 Inzaghi returned from injury |
Lazio striker Simone Inzaghi scored the winning goal in his side's 1-0 win over Turkish side Besiktas in their Uefa Cup quarter-final first leg in Rome. Coming on as a second-half substitute, Inzagi needed just six minutes to latch on to an Enrico Chiesa pass and fire a low shot past Besiktas keeper Oscar Cordoba.
The 56th-minute goal breathed life into what, until then, had been a subdued encounter.
Besiktas retaliated with striker Ilham Mansiz shooting narrowly wide and then directly at Lazio keeper Angelo Peruzzi.
Lazio, however, kept up the pressure on Besiktas, and could have increased their lead seven minutes from time when midfielder Stefano Fiore volleyed over an empty goal from close range.
A lone goal by Polish striker Emmanuel Olisadebe earned Panathinaikos a 1-0 away win over Porto.
The Panathinaikos defence withstood a fast-running Porto for the first half hour.
Portuguese forward Helder Postiga hit the post in one attack, struck the side-netting from a corner and later had a shot cleared off the line by Greek defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos.
Coach Jose Mourinho beefed up the Porto attack with three second-half substitutes and forward Cesar Peixoto came off the bench to shoot just wide, while playmaker Deco Souza's accuracy also failed him.
Olisadebe threatened early after the break by going clear, only to hit wide.
He did not miss a second chance offered by a cross from Joonas Kolkka in the 70th minute, which he headed past Vitor Baia.
Postiga found the net for Porto in injury time, but the Italian referee Domenico Messina ruled the forward was offside.
A sharply taken first half strike from Dely Valdes gave Uefa Cup debutants Malaga a 1-0 win over Boavista.
The Panamanian international scored at the far post after fine work from strike partner Dario Silva, who had raced away down the right and clipped in a cross after 18 minutes.
Joaquin Peiro's side came close to extending their lead in the dying moments of the first half when Kizito Musampa fired off a fierce free kick from the edge of the area, but Portuguese international keeper Ricardo denied him.
Substitute Manuel Canabal had a late chance to extend Malaga's lead when he fired off a low shot from the edge of the area in the last minute of normal time, but Ricardo turned it round the post with a spectacular diving save.
The second leg of the Uefa Cup quarter-finals will be played on 20 March.
MMIX
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