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Juventus scored late to beat Lyon 1-0 and take a big stride toward the Europa League semifinals while Benfica and FC Basel also won to move within sight of a second straight appearance in the last four on Thursday. Leonardo Bonucci poked home Juventus 85th-minute winner in its quarterfinal first leg at Stade Gerland, keeping the Italian league leaders and competition favourites on course to reach the final in their own stadium on May 14. "Its a pity," said Lyon midfielder Maxime Gonalons, whose team was hanging on in the second half, "we almost had a perfect game." Benfica, beaten by Chelsea in last seasons final, could be back in the showpiece match next month after Eduardo Salvios 48th-minute goal sealed a 1-0 win at AZ Alkmaar. Matias Delgado scored twice in five minutes late in the first half and Valentin Stocker added a third goal in second-half stoppage in Basels 3-0 win over Valencia that was played in an empty stadium at St. Jakob Park. UEFA ordered the first leg to be played without fans as punishment after Basel supporters temporarily stopped play during its 2-1 win at Salzburg two weeks for throwing fireworks on the pitch. In the other last-eight matchup, Porto beat Sevilla 1-0 at home thanks to Eliaquim Mangalas flying header from Ricardo Quaresmas superbly delivered cross in the 31st minute. Steven Defour and Quaresma struck efforts against the post for Porto, which finished with 10 men after midfielder Fernando was given two yellow cards in a matter of seconds in the 87th minute for firstly pulling an opponents shirt and then kicking the ball away. With Porto striker Jackson Martinez also missing the second leg because of suspension, two-time winner Sevilla is far from out of the home-and-away series. All the second legs will be played next Thursday. An ultimately successful night for Juventus was soured by the sight of Carlos Tevez leaving the pitch in the 55th minute with what appeared to be a groin strain. The Argentina striker missed two of a handful of good chances for Juve to stay without a goal in European competition since April 2009, when he was playing for Manchester United in the Champions League. Lyon battled gamely but was forced on the back foot in the second half, with Sebastian Giovinco and Mauricio Isla having shots saved by Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes and Mirko Vucinic blazing over for Juventus from inside the six-yard box. Just when it seemed Lyon would survive with a draw, Bonucci capitalized on a poor clearance from Lyon defender Bakary Kone to shoot into the roof of the net from close range. "We did not expect Lyon to defend that well," Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba said. "They surprised us in the first half. Things improved a bit in the second half, the team clicked." Juventus is the only Italian club still involved in a European competition. Orlando Arcia Jersey . Neither striker Demba Ba nor Fernando Torres came close to scoring as Chelsea was left unsuccessfully appealing for penalties in this drab penultimate game of the season. "Our strikers are good strikers, no doubt about that, but players with some specific qualities," Mourinho said. Jhoulys Chacin Jersey . Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone dismissed Tuesdays massive anti-government protest in Manama as "a lot of kids having a go at the police." "I dont think its anything serious at all," Ecclestone was quoted as saying in The Guardian newspaper on Wednesday. http://www.brewersteamshop.com/Brewers-Eric-Sogard-Kids-Jersey/ .com) - The San Antonio Spurs will try to even their series with the Dallas Mavericks Monday night when the two teams collide at American Airlines Arena for Game 4. Glenn Robinson Jersey . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Eric Thames Jersey . He made that dream a reality Wednesday night. Olt, who grew up in Branford, Connecticut, attended UConn and made a nearly 2 1-2 hour trek to Boston a handful of times to watch the Red Sox, belted a two-run homer, one of four hit by Cubs in a 16-9 rout that completed a three-game interleague series sweep.WASHINGTON -- The first three times the Washington Wizards reached .500, they lost their next game. On Wednesday against Boston, the Wizards get their fourth shot at the break-even point, and they hope its the last time. "Its not a magical thing (where) I think all of a sudden fairy dust is going to fall on us if we get over .500 (and) were not going to lose another game," Washington coach Randy Wittman said. The Wizards havent been over .500 since Oct. 31, 2009, when they were 2-1. After their 107-99 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, they were in no mood to admit that it was always on their mind. Players shouted to each other to ignore questions about the mark, but none did. "Were aware of it, but we just have to not even think about it," Bradley Beal said. Beal nearly had his first career triple-double. Two days after he missed 12 of his 14 shots in a loss to Detroit, Beal had 22 points -- 13 of them in the second quarter when Washington built a 10-point halftime lead. He also had nine rebounds, a season high, and eight assists, equaling his career best. Marcin Gortat had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Seraphin had 16 points for Washington. John Wall added 14. Each time the Wizards reached .500 this season, their next game was at home, and they lost to Milwaukee, Dallas and Detroit. "Were done with that," Gortat said. "Every time we talk about being a .500 team and getting over .500, we have teams coming in here and just punking our butts." Michael Carter-Williams led Philadelphia, which has lost seven of eight, with 31. Thaddeus Young had 18. Spencer Hawes had 11 points and had a season high 16 rebounds. Carter-Williams and Young scored the first 19 Philadelphia points in the third, but the Sixers trailed 70-66 midway through the period. Washington led 86-73 after three. The Wizards were ahead 100-79 with 6:07 to play, but Philadelphia scored 13 straight to trail by eight with 2:26 left. Washington didnt make a field goal for more than eight minutes in the fourth quarter. Wittman substituted for his starters, but after the bench played poorly, the sttarters came back in to stabilize things.dddddddddddd. "Youre always on audition," Wittman told his bench. "Those guys got to learn. Guys that want to play or think they should be in rotations better show me out there where it counts." While the Wizards are 20-20 and hope to reach the halfway point of their season a game over .500, the Sixers are 13-28. Expectations were low when the season began, but Philadelphia won its first three over Miami, Washington and Chicago. With more than three weeks until the league pauses for the All-Star game, coach Brett Brown is still hopeful his team can improve. "Youre getting ready for spring break, and everybodys going to Fort Lauderdale, and theres a time where you can dig in pre-All-Star break and finish this middle third of the season with some grunt," Brown said before the game. In his rookie season, Carter-Williams said it was hard to sometimes stay with it. "Ive never played this long of a season so Im learning each and every day and Im going through it a little bit. My body is tired a little bit, mentally Ive got to stay strong," Carter-Williams said. Carter-Williams was 13 for 22 from the field, had six rebounds and five assists as he tried to keep Philadelphia competitive. "He felt the need to take the game and try and put us back in a position where we could inch our way back in it, and he did," Brown said. NOTES: Wizards swingman Glen Rice was assigned to Iowa of the D-League. Rice had right wrist surgery last month, and coach Randy Wittman said that he needs some playing time and could return to the team during its upcoming four-game road trip, which begins on Friday. ... Sixers G Tony Wroten is out with a sprained right ankle. Brown refused to estimate how long he will be sidelined. Wroten sustained the injury on Saturday in Chicago. ... Philadelphia F Brandon Davies missed the game with a dislocated right pinkie. ... Washington F Trevor Booker was out with a sprained left ankle. ... Adam Silver, who will succeed David Stern as NBA commissioner next month, sat with Wizards owner Ted Leonsis. ' ' '