Everton will take a narrow first leg lead back to Portugal after a 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon at Goodison Park in the Europa League. The Toffees would have hoped for a more substantial cushion as they led 2-0 with four minutes to go until Sylvain Distin floored Liedson inside the penalty area.

Miguel Veloso the made no mistake from the resulting penalty.

Distin had earlier been the hero and scored Everton's second goal just after the break from a corner.

Steven Pienaar earlier in the first half marked his 100th game for the club with a fine left-footed finish after a clever backheel from the inspirational Tim Cahill.