Yahoo Sport 
EUROPA LEAGUE: Top five talking points
1) No substitute for togetherness in north London
The modern game is, undoubtedly, a squad game. Gone are the days when you would see the same XI contest the majority of the games in a season, bar injuries - Blackburn’s title-winning team of 1994–95 springing readily to mind.
The bloated squads that we have become accustomed to seeing, though, also bring their own problems. With playing time at a premium, certain players can get aggro if left out for any length of time especially internationals who crave the spotlight.
Tottenham have one of these large squads and struggled to get the balance right in recent years. Long cup runs helped to assuage a few players, however when those runs were cut short the benched players sulked and rarely made a contribution when called upon.
This season seems to have turned a corner at White Hart Lane in this respect, Andros Townsend’s weekend strop aside, with the substitutes regularly making positive impacts in key games to help Spurs into a commanding position at home and abroad.
Mousa Dembélé might have felt aggrieved not to start against Anderlecht after two goals in two games, but he didn’t let it show. He came on looking to make his mark and fired home a stupendous shot with his weak foot to snatch a late win.
With Son Heung-min back fit and young rookie Josh Onomah eager to stand out, boss Mauricio Pochettino has a seemingly tight knit squad firing on several cylinders ahead of the crucial derby against Arsenal this weekend.
2) Reds players have bought into the Klopp mantra
Jürgen Klopp is a confident man. We know that much. He is not an arrogant one, though, in the Mourinho mould if you witness his humble press conferences.
He appears to have the knack of being both the demanding task master and someone you could quite happily spend an evening knocking back pints in the pub with.
After the Brendan Rodgers experiment petered out, Klopp knew that it might take a bit of time to embed the rigorous work ethic demanded of his players which led to the success Klopp enjoyed at both Mainz and Borussia Dortmund.
Three draws in and there was a feeling that could be the case. The Anfield win over Bournemouth, though, seemed to make something click in a talented group of players who weren’t quite sure where they stood under Rodgers.
The dodgy pitch at Rubin Kazan was the perfect excuse for any Liverpool players who hadn’t fully bought into Klopp’s thinking to shirk responsibility. Instead we saw a hardworking team ethic result in a gritty away win that means Liverpool can qualify if they see off Bordeaux at home next time out.
There was a twinkle in Klopp’s eye in the post-match interviews that suggests he knows full well the players at his disposal have what it takes to deliver the good times back to a club that doesn’t like second best.
3) Age no barrier for the Viking raiders
The fact that two of Ajax, Celtic and Fenerbahce will be bowing out early in this season’s competition is a shock in itself, let alone at the hands of Molde.
The Norwegian side do not have an enviable track record in European competition, of that there is no doubt, despite the presence of a Champions League winner in Ole Gunnar Solskjær at the tiller of their raiding ship.
They were not expected to trouble the three high-profile teams in Group A, yet they have booked their passage into the next round with two games still to play.
With Celtic missing a few golden chances to get something out of Thursday’s home game and visiting keeper Ethan Horvath pulling off world class saves when they did hit the target, the Scottish fans might feel embarrassed at this loss.
That would do a great disservice to the Norwegians, though, as they have clicked magnificently in Europe under Solskjær’s keen eye.
It came as no surprise to see skipper Daniel Berg Hestad net the winner either to make Europa League history, the 40-year-old epitomising everything that the former United striker demands of a team that plays under him.
4) Rapid Vienna master counter to seal progress
Austrian outfit Rapid Vienna went into the fourth round of matches as only one of a handful with three wins out of three.
Much like Molde, they are not exactly one of the most fashionable teams plying their trade in Europe presently but they will not give a hoot after they raced through Group E qualification in double quick time.
With just 37% possession away to Viktoria Plzen, they soaked up everything the Czech side threw at them then used a goal in each half from attacking midfielder Philipp Schobesberger to cancel out the home side’s 71st-minute leveller.
Manager Zoran Barisic only managed one Austrian cap in his well travelled playing career but, as we’ve seen from many successful bosses over the years, it means little when patrolling the other side of the touchline.
He has moulded an efficient outfit who know when to take their chances and although they needed a freakily lucky second goal from Schobesberger to win their fourth on the spin, not many teams will be wanting them out the hat in the next round.
5) Albania give smaller nations another shot in the arm
Albanian champions Skënderbeu were not expected to provide much opposition to Sporting Lisbon after losing their first two Group H games before Sporting dished out a 5-1 hammering in Portugal last time out.
Sport, though, has a wonderful knack of delivering fairytale stories at the most bizarre times and tonight was no exception.
Albanian international midfielder Sabien Lilaj scored twice in 19 minutes, the second from the spot after visiting keeper Rui Patrício saw red to put them firmly in the driving seat with Malian Bakary Nimaga adding gloss in the 55th minute.
The home side duly recorded their first ever points in European competition and gave fans of the beautiful game another delightful tale to wallow in.
The Europa League has its detractors, however the emergence of the less glamorous nations has been something to savour and Skënderbeu’s special night a fitting end to an engrossing fourth round of group games.
Join me on 26th November for the next round of reflection.
