Amauri scored twice as Juventus beat Ajax 2-1 in the first leg of
their Europa League last 32 tie, while Valencia lost 1-0 to Club
Brugge.
Miralem Sulejmani put hosts Ajax ahead in the 16th minute,
but Brazilian striker Amauri brought the Bianconeri level after
half an hour.
His second just short of the hour mark ensured the Serie A
side take a one-goal lead into the second leg at the Stadio
Olimpico next week, although they will not be able to count on
Hasan Salihamidzic after he was shown the red card in stoppage
time.
Club Brugge pulled off an impressive 1-0 victory over Spanish
giants Valencia in the first leg of their last-32 clash in Belgium.
The visitors found themselves a man down six minutes into the
second half when midfielder David Silva picked up his second yellow
card.
And Brugge took full advantage, with Rostand Kouemaha netting
the only goal of the game in the 56th minute.
FC Twente will also take a slender 1-0 advantage into the
second leg of their tie against Werder Bremen, thanks to an
outstanding strike from Theo Janssen late in the first half.
Standard Liege came from two goals down to keep their Europa
League hopes alive with a thrilling 3-2 win over Salzburg.
Marc Janko grabbed Salzburg's goals in the first half, but
the home side roared back as Axel Witsel's penalty and Igor De
Camargo's long-range effort levelled the scores, before Witsel
headed the winner eight minutes from time.
Russia striker Aleksandr Bukharov scored twice as Rubin Kazan
moved to within touching distance of a place in the last 16 with a
3-0 rout of Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Bukharov scored after 14 and 24 minutes, and Sergei Semak
wrapped up a convincing win by grabbing the third goal midway
through the second half.
A late Marco Ruben goal snatched a 2-2 draw for 10-man
Villarreal against Wolfsburg in a dramatic finale.
Villarreal's European dreams seemed to be diminishing when
Grafite scored from the spot with just six minutes to go, following
Ivan Marcano's dismissal.
But substitute Ruben levelled seconds later to ensure the tie
remains very much alive.
Grafite had earlier netted a second-half equaliser for
Wolfsburg after Marcos Senna had fired the hosts in front three
minutes before the break.
Lille continued their superb run of form to claim a 2-1
victory against Fenerbahce.
The French side have been in inspired form since December,
climbing from 14th place to third in Ligue 1.
And they came out on top tonight thanks to Pierre-Alain
Frau's strike in the 52nd minute after Florent Balmont and Gokcek
Wederson had exchanged early goals.
Djibril Cisse scored one minute from time to hand
Panathinaikos a stunning 3-2 win against Roma in a dramatic finale
to tonight's first leg of their last-32 clash.
Trailing 2-1 with six minutes remaining, Lazaros
Christodoulopoulos came off the bench to score the equaliser before
Cisse's header from Dimitrios Salpigidis' cross gave the Greek side
an unexpected triumph.
Mirko Vucinic gave Roma the lead just before the half-hour
mark but Salpigidis put the hosts back on level terms in the 66th
minute.
David Pizarro put the Italians back in front from the penalty
spot with nine minutes to go after Giorgos Karagounis had brought
down substitute Alessio Cerci inside the area.
Angel Di Maria's early strike gave Benfica a vital away goal
in a 1-1 draw with Hertha Berlin.
Di Maria coolly slotted home for Jorge Jesus' side but an own
goal by Javi Garcia levelled matters with neither side able to find
a winner on the night.
Athletic Bilbao also claimed a 1-1 draw with Anderlecht.
Although Athletic enjoyed the lion's share of the ball in the
match, they fell behind to Lucas Biglia's 35th-minute strike.
Mikel San Jose eventually levelled the match just before the
hour mark, but the hosts were guilty of squandering a series of
chances.
Kader Keita struck a late equaliser to earn Galatasaray a 1-1
draw against Atletico Madrid, who had taken a 22nd-minute lead
through Jose Antonio Reyes' brilliant free-kick.
Marcell Jansen's first-half penalty was enough to earn
Hamburg a 1-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven in the opening leg of
their clash.
And a late Marseille flourish handed the French giants a 3-1
advantage over FC Copenhagen.
Goals from substitutes Hatem Ben Arfa and Charles Kabore in
the last six minutes leave the Danish outfit with everything to do
in the return fixture.
Mamadou Niang had broken the deadlock in the 72nd minute
before Jesper Gronkjaer levelled for the hosts from the spot eight
minutes later.
