LONDON -- Liverpool put its Europa League campaign back on track by beating big-spending Anzhi Makhachkala 1-0 on Thursday, and Inter Milan broke through Partizan Belgrades resistance late on to win by the same score line. Stewart Downing scored a rare goal at the start of the second half from outside the penalty area to clinch Liverpools victory. "It was brilliant goal," Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said. "Hes had a rough ride here really. Its been difficult time for him, but he got a great round of applause from the Kop and if you can get that from the Kop then itll give you a massive lift going forward." The five-time winners of the more illustrious European Cup had lost two of their three matches in the Europa League but are now top of Group A. Liverpool has a two-point lead over Anzhi and Udinese, which lost 3-1 at bottom-place Young Boys. In Milan, Inter took until the 88th minute to break the deadlock with Rodrigo Palacios header winning the clash with Partizan Belgrade. The victory kept Inter level on seven points with Rubin Kazan at the top of Group H. Rubin beat Neftchi 1-0 courtesy of Alan Kasaevs first-half goal. Atletico Madrid maintained the perfect start to its defence of its Europa League title, with goals from Diego Costa and Emre Belozoglu securing a 2-1 victory over Portuguese club Academica. The Spanish club holds a three-point lead in Group B over Viktoria Plzen, which won 2-1 at Hapoel Tel Aviv. Lyon emulated Atletico by making it three wins out of three in Group I, securing a 2-1 victory over last years beaten finalists Athletic Bilbao courtesy of Jimmy Briands late goal. Sparta Prague is three points behind after after beating Ironi Kiryat Shmona 3-1. Unbeaten Newcastle is leading the way in Group D as the Ameobi brothers setup Gabriel Obertans goal in a 1-0 victory over Club Brugge. Sammy Ameobi latched onto brother Sholas neat flick and played the ball into space before laying it into the path of Obertan to secure the win. Newcastle is three points ahead of Bordeaux, which was held to a 1-1 draw by Maritimo. But Newcastles Premier League rival Tottenham endured a frustrating night, slumping to a third draw in Group J. Spurs Gylfi Sigurdsson retrieved a 1-1 draw at Maribor, cancelling out Robert Berics goal. Lazio remains top of Group J despite also being held to a 1-1 draw against Panathinaikos as Toche struck for the Greek side in the 90th minute to cancel out Giorgos Seitaridis first-half own goal. Three people were hurt and four detained after several hundred fans were involved in clashes before the match in Athens. Marseille surrendered top spot in Group C after losing 2-0 at Borussia Monchengladbach. Fenerbahce now leads the way -- with a three-point advantage over Marseille and Monchengladbach -- after Egeman Korkmazs goal secured a 1-0 win at AEL Limassol. CLEVELAND -- Pristine one week, penalized the next. The second time around was sloppy for the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions. Colt McCoy threw three touchdown passes -- two to tight end Evan Moore -- in the first half, but the Browns blew a 15-point lead after halftime and lost 30-28 to the Lions on Friday night in a penalty-filled exhibition that showed both teams have plenty to fix in the next three weeks before the season opener. "Weve got a lot of work to do," McCoy said. "Theres plenty to clean up." "Way too sloppy with penalties," said Lions coach Jim Schwartz. McCoy finished 10 of 18 for 96 yards, his second straight solid performance running first-year Browns coach Pat Shurmurs new West Coast offence. McCoy was victimized by a few drops and wasnt as sharp as in last weeks win over the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. However, the second-year QB showed poise, ran away from Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and didnt force any throws while playing most of the first half. "A lot of people wanted to anoint us after last week," said McCoy, who was pressured and knocked down several times. "There were a lot of rough things here and there." The Lions (2-0) trailed 28-13 early in the third but got a 20-yard TD pass from Drew Stanton in the third and Dave Rayners 48-yard field goal with 9:51 left. Referee Mike Carey and his officiating crew had a busy night. The teams were assessed 26 penalties for 211 yards. Moore caught TDs of two and 21 yards, rookie Greg Little grabbed a 13-yarder from McCoy, and rookie Armond Smith had an 81-yard TD run in the third for the Browns (1-1), who were without eight starters, including star running back Peyton Hillis. Smith also had two fumbles, helping the Lions rally. "We went to getting pretty sloppy," Shurmur said. "Numerous penalties and two fumbles. Those are killers. The guys in the game are in charge of winning the game." Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford threw one TD pass to Nate Burleson. Stafford, who threw two TDs in last weeks 34-3 blowout of Cincinnati, went 6 of 10 for 85 yards in four series. Jason Hanson kicked two field goals for the Lions, who also rested several starters, including wide receiver Calvin Johnson, because of injuries. "We did a good job considering we had a couple of key guys out," Stafford said. "The guys who stepped in played well. Our other quarterbacks played well, too." McCoy seems perfectly suited for the West Coast attack, an offence that puts a premium on accuracy, timing and precision -- by the QB and receivers. Earlier this week, McCoy revealed he spent time during the NFL lockout in Mississippi learning the offences many nuances from Brett Favre, who was taught it in Green Bay by Browns president Mike Holmgren. With the Browns thin at wide receiver, Moore, who showed potential last season but has had injury issues, could become McCoys favourite target. The six-foot-six, 250-pounder certainly looks the part, but it remains to be seen if he can handle it. McCoy found him twice in the first half, helping the Browns build a 21-10 lead. Moore later took a hard hit on a 17-yard reception..dddddddddddd He got up slowly and remained in the game. Moore didnt return to the sideline after halftime, and Shurmur confirmed the fourth-year suffered a head injury. "I dont know exactly the final analysis on that," Shurmur said. The Browns first possession was poor -- two dropped passes and a one-yard run that set the tone for the night. But Cleveland got the ball back when rookie defensive end Jabaal Sheard stripped Lions running back Jahvid Best. McCoy made the Lions pay with his quick TD toss to Moore. Stafford came back and tied it with his four-yard strike to Burleson, who made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone and was able to get both feet down. Burleson then mocked Clevelands crowd by mimicking the chalk toss that NBA star LeBron James made famous with the Cavaliers. McCoys second TD toss to Moore put the Browns ahead 14-10. After Jordan Norwoods 20-yard punt return, McCoy lofted a pass into the end zone for Moore, who made a sliding over-the-shoulder catch in the right corner that was first ruled out of bounds. However, the call was overturned by a video replay. McCoys TD pass to Little followed a sequence of five penalties -- three by the Browns, two by the Lions -- in six plays. It was Littles first TD in over two years because he had to sit out last season at North Carolina for having improper dealings with an agent, and he celebrated by punting the ball into the stands. That didnt please Shurmur, who spoke with the second-round pick on the sideline. "I told him not to do that," Shurmur said. Little seemed to get the message. "Im sorry I did it because of the scrutiny that comes after that type of thing," he said. "I wish I could have it as a souvenir, but some lucky fan has it all his own." McCoy also avoided any major contact with Suh, fined US$20,000 on Wednesday by the league for a hit on Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton last week. Suh only got his hands on McCoy once, pushing him out of bounds to end a scramble. "He was definitely feeling pressure in the pocket," said Lions defensive tackle Corey Williams. "He was kind of moving around, but we werent able to get him down." Detroits offence was missing one of its main cogs as Johnson was a late scratch with a bruised shoulder. A Lions spokesman said Johnson was held out as a precaution. Notes: Schwartz said Best felt "a little woozy" after a hit in the first half. He did not return, but Schwartz provided no other details. ... Browns RB Brandon Jackson suffered a turf toe, Shurmur said. ... Hillis (hamstring) didnt dress and he wasnt alone as the Browns rested starting G Eric Steinbach (back) LBs Scott Fujita (hamstring) and Chris Gocong (stinger), safeties T.J. Ward (hamstring) and Usama Young (hamstring), and RB Montario Hardesty (knee), who took part in contact drills for the first time this week. ... The Lions were without starting CB Chris Houston (groin), T Jeff Backus (chest) and TE Tony Scheffler (cut hand).. ... The Browns will be at former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryors workout on Saturday in Pennsylvania. Pryor is eligible for Mondays rescheduled supplemental draft. ' ' '