Liverpool have got their Europa League campaign off to a winning start with a thrilling 5-3 victory over Young Boys in Switzerland.

The Reds went ahead in comical circumstances after only three minutes as an attempted clearance by Christoph Spycher saw the ball come off the face of teammate Juhani Ojala before going into the net.

Raul Bobadilla nearly grabbed an equaliser for Young Boys, but his effort was pushed away by Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Jones.

Liverpool were pegged back six minutes before the break as Raphael Nuzzolo capitalised on some calamitous defending from Jose Enrique before converting.

Brendan Rodgers's men regained the lead just two minutes later though when Andre Wisdom headed in Nuri Sahin's cross.

There was still time for the woodwork to be rattled before the break as Alexander Farnerud's stinging long-range effort beat Jones but came back off the post.

It took Young Boys eight minutes after the restart to get themselves level when Ojala made amends for his earlier own goal with a powerful header from Bobadilla's cross.

Gonzalo Zarate then put the hosts ahead for the first time in the match just after the hour thanks to a smart finish.

The goals kept coming in Bern as both sides defended woefully and it was Sebastian Coates who got Liverpool back on terms with 20 minutes to play thanks to his header from a corner.

The turnaround was then complete on 75 minutes as substitute Jonjo Shelvey finished off a slick move to confidently slot in from 12 yards.

Shelvey then put the result beyond doubt in the 88th minute when he slotted in following a Liverpool counter attack.