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This is an archive article published on October 23, 2010

With fans fighting in the stands,Liverpool,Napoli battle out a draw

Liverpool stayed top of Group K in the Europa League by holding Napoli to a goalless draw in a match.

Liverpool stayed top of Group K in the Europa League by holding Napoli to a goalless draw in a match marred by clashes between both sets of supporters inside and outside San Paolo Stadium. Three people were arrested and up to 10 people injured in clashes on the eve of the match,while five police officers were hurt around kickoff time.

On the pitch,a largely second-string Liverpool side battled to earn a point,keeping the five-time European champions unbeaten and on five points from three games.

short article insert Zenit St Peterburg,Stuttgart,Sporting,FC Porto and CSKA Moscow all won to maintain their perfect starts but Italian giant Juventus is still without a victory in Group A after drawing 1-1 at Red Bull Salzburg. Elsewhere,defending champion Atletico Madrid finally claimed a win in Group B,beating Rosenborg 3-0 to climb from bottom to second in the standings.

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The atmosphere ahead of the match in Naples was always likely to be volatile after events of the previous night,with reports of knives and rocks being used in clashes between fans and police. Napolis supporters made themselves heard throughout and Edinson Cavani was the teams main threat,the Uruguay striker drawing a save out of Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina and also heading wide in the second half.

Marek Hamsik had a shot cleared off the line by Liverpool defender Paul Konchesky as the English team,which rested first-team Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard,withstood heavy pressure. Napoli is level on three points with Utrecht,which conceded an own goal through defender Alje Schut to draw 1-1 at home to Steaua Bucharest. With Paris Saint-Germain drawing 1-1 at Borussia Dortmund to relinquish its 100 percent start in Group J,there are five teams left with perfect records after three matches in Europes second-tier club competition.

Zenit,which won the tournament in 2008 when it was called the UEFA Cup,is six points clear in Group G after beating Hajduk Split 2-0.

Stuttgart also moved onto nine points as Ciprian Maricas 29th-minute goal gave the German side a 1-0 win over Getafe in Group H.

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Brazilian striker Hulk scored a second-half brace for FC Porto as the Portuguese team won against Besiktas 3-1 in Group L. CSKA,the winner in 2005,posted its third successive 3-0 win by thrashing Italian side Palermo. Liedson scored two of Sportings goals in its 5-1 thrashing of Ghent that puts it five points clear in Group C.

In Group A,Juventus was held by Salzburg,leaving it third after three consecutive draws. Manchester City topped group on seven points as Emmanuel Adebayors hat trick led it to a 3-1 home win over Lech Poznan. Atletico,which beat Fulham 2-1 in last seasons Europa League final,routed Rosenborg,with Diego Godin,Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa all on target.

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