Fenerbahce hold narrow lead

Istanbul - Defender Egemen Korkmaz's second-half header earned Fenerbahce a deserved 1-0 victory in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Benfica on Thursday.

The Turkish club had been cursing their luck after a penalty miss and the woodwork had kept it 0-0 but Korkmaz's 72nd minute header which bounced narrowly over the line off the crossbar gave them a narrow lead to take to Lisbon next week.

Fenerbahce should have taken the lead on the stroke of half-time but Cristian's spot kick, awarded after Benfica's John fouled Gokhan Gonul, struck the foot of the post.

Benfica also had some chances but they were clearly missing captain Luisao.

Europa League semi-final first leg results on Thursday:

FC Basel (SUI) 1 (Schar 87-pen) Chelsea (ENG) 2 (Moses 12, Luiz 90)

Fenerbahce (TUR) 1 (Korkmaz 72) Benfica (POR) 0