"Liberal" means different things in Europe and the US. In Europe, it's more along the lines of "classic liberal", which is not left-leaning, particularly, although The Economist does espouse some things that some elements of the left in the US do, such as legalization of drugs and gun control. They have also endorsed Democrats in the presidential elections, such as Hillary, as well as Republicans, in the past.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_liberalism

It's perfectly possible to disagree with them on a variety of issues, but pigeonholing them as 'left' or 'right' is inaccurate.