Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen came from two goals down to secure a 2-2 draw away at Qarabag in their Europa League last 16 first leg on Thursday.
While Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool put Sparta Prague to the sword, the man who is tipped to take over at Anfield this summer recovered from something of a wobble to keep up his side's unbeaten record this season.
A heavily rotated Leverkusen went two down by half-time in Azerbaijan, thanks to goals from Yassine Benzia and Juninho.
Alonso's team trailed by two until the 70th minute when substitute (and another man linked with Liverpool) Florian Wirtz pulled one back.
It wasn't until the 92nd minute, however, that another sub in Patrik Schick rescued the draw for Leverkusen.
After Liverpool, Leverkusen are the favourites to lift the Europa League in Dublin come May.
While the Reds chase an unprecedented quadruple, Alonso's undefeated side are still on for their own treble, as they lead the Bundesliga by ten points and and remain in the DFB Pokal.
Speaking after the match, the Leverkusen boss insisted he is not worried about his unbeaten run, which stretches to 35 games in all competitions, coming to an end.
He said: "To be honest, I'm not too scared of the first defeat. It can happen, that's football... I won't be worried. The most important thing for me is that the momentum, the mood and the energy in the team is good. And hopefully that will still be the case after a defeat."
How the other Liverpool candidates got on in Europe
As Alonso survived a scare in Azerbaijan, it was a night to forget for another supposed contender for the Liverpool job.
Roberto De Zerbi's Brighton fell 4-0 to Roma in the Italian capital.
The Seagulls have now lost four of their last six in all competitions.
Meanwhile, a day earlier Ruben Amorim, often touted as the backup candidate for the Liverpool hotseat if Alonso cannot be persuaded, saw his Sporting CP side draw 1-1 at home to Atalanta.
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