Liverpool slumps to Lille loss

Liverpool's stuttering season took another turn for the worse on Friday morning as it lost 1-0 away to Lille in the first leg of its Europa League last-16 clash.

Eden Hazard's 84th-minute free kick from way out on the left evaded everyone in the area before sneaking inside the far post to give the Ligue 1 side victory over the favourites for the competition.

Fulham's hopes of a fairytale place in the quarter-finals were left hanging by a thread as European heavyweights Juventus outclassed Roy Hodgson's side at the Stadio Olimpico di Turin.

The Cottagers struggled for possession in the first half and went 2-0 down within 30 minutes thanks to goals from Nicola Legrottaglie and Jonathan Zebina.

Dickson Etuhu pulled one back but Hodgson's men always looked second best and David Trezeguet's sharp third goal emphasised the gulf in class between the two sides.

Hamburg won 3-1 over Anderlecht at the HSV-Arena.

Goals from Joris Mathijsen and Ruud van Nistelrooy put the Bundesliga side two up before Jonathan Legear curled home a glorious free kick in first-half stoppage time for the Belgians.

But David Jarolim guided a volley into the bottom corner from the edge of the area in the 67th minute to restore Hamburg's two-goal advantage.

Wolfsburg has the upper hand in ots tie with Rubin Kazan after drawing the first leg in Russia 1-1.

Zvjezdan Misimovic equalised in the 67th minute to cancel out Cristian Noboa's opener just before the half-hour mark.

Atletico Madrid and Sporting Lisbon drew 0-0 in the Spanish capital.

The visitors played for most of the game with 10 men following the 31st-minute sending off of Leandro Grimi for two yellow cards.

And they were reduced to nine in the 89th minute when Tonel received a straight red.

Second-half Marseille substitute Hatem Ben Arfa headed a 90th-minute away goal to snatch a 1-1 draw with Benfica, stun the hosts and put the French team in the driving seat of their tie.

Ben Arfa, who came off the bench in the 74th minute, cancelled out Maxi Pereira's 77th-minute opener in the first leg in Lisbon.

The hosts had the lion's share of the chances but rarely tested Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda and their wayward finishing proved costly.

In other first-leg results, Belgian outfit Standard Liege recorded a devastating 3-1 win away to Greek team Panathinaikos and Valencia drew 1-1 with Werder Bremen at the Estadio Mestalla.