13 March 2010 / REUTERS, LONDON
Five-time European champion Liverpool suffered a 1-0 defeat at Lille after a late goal by forward Eden Hazard while Juventus beat underdog Fulham 3-1 in Europa League last 16 first leg matches on Thursday.
Hamburg SV and Standard Liege also won 3-1 while there were 1-1 draws between Rubin Kazan and VfL Wolfsburg, Valencia versus Werder Bremen and Benfica against Olympique Marseille plus a goalless affair in the Atletico Madrid versus Sporting tie. The pressure on Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez continued after his side was undone by a fortuitous free kick from teenage Belgium forward Hazard with just minutes left on a cold night. The visitor, whose only chance of a trophy this season is in Europe’s second-tier competition, started with an attacking lineup of Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel, Dirk Kuyt and Steven Gerrard while Lille were without their top striker Gervinho. Other Thursday’s results: Rubin Kazan (Russia) 1, Wolfsburg (Germany) 1; Hamburg (Germany) 3, Anderlecht (Belgium) 1; Atletico Madrid (Spain) 0, Sporting Lisbon (Portugal) 0; Panathinaikos (Greece) 1, Standard Liege (Belgium) 3; Benfica (Portugal) 1, Marseille (France) 1; and Valencia (Spain) 1, Werder Bremen (Germany) 1.
