Fenerbahce 1-0 Benfica: Korkmaz winner dries tears

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 last night.

Scorer: Fenerbahce - Korkmaz (72)

Referee: M Mazic (Srb)

Attendance: 51,000

The home goalkeeper was eventually called into action in the 27th minute when he dived to punch away Pereira’s cross but Fenerbahce were clearly on top.

Fenerbahce should have taken the lead on the stroke of half-time but Cristian’s spot kick, harshly awarded after Benfica’s John made minimal contact with the ankle of Gokhan Gonul, struck the foot of the post. In remarkable scenes an emotional Cristian Baroni left the pitch at the interval in floods of tears and had to be comforted by team-mates.

After the break former Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt then turned and shot but the ball hit the post and bounced into the goalkeeper’s arms.

It was Benfica’s turn to hit the woodwork when Nicolas Gaitan’s curling shot hit the post and bounced away.

Finally, though, Fenerbahce took the lead with 20 minutes to go, although there was some controversy over the award of a corner from which the goal came. Korkmaz took advantage of Benfica’s frustration over the corner to rise highest from the set-piece, nodding in off the bar to send his side into the return leg with a deserved if slender advantage.

Fenerbahce: Demirel, Gonul, Yobo, Korkmaz, Ziegler, Meireles (Ucan 64), Topal, Kuyt, Baroni (Sahin 86), Sow (Krasic 87), Webo. Subs Not Used: Gunok, Irtegun, Senturk, Topuz.

Benfica: Artur Moraes, Maxi Pereira, Jardel, Garay, Melgarejo, Gomes (Carlos Martins 81), Aimar (Gaitan 46), Matic, John (Rodrigo 64), Cardozo, Salvio. Subs Not Used: Paulo Lopes, Roderick Miranda, Lima, Urreta.