LONDON-- Juergen Klopp got a taste of the problems at Liverpool as his first home game as manager ended in a frustrating 1-1 draw against Rubin Kazan who played more than 50 minutes with 10 men in the Europa League on Thursday.
  As Klopp's new charges struggled to break down limited Russian opponents, the German's former side Borussia Dortmund were ruthless with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring a superbly-executed hat-trick.
  Dortmund secured a 3-1 win at Azerbaijani outfit Qabala on a night when Anderlecht came from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in a 1984 UEFA Cup final rematch and Sporting Lisbon thumped Albanian side Skenderbeu 5-1.
  Spain's Villarreal continued their bright start to the season with a 4-0 victory over Dinamo Minsk but Fiorentina suffered a surprise 2-1 home defeat by Lech Poznan and former European champions Celtic lost 3-1 at Norwegians Molde.
  Klopp had warned Liverpool fans he had no stardust to sprinkle on the squad and magically turn around their poor early-season form and Thursday's display proved him right.
  Kazan silenced the boisterous home crowd when they took the lead through Marko Devic's superb rising finish but a red card in the 36th minute for captain Oleg Kuzmin changed the dynamic of the match and handed Liverpool a route back.
  However, after Emre Can levelled from close range, the hosts huffed and puffed and created little to leave Liverpool trailing Group B leaders Sion by four points.
  "Tonight is not an absolute masterclass but it's not the worst day in my life," Klopp told reporters.
  "Sometimes it's a big advantage against 10 men. Sometimes it's a thankless job."
  Klopp's former frontman Aubameyang continued his scorching form with a superb treble as the Germans strolled to a victory that kept them top of Group C with seven points from three matches.
  Having already bagged 10 Bundesliga goals this season, the Gabon striker opened his Europa League account when he found the top corner after 31 minutes.
  He doubled his tally with a poked finish after exchanging passes with Shinji Kagawa seven minutes later and then made the game safe with 18 minutes remaining when he pounced on a loose ball before Qabala grabbed a late consolation.
  Anderlecht's Stefano Okaka bagged their winner against Tottenham in the 75th minute when he fired home from close range to complete an impressive comeback and secure the Belgian team's first win in Group J.
  The Premier League club had made a superb start when Christian Eriksen put them ahead after four minutes as an attempted clearance deflected into his path and he calmly slotted home.
  The Belgians, who lost the 1984 final on penalties, were level nine minutes later with Guillaume Gillet arrowing a perfectly-controlled half volley into the net from the edge of the area.
  Okaka's winner moved Anderlecht level with Tottenham on four points, one behind group leaders Monaco who beat Qarabag 1-0.
  Napoli's Manolo Gabbiadini scored twice in a 4-1 triumph at Danish side Midtjylland to maintain their 100 percent record in Group D while Fenerbahce's Fernandao netted an 89th-minute goal in a 1-0 win at home to Ajax Amsterdam in Group A.
  Lazio saw off Norwegian side Rosenborg Trondheim 3-1 in Group G despite having Brazilian Mauricio sent off after six minutes and it was a dismal night for Fiorentina.
  Dawid Kownacki and Maciej Gajos struck in the second half for Polish side Poznan and although Giuseppe Rossi pulled one back for Fiorentina late on, Italian misery was complete when Ante Rebic received a late red card.
  Fiorentina have now lost their last three European home games and are bottom of Group I.
  Schalke 04 stayed top of Group K but could only draw 2-2 at home to Sparta Prague, who trail them by two points, while last season's beaten finalists Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk were beaten 1-0 at home by St Etienne in Group G.

WOLFSBURG, Germany-- VfL Wolfsburg scored twice in 11 minutes through Bas Dost and Max Kruse to beat PSV Eindhoven 2-0 in their Champions League Group B game on Wednesday, boosting their chances of a top-two finish with their second home win of the competition.
  Dutch striker Dost got his maiden Champions League goal a minute after the restart and in-form Kruse added another with a glancing header in the 57th minute with keeper Diego Benaglio saving a PSV penalty in stoppage time.
  The result lifts Wolfsburg, who have also gone 27 home matches in the Bundesliga without defeat, to six points.
  PSV have failed to win away against German opposition for 15 consecutive games in a run stretching back to 1977 and are on three points.
  Wolfsburg, who ended a four-match winless run in the Bundesliga by beating Hoffenheim 4-2 on Saturday, set a frenzied early pace and had four attempts on goal in the first four minutes.
  The visitors, with top scorer Luuk De Jong back fit, gradually managed to keep more possession and took some of the sting out of Wolfsburg.
  Luiz Gustavo fired over the bar with the Germans' best chance of the first half just after half an hour while PSV responded with Adam Maher, left completely unmarked in the box, rising high to head narrowly wide three minutes before the break.
  Wolfsburg were stronger after the restart and the 26-year-old Dost, who has scored six times in the league this season, tapped in on the rebound after keeper Jeroen Zoet had saved a shot from Josuha Guilavogui for his maiden goal in the competition.
  Germany international Kruse's glancing header gave them a two-goal cushion as their early pressure in the second half paid off.
  PSV never found a way back into the game even after coach Phillip Cocu brought on another striker in Juergen Locadia, who had his stoppage time spot kick saved.

INDIA-- Virat Kohli struck his first one-day international century since the World Cup in February to lead India to a series-levelling 35-run victory over South Africa in Chennai on Thursday.
Kohli made a fluent 138, his third-highest knock in 165 ODIs, to steer the hosts to an imposing 299 for eight in the fourth match of the five-game series.
South Africa replied with 264 for nine, AB de Villiers top-scoring with 112 off 107 balls, as India tied the series at 2-2 ahead of the deciding fifth match in Mumbai on Sunday.
Kohli's 138 came off 140 deliveries and featured six fours and five sixes including one off Aaron Phangiso to bring up his 23rd ODI hundred and his first against the Proteas.
The Indian batsman shared two century partnerships, the first with Ajinkya Rahane (45) and the second with Suresh Raina (53) who bounced back to form after making ducks in his two previous matches.
Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada were the pick of the South African bowlers, taking three wickets each.
"It always feels good when you get a century and the team wins," Kohli said. "I told (De Villiers) in the dressing room my heart was in my mouth when he was batting.
"He plays unbelievable shots. He's a very modest man, too, never praises himself, so I'll do that for him. The credit goes to him. He fought it out."
Quinton de Kock got South Africa's reply off to a flying start when he blasted 43 off 35 balls but his departure left De Villiers to fight a lone hand.
Like Kohli, the South African captain brought up his ton with a six, off Amit Mishral.
It was his 22nd ODI hundred, a record for a South African, but was not enough to get his team over the line after he fell to Bhuvneshwar Kumar who scooped up the last three wickets to finish with three for 68.
"We had a great opportunity to clinch the series," De Villiers said. "It was a hard-fought game and I loved the way the boys fought till the end."

TORONTO-- The Toronto Blue Jays got a pitching masterpiece from Marco Estrada in a one-sided 7-1 win on Wednesday to keep their season alive and put the Kansas City Royals' hopes of securing a World Series berth on hold.
  Estrada allowed three hits and one run in 7-2/3 innings and faced the minimum 18 batters through six innings as Toronto pulled to within 3-2 in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series.
  "Today he was absolutely dynamite," Royals managers Ned Yost said of Estrada. "He didn't miss spots. His change-up was fantastic, he just didn't give us anything to hit."
  Chris Colabello gave Toronto the early lead with a second inning solo home run and Troy Tulowitzki broke the game open in the sixth when he lined a three-run double to centre to give the Blue Jays a 5-0 lead.
  The Royals will get another chance to clinch their second consecutive trip to the World Series when the series resumes in Kansas City on Friday.
  "We knew it was going to be a tough series," Yost told reporters. "After winning the first two games, in reality your goal is to come to Toronto, kind of a foreign environment, and at least win one.
  "Then you get to go home and win one there and the series is over. Now we're going back to a place where we are completely comfortable. That's why home field advantage was so important to us."
  Despite a momentum-building win the Blue Jays still face a daunting challenge. Only 12 of 79 MLB teams to trail a League Championship Series or World Series have rallied back to win the best-of-seven battle.
  The Royals, however, are aware as any team that anything can happen having twice erased similar deficits themselves.
  In the 1985 ALCS the roles were reversed with the Royals rallying from 3-1 down to beat Toronto and again versus the St. Louis Cardinals to win that year's World Series.
  It is not unfamiliar territory for Toronto, who dropped the opening two games of the best-of-five AL Division Series to the Texas Rangers before winning the next three games to advance.
  "We didn't panic and that's what we do," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "That's what makes our offense so good. Guys take their walks and it sets up things for other guys."
  After two slugfests that produced 35 total runs, Game Five was a classic pitchers' duel between Estrada and Royals starter Edinson Volquez.
  Facing a do-or-die situation and their bullpen in tatters, Estrada delivered a performance the Blue Jays desperately needed while Volquez was nearly as effective limiting Toronto's big bats to one run until the sixth.
  Volquez began the inning with a lead off walk to Ben Revere then hit Josh Donaldson with a pitch and walked Jose Bautista to load the bases.
  He then walked Edwin Encarnacion to bring across a run before Tulowitzki brought the capacity crowd to its feet with a thundering shot to the wall.
  Toronto would add another run in the seventh to surge ahead 6-0 before Salvador Perez's two-out solo shot in the eighth would ruin the shutout.