Mario Gomez`s goal put Fiorentina in the driving seat with a 1-1 draw at Juventus in a Europa League last-16 first leg while Benfica were too good for Tottenham Hotspur, winning 3-1 at White Hart Lane on Thursday.
Germany striker Gomez had not scored since returning in February after five months out with a knee injury but tilted the tie in his team`s favour with a 79th-minute strike while Real Betis tore up the form book to win 2-0 at local rivals Sevilla.
Jackson Martinez`s superb finish and Helton`s agile goalkeeping helped twice winners Porto beat Napoli 1-0 and Valencia played for more than an hour with 10 men but still beat Ludogorets 3-0 in Bulgaria.
The goals dried up for the previous round`s big scorers Salzburg who were held to a 0-0 draw at Basel, ending a run of 14 successive wins in all competitions.
Gueida Fofana scored twice as Olympique Lyon comfortably beat Viktoria Plzen 4-1 and AZ Alkmaar won 1-0 at home to Anzhi Makhachkala.
Reuters
First Published: Friday, March 14, 2014, 10:03
