It was a mixed night for England's trio of contenders in the Europa League on Thursday, with Chelsea winning their quarterfinal first leg while Tottenham Hotspur were held to a draw and Newcastle United lost in Portugal.
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Chelsea are in a strong position against Russian side Rubin Kazan after winning the first leg 3-1 at Stamford Bridge, but Tottenham have work to do following a 2-2 draw with Basle at White Hart Lane.
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Newcastle are in trouble following a 3-1 defeat to Benfica in Lisbon, while Fenerbahce beat Lazio 1-0 in Istanbul.
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Chelsea got off to a fantastic start in west London, opening the scoring 16 minutes in when Fernando Torres – sporting a face mask to protect a broken nose – stabbed in a David Luiz pass.
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Victor Moses then finished superbly on the half volley to double the Blues' lead just after the half-hour mark.
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Bebras Natcho netted a penalty after John Terry was penalised for handball to give the Russians a precious away goal just before halftime, but much- maligned Spanish striker Torres headed in a cross from compatriot Juan Mata 20 minutes from time to give Chelsea an important cushion.
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Chelsea coach Rafael Benitez praised Torres.
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"It's good for his confidence. His work-rate was really good. I'm pleased for him."
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Across London, Spurs endured a much less comfortable evening against the Swiss champions.
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Against a side challenging for a top-four place in the Premier League, Basle were a constant threat going forward, and took the lead on the half hour when Valentin Stocker converted the rebound after captain Marco Streller's initial effort struck the post.
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The Spurs fans were stunned when Basle doubled their lead four minutes later, Fabian Frei heading in.
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Emmanuel Adebayor reduced the deficit before halftime, forcing the ball in after a Scott Parker shot had deflected into his path.
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Gylfi Sigurdsson then levelled in the 58th minute, his powerful effort deflecting into the net off Fabian Schaer.
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The concession of two away goals means Andre Villas-Boas' Tottenham have work to do to progress and their evening ended on a sour note when Gareth Bale was stretchered off with a serious-looking ankle injury.
Newcastle's result was the most shocking. I actually thought they would thrash Benfica but i was wrong. Newcastle must fight to the last in the second leg