All the big-guns got off to a good start in their respective Europa League matches, with Brendan Rodgers beginning his reign as Liverpool manager on a winning note.
Liverpool scored a 1-0 away win against FC Gomel in the third round match, thanks to a 67th minute strike from the much-maligned Stewart Downing.
Goals from Wesley Sneijder, Yuto Nagatomo and Philippe Coutinho helped Inter Milan to a comfortable 3-0 win over Hajduk Split. Last year's runners up Athletic Bilbao rode on a brace from Ismael Lopez to register a 3-1 win.
FC Twente beat Mlade Boleslav 2-0, while Russian money bags Anzhi Makhachkala beat Vitesse Arnhem with the same score. Herenveen strolled past Rapid Bucharesti 4-0, but Marseille were surprisingly held 1-1 by Eskisehirspor.
Downing's long-range effort halfway through the second half was enough for Liverpool to take a narrow lead to their second leg encounter at Anfield.
Rodgers' men were given a tough time for much of the game, with the home side dominating, but the hosts were let down by some poor finishing. The Liverpool back-four, missing Daniel Agger, who was left out of the side despite not having an injury, was shaky throughout the match, and the Reds will go back home considering themselves lucky to have the advantage.
The former Swansea City coach, however, defended his side's performance, saying it would take time for Liverpool to play the way he wants. "It will take time until Liverpool start playing the way Swansea did last season," he said. "Actually the way you play depends on the players you have.
"As for today I saw two things which were very important for me, I saw desire and commitment. I am very grateful to my players for a good game.
"Obviously it was a serious test of the players' fitness and I am really happy with the result.
"This was my first competitive game in charge of Liverpool and for me it didn't really matter whether the game was played in Belarus or Brazil as I am really honoured to manage this side.
"This game was a great test for us at this point of the season. Today we saw that Gomel is a very good club which is already into the season.
"Their tactical idea was to defend and counter-attack so it was difficult for us to find the open spaces in the first half but at half-time I told my players to be patient and that the chances would come.
"After the first 45 minutes I also changed the structure of the midfield and Steven Gerrard started to play a bit lower than the other two central midfielders.
"I am glad that Stewart scored the goal as we put him on that side to come in and shoot. It was a great shot."
Gomel coach Oleg Kubarev was, understandably, disappointed with the result.
"I hope that we gave our city and our fans a great day," he said. "It is a pity that we lost. The team played well and at least deserved a draw.
"We are very upset but we can prepare for the next game even better and we are going there to give a fight."
