Liverpool handed its fiercest rival a painful lesson 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 is well placed to progress along with the German coach's former club Borussia Dortmund which underlined its status as favorite with a masterclass show against Tottenham Hotspur. Dortmund's Marco Reus scored twice in the second half, after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had given it a 30th-minute lead, in a classy 3-0 victory over a Spurs side who rested a number of players with one eye on its 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 which 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 rival 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 which was in control and it 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 converted 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. 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 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. In 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.
