Lazio last night took the first leg honours in their quest to make the Champions League Group Stage by beating Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico with a well-taken finish by substitute Keita.

Both teams hit the post in quick succession during the first half, with a 25-yard effort from Leverkusen midfielder Lars Bender followed by an angled shot from Miroslav Klose hitting the upright at the other end.

Leverkusen thought they had taken the lead on 69 minutes when Hakan Calhanoglu's shot was flicked in by Stefan Kiessling, who was ruled offside.

On 77 minutes, 20-year-old Senegal forward Keita, who had replaced Klose at the break, held off the Leverkusen defence to slot into the far corner.

However, the match was marred by allegations of racial chanting coming from the stands.

Sporting made the most of their home advantage by beating CSKA Moscow 2-1 in Lisbon.

Colombia forward Teofilo Gutierrez put the Portuguese side ahead after 12 minutes, bundling the ball in from close range.

On 27 minutes, Jefferson tripped Zoran Tosic to give away a penalty, but CSKA striker Seydou Doumbia saw his spot-kick saved.

The Ivory Coast forward, back in Moscow following a spell at Roma, made amends five minutes before the break, beating a high defensive line to sprint clear and round the Sporting goalkeeper.

With just eight minutes left, Slimani drilled the ball past Igor Akinfeev from the edge of the penalty area to secure a narrow victory.

BATE Borisov beat 10-man Partisan Belgrade 1-0 through Mikhail Gordeichuk's second-half header 15 minutes from time.

Partizan had earlier seen midfielder Marko Jevtovic sent off for a second caution in first-half stoppage time.

In last night's early kick-off, Astana became the first Kazakhstan team to win a Champions League play-off match with a 1-0 home victory over APOEL Nicosia.

A fine header from Baurzhan Dzholchiyev on 14 minutes proved enough for the Blue and Yellows, who are aiming to make their debut in the group stages.