar 8).

Arsene Wenger’s side will host Premier League rivals Watford in the last eight on Sunday to contest a place in the semi-finals at Wembley in April after victory in a 15th consecutive tie for the Gunners as they close in on a third straight success in the competition.

Giroud opened the scoring before the break and added another in the 71st minute before Walcott netted twice in the final 13 minutes, but Arsenal progressed at a cost, losing centre-backs Per Mertesacker and Gabriel in addition to Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey to injury in sealing only a second away win since mid-December.

However, a first win in six games saw Arsenal avoid their longest run without victory for 18 years as they continue to enjoy life in a cup where they last tasted defeat in February 2013 against Blackburn Rovers.

As Arsenal fans unfurled a large banner proclaiming ‘Thanks for the memories Arsene, time to go’ before kick-off, a visiting side showing six changes started brightly and had the ball in the net early on only for Walcott’s crisply-taken volley from inside the area to be correctly ruled out for offside.

Joel Campbell should have done better when curling a shot from 15 yards wide as Hull were caught by a swift Walcott-inspired counter-attack, but it was the hosts who came close to breaking the deadlock when a stunning save low to his right from Arsenal ‘keeper David Ospina diverted a deflected 20-yard effort from David Meyler that appeared destined for the bottom corner.

HULL RESISTANCE BROKEN

Wenger’s side took the lead five minutes before the interval with the first goal second-tier Hull have conceded at home for 652 minutes.

Giroud scored for the first time since bagging two in the 3-3 draw with Liverpool in mid-January as he put the ball through the legs of Eldin Jakupovic from close range after Meyler failed to see the danger when attempting to pass the ball back to his ‘keeper.

Kieran Gibbs was unfortunate not to add to the lead before the break, the defender seeing a 25-yard effort strike the bar after finding space following a short corner.

Gabriel limped off early in the second half, joining Mertesacker on the Gunners’ injury list after the German international had been forced off looking groggy before the interval.

He needed stitches in a head wound following an accidental clash with Hull forward Nick Powell, substitute Nacho Monreal coming on as an emergency centre-back.

Gabriel’s replacement Aaron Ramsey came within inches of inadvertently heading a cross into his own net as Championship promotion contenders Hull enjoyed their most sustained spell of pressure midway through the second half thanks to the introduction of substitute Sone Aluko.

Giroud’s 20th goal of the campaign – a volley from a deflected Walcott cross – put the result beyond doubt before Ramsey was withdrawn as he appeared to indicate to Wenger that he was feeling a calf problem.

Walcott then added a third with 13 minutes remaining as the forward calmly passed the ball into the bottom corner from 10 yards after Campbell’s sublime through-ball found him in space in the area.

And Walcott added the fourth with two minutes left with the aid of a deflection off defender Alex Bruce as he sprinted onto an Alex Iwobi pass to fire in an angled drive.

Draw for the quarter-finals of the FA Cup:

Reading vs Crystal Palace

Everton vs Chelsea

Arsenal vs Watford

Manchester United vs West Ham United

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