Mixed night for English trio in Europa League

It was a mixed night for England's trio of contenders in the Europa League on Thursday, with Chelsea winning their quarter-final first leg while Tottenham Hotspur were held to a draw and Newcastle United lost in Portugal.

It was a mixed night for England's trio of contenders in the Europa League on Thursday, with Chelsea winning their quarter-final first leg while Tottenham Hotspur were held to a draw and Newcastle United lost in Portugal.

Chelsea are in a strong position at the halfway stage in their tie 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 Basel at White Hart Lane.

Newcastle are very much up against it following a 3-1 defeat to Benfica in Lisbon, while Fenerba-hce beat Lazio 1-0 in Istanbul in the night's other game.

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. Victor Moses then finished superbly on the half-volley to double the Blues' lead.

Bebras Natcho netted a penalty after John Terry was penalised for handball to give the Russians a precious away goal just before half-time, but Torres headed in a cross from compatriot Juan Mata 20 minutes from time.

Fenerbahce are in a strong position to progress to the last four after a Pierre Webo penalty 12 minutes from the end and a Dirk Kuyt effort in stoppage time saw the Turks beat Lazio 2-0 in Istanbul.