Europa League quarter-final first-leg talking points

Origi blossoms in Dortmund
After Liverpool's 1-1 quarter-final first-leg draw at Borussia Dortmund, Divock Origi said: "Everybody told me I should play to my qualities, which are getting in behind the defenders, taking them on one-on-one and, of course, scoring." He did all of those.

Having shown flickers of promise throughout his debut Liverpool season, the young Belgian forward ticked all those boxes in an outstanding 84-minute display. The highlight was the Reds' away goal, Origi latching onto James Milner's flick in the 36th minute and – with a composure that belied his 20 years – finishing calmly past Roman Weidenfeller. Will he lead the line again next week?
Daniel Thacker

Steel and guile put Sevilla on course
With no away wins on their Liga or European travels in 2015/16 going into Thursday's first leg at Athletic Club, holders Sevilla raised their game once again in the UEFA Europa League. A goal down to on-fire Aritz Aduriz and close to conceding a second, Los Sevillistas were transformed after taking full advantage of a defensive mix-up to level the scores.

Bringing on Yevhen Konoplyanka and Vicente Iborra to further stretch a deflated Athletic, Unai Emery's visitors kept things tight, took the pace out of the contest and conjured a killer second – Kevin Gameiro assisting Iborra to nudge home.
Nick Aitken

Is Sparta's luck running out?
Sparta Praha have exceeded all expectations to get this far, but their tie against Villarreal should have been all over by half-time given the number of chances the home team squandered.

The Czech side would have gladly settled for a 2-1 defeat at the break. However, while an away goal looks useful, of more concern were bookings for Jakub Brabec and Costa which triggered one-match suspensions for two key defenders – a handicap which will weigh heavy on Zdeněk Ščasný's squad in the return leg.

Shakhtar may miss Rakitskiy
Several Shakhtar Donetsk players were reportedly carrying knocks in their 2-1 victory at Braga though there appeared little wrong with defender Yaroslav Rakitskiy. Ever alert and committed at the back – he made a crucial interception to cut out a cross at 0-0 – the centre-half's 45th-minute effort changed everything.

Goals from Rakitskiy are collectors' items (his strike on Thursday was only his third in 61 European club games), yet he took this one with aplomb. A yellow card rules him out of the rematch and he will be missed.