Holders Atletico Madrid won for the first time in the Europa League this season, beating Rosenborg 3-0, while Emmanuel Adebayor scored a hat-trick as Manchester City beat Lech Poznan 3-1. Swiss second division side Lausanne, trailing 3-1 at Sparta Prague after 23 minutes, hit back to draw 3-3 in the night's shock result while Italy's four teams all failed to win.
Swiss second division side Lausanne draw in Prague Palermo produced the worst performance of the quartet, losing 3-0 at home to CSKA Moscow, while Napoli were held to a goalless draw by visitors Liverpool. Zenit St Petersburg, VfB Stuttgart, Porto and Sporting all won to maintain 100 percent records after three games along with CSKA.
Atletico, who took just one point from their first two Group B games, went ahead with a header by Uruguay defender Diego Godin in the 18th minute at home to Rosenborg, who are unbeaten in their 27 Norwegian league matches this season. Atletico are one point behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen who drew 0-0 at Aris Salonika.
Togo striker Adebayor sent City top of Group A and handed Poland's Lech Poznan their first defeat. Adebayor turned past Lech captain Bartosz Bosacki before slotting home his first goal of the season in the 13th minute and headed winger David Silva's pinpoint cross into the bottom corner 12 minutes later. The group's other game saw Juventus draw 1-1 at winless Salzburg, halftime substitute Milos Krasic scoring early in the second period for the former European champions after Dusan Svento had given the Austrian champions a 36th-minute lead.
Napoli were held at home by a Liverpool side who rested captain Steven Gerrard and striker Fernando Torres but did enough to stay top of Group K with five points, two clear of Napoli and Utrecht. Sampdoria lost 2-1 at 10-man Metalist Kharkiv in Ukraine despite going ahead through Vladimir Koman in the 32nd minute of the Group I match.
Goals from Sparta's Ivorian Wilfried Bony either side of Juraj Kucka's 20th-minute effort put the Czechs 3-1 up after Sebastien Meoli had headed the Swiss into an early lead. Group G leaders Zenit, champions in 2008 when the tournament was in its previous guise as the UEFA Cup, enjoyed a comfortable 2-0 win at home to Croatia's Hajduk Split.
VfB Stuttgart, bottom of the Bundesliga, shrugged off the poor domestic form that last week cost coach Christian Gross his job to beat Getafe 1-0 in Group H with a Ciprian Marica goal in the 29th minute. Brazilian forward Hulk scored two second-half goals to help Porto win 3-1 at Besiktas in Group L and Group C leaders Sporting thumped Gent 5-1 for the night's biggest win, Liedson scoring twice.