Tuesday, September 30, 2014

UEFA Champions League, Group H: Shakhtar Blow Two-Goal Lead, Settle For Draw With Visiting Dragons; BATE Knock Off Athletic Bilbao

Two games in Group H of the UEFA Champions League were played on Tuesday.

At Lviv, Ukraine:
Martínez earns Porto stunning draw at Shakhtar
Jackson Martinez scored twice in the final minutes (89', 90'+3, that's him celebrating) as FC Porto come from two goals down to gain a 2-2 road draw with Shakhtar Donetsk.  Alex Teixeira (52') and Luiz Adriano (85') delivered the goals for the Ukrainian club, who played this match in Lviv due to the ongoing pro-Russian unrest in the eastern part of the country.

AFP/Getty Images photo

At Barysaw, Belarus:
First-half strikes help BATE best Athletic
Denis Paliakou (19', that's him celebrating with teammates) and Aleksandr Karnitskiy (41') delivered the goals as FC BATE Borisov knocked off visiting Athletic Bilbao 2-1.

AFP/Getty Images photo

GROUP H STANDINGS:

1. FC Porto (GP: 2; GD: +6; PTS: 4)
2. FC BATE Borisov (GP: 2; GD: -5; PTS: 3)
3. Shakhtar Donetsk (GP: 2; GD: 0; PTS: 2)
4. Athletic Bilbao (GP: 2; GD: -1; PTS: 1)

UEFA Champions League, Group G: Blues Top Lions In Lisbon; Royal Blues Salvage Home Draw With Maribor

Two Group G games were contested in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.

At Lisbon, Portugal:
Matić makes Sporting pay as Chelsea win in Lisbon
Nemanja Matic (that's him celebrating with teammates) scored the only goal of the match in the 34th minute as Chelsea defeated Sporting CP 1-0 on the road.

AFP/Getty Images photo

At Gelsenkirchen, Germany:
Schalke come from behind to deny Maribor
Klaas-Jan Hunetlaar's equalizer in the 56th minute enabled Schalke to salvage a 1-1 home draw with NK Maribor.  Damjan Bohar (shown here celebrating) scored for the Slovenian club in the 37th minute.

AFP/Getty Images photo 

GROUP G STANDINGS:

1. Chelsea (GP: 2; GD: +1; PTS: 4)
2. NK Maribor (GP: 2; GD: 0; PTS: 2)
3. FC Schalke 04 (GP: 2; GD: 0; PTS: 2)
4. Sporting CP (GP: 2; GD: -1; PTS: 1)

UEFA Champions League, Group F: PSG Knock Off Barca; APOEL and Ajax Draw In Cyprus

Two games were played in Group F of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.

At Paris:
Paris get better of Barcelona in five-goal thriller
Blaise Matuidi (that's him celebrating) scored the winning goal in the 54th minute as Paris Saint-Germian held off visiting Barcelona 3-2.

AFP/Getty Images photo

At Nicosia, Cyprus:

Gustavo Manduca's penalty kick in the 32nd minute (that's him celebrating afterward) enabled APOEL FC to gain a 1-1 home draw with Ajax Amsterdam.  Lucas Andersen scored for the guests in the 28th minute.

AFP/Getty Images photo

GROUP F STANDINGS:

1. Paris Saint-Germain (GP: 2; GD: +1; PTS: 4)
2. Barcelona (GP: 2; GD: 0; PTS: 3)
3. Ajax Amsterdam (GP: 2; GD: 0; PTS: 2)
4. APOEL FC (GP: 2; GD: -1; PTS: 1)

UEFA Champions League, Group E: Thomas Muller's PK Helps Bayern Sink Horses' Citizens and Roma Draw In England

Group-stage play in the UEFA Champions League resumed on Tuesday with eight games, two of them in Group E.

At Khimki, Russia:
Müller makes difference for Bayern at CSKA
Thomas Muller's successful penalty kick in the 22nd minute provided all the scoring as Bayern Munich defeated CSKA Moscow 1-0 on the road. That's him (center) celebrating after scoring.

Getty Images/AFP photo

At Manchester, England:
Totti makes history as Roma draw with City
Francesco Totti's equalizer in the 23rd minute lifted AS Roma to a 1-1 road draw with Manchester City.  Sergio Aguero converted a penalty kick for the Citizens in the fourth minute. Here, we see City's Yaya Toure battling Roma's Miralem Pjanic for the ball.

Getty Images/AFP photo 

GROUP E STANDINGS:

1. Bayern Munich (GP: 2; GD: +2; PTS: 6)
2. AS Roma (GP: 2; GD: +4; PTS: 4)
3. Manchester City (GP: 2; GD: -1; PTS: 1)
4. CSKA Moscow (GP: 2; GD: -5; PTS: 0)

AFC Champions League: Al-Hilal Gets Crack At Asian Club Title

At Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates:

Despite dropping a 2-1 game-two decision on the road to Al-Ain on Tuesday, Al-Hilal from Saudi Arabia won their AFC Champions League semifinal series 4-2 on aggregate.

Al-Hilal will play the winner of the FC Seoul-Western Sydney Wanderers series in the two-match tournament final, which begins on October 25 at the FC Seoul-Western Sydney winner before moving to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for game two on November 1.

The winner of that series will advance to December's FIFA Club World Cup, to be played in Morocco.

Monday, September 29, 2014

SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC FC WIN USL PRO LEAGUE CROWN IN INAUGURAL SEASON

At Sacramento, California:

Octavio Guzman (36') and Thomas Stewart (90'+) each scored a goal on Saturday as the Sacramento Republic blanked the visiting Harriburg City Islanders 2-0 to win the USL Pro League's championship game in their inaugural season.

The Republic are the USL Pro affiliate of the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer.

The USL Pro League is at the third level of American soccer.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

MLS: Home Wins For Dynamo, Galaxy

Two games were played in Major League Soccer on Sunday.

At Houston:

Omar Cummings (15') and Oscar Boniek Garcia (67') each scored a goal as the Houston Dynamo blanked the visiting Chicago Fire 2-0, delivering a crippling blow to the guests' playoff chances.

At Carson, California:

Landon Donovan (who now has 135 career assists, tied for top spot on the MLS all-time list) played a role in all four goals, his own in the 50th minute, assists on the two Robbie Keane tallies (8', 82'), and on a 69th-minute goal from Gyasi Zardes as the Los Angeles Galaxy demolished the visiting New York Red Bulls 4-0.

MLS STANDINGS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

1.      DC United (GP: 30; GD: +12; PTS: 51)
2.      New England (GP: 30; GD: +2; PTS: 45)
3.      Kansas City (GP: 30; GD: +8; PTS: 45)
4.      Columbus (GP: 30; GD: +7; PTS: 43)
5.      New York (GP: 30; GD: +2; PTS: 41)
6.      Toronto FC (GP: 29; GD: -3; PTS: 40)
7.      Philadelphia (GP: 30; GD: +1; PTS: 38)
8.      Houston (GP: 29; GD: -15; PTS: 36)
9.      Chicago (GP: 29; GD: -8; PTS: 31)
10. z-Montreal (GP: 30; GD: -20; PTS: 24)

NOTE: With New England and Sporting Kansas City level on points (45), the Revolution have more wins (14) than SKC (13).

z-Eliminated from playoff contention

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

1. x-Seattle (GP: 30; GD: +11; PTS: 57)
2. x-Los Angeles (GP: 30; GD: +32; PTS: 57)
3.    Real Salt Lake (GP: 30; GD: +12; PTS: 49)
4.    FC Dallas (GP: 30; GD: +12; PTS: 48)
5.    Vancouver (GP: 30; GD: -2; PTS: 40)
6.    Portland (GP: 30; GD: +3; PTS: 39)
7.    Colorado (GP: 30; GD: -13; PTS: 32)
8.    San Jose (GP: 29; GD: -8; PTS: 29)
9. z-Chivas USA (GP: 30; GD: -33; PTS: 24)

NOTE:  With Seattle and Los Angeles level on points (57 ), ths Sounders have more wins than the Galaxy (18-16).

x-Clinched berth in MLS Cup playoffs

z-Eliminated from playoff contention

CAF Champions League: ES Setif To Face AS Vita Club For Title

At Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

With goals from Abdelmalek Ziaya (9') and Sofiane Younes (75'), ES Setif, despite dropping a 3-2 game-two road decision to TP Mazembe, won their two-match CAF Champions League series on away goals, with the aggregate score at 4-4.

The Algerian club will face another Congolese club, AS Vita Club in the two-game final, which will start the weekend of October 24-26 at Kinshasa with the return match the following weekend at Setif, Algeria.  The winner will play in December's FIFA Club World Cup, to be played in Morocco.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

MLS: Reds, DCU, Sounders, Crew, Caps Rack Saturday Wins; Goats Eliminated; Rapids And Quakes Draw

Six games were contested in Major League Soccer on Saturday.

At Toronto:

After Nick Hagglund scored his first two professional goals (63', 70'), Michael Bradley delivered the game winner in the 89th minute as Toronto FC erased a two-goal deficit and upended the visiting Portland Timbers (who likely lost team captain Will Johnson for the rest of the season with a broken leg suffered in the first minute) 3-2.

At Washington:

Luis Silva scored the only goal of the match in the 10th minute as DC United stretched their lead atop the Eastern Conference to six points with a 1-0 home win over the Philadelphia Union.

At Seattle:

Clint Dempsey scored the winning goal in the opening minute of first-half stoppage time while Obafemi Martins scored twice (14', 51') as the Seattle Sounders opened up a three-point lead atop the Western Conference (and Supporters' Shield) standings with their 4-2 home win over Chivas USA, officially eliminating the Goats from playoff contention.

At Vancouver, British Columbia:

Pedro Morales scored twice in the final half-hour (PK-62', 78') as the Vancouver Whitecaps came from behind to knock off visiting Real Salt Lake 2-1 and move into the Western Conference's fifth and final playoff berth with four regular-season games left.

At Columbus, Ohio:

Ethan Finlay (2') and Federico Higuain (PK-58') delivered the goals as the Columbus Crew blanked the visiting Montreal Impact 2-0.

At Commerce City, Colorado:

Atiba Harris' equalizer in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time lifted the San Jose Earthquakes to a 1-1 road draw with the Colorado Rapids, whose Gabriel Torres scored in the 84th minute.

CAF Champions League: AS Vita Club Drop CS Sfaxien, Advance To Final

At Sfax, Tunisia:

Yunus Sentamu scored the game-winning goal in the 55th minute on Saturday as AS Vita Club defeated CS Sfaxien 2-1 on the road in game two of their CAF Champions League semifinal series, which the Congolese club won 4-2 on aggregate and advanced to the two-game final against the winner of the ES Setif-TP Mazembe series.

Friday, September 26, 2014

MLS: Jermaine Jones' First MLS Goals Lifts Revs Past SKC And Into Second Place In East

At Kansas City, Kansas:

In the lone Friday Major League Soccer contest, Jermaine Jones scored his first MLS goal in the 85th minute to carry the New England Revolution (who had blown a two-goal advantage) to a 3-2 road victory over Sporting Kansas City.

The victory lifted the Revs into second place in the Eastern Conference standings (both New England and SKC are level on points with 45, but the Revs have more wins, 14-13), three points behind conference-leading DC United. 

Thursday, September 25, 2014

CONCACAF Champions League: Alajuelense Hold Chorrillo FC To 1-1 Draw; Comunicaciones Set Up Showdown With America For Group Eight Crown By Blanking Bayamon FC In Puerto Rico

Two games were played in the CONCACAF Champions League's group stage on Thursday.

Group Six:

At Panama City, Panama:

Sergio Moreno's equalizer in the 21st minute enabled Chorrillo FC to salvage a 1-1 home draw with LD Alajuelense.  Kenner Gutierrez scored for the Costa Rican club in the 18th minute.  With the draw, the Panamanian club was eliminated from the tournament while Alajuelense with host Mexico's Cruz Azul on October 21 with the Costa Rican club needing only a draw to advance to the quarterfinal round.

GROUP SIX STANDINGS:

1.    LD Alajuelense (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 5)
2.    Cruz Azul (GP: 3; GD: +2; PTS: 4)
3. z-Chorrillo FC (GP: 4; GD: -3; PTS: 4)

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group Eight:

At Bayamon, Puerto Rico:

Goals from Jose Contreras (19') and Steven Estrada (OG-86') lifted CSD Comunicaciones to a 2-0 road win over Puerto Rico Bayamon FC.  On October 21, the Guatemalan club will face Club America in Mexico City for the right to win Group Eight and advance to the quarterfinal round.

GROUP EIGHT STANDINGS:

1.    Club America (GP: 3; GD: +14; PTS: 7)
2.    CSD Comunicaciones (GP: 3; GD: +7; PTS: 7)
3. z-Puerto Rico Bayamon FC (GP: 4; GD: -21; PTS: 0)

z-Eliminated from tournament

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

CONCACAF Champions League: DC United, Impact (Thanks To Red Bulls Scoreless Draw With FAS), Pachuca, Herediano Advance To Quarterfinals

Four games were played in the CONCACAF Champions League on Wednesday.

Group One:

At Pachuca, Mexico:

Diego de Buen (PK-22'), Ariel Nahuelpan (36'), Diego Buonanotte (47'), and Jurgen Damm (61') each produced a goal as defending champs Pachuca dominated visiting CSD Municipal 4-1 to clinch a berth in the quarterfinal round.

GROUP ONE STANDINGS:

1. x-Pachuca (GP: 3; GD: +10; PTS: 9)
2. z-CSD Municipal (GP: 4; GD: -4; PTS: 4)
3. z-Real Espana (GP: 3; GD: -6; PTS: 1)

x-Clinched berth in quarterfinal round

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group Three:

At San Salvador, El Salvador:

A 0-0 stalemate on the road against CD FAS eliminated the New York Red Bulls from the tournament and clinched the Group Three title and a berth in the quarterfinal round for the Montreal Impact. Saer Sene's penalty kick in the 35th minute would have given the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead but it sailed over the crossbar.

GROUP THREE STANDINGS:

1. x-Montreal Impact (GP: 3; GD: +3; PTS: 9)
2. z-New York Red Bulls (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 4)
3. z-CD FAS (GP: 4; GD: -4; PTS: 1)

x-Clinched berth in quarterfinal round

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group Four:

At Washington:

Goals from Chris Pontius (48') and Eddie Johnson (55') guided DC United to a 2-0 home win over Tauro FC and a berth in the quarterfinal round as the hosts clinched the Group Four title.

GROUP FOUR STANDINGS:

1. x-DC United (GP: 3; GD: +4; PTS: 9)
2. z-Waterhouse FC (GP: 4; GD: +2; PTS: 6)
3. z-Tauro FC (GP: 3; GD: -8; PTS: 0)

x-Clinched berth in quarterfinal round

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group Seven:

At Heredia, Costa Rica:

Gabriel Gomez (12') and Oscar Esteban Granados (7-') each produced a goal as CS Herediano laid claim to the Group Seven title and a berth in the quarterfinal round with a 2-1 home win over Club Leon.

GROUP SEVEN STANDINGS:

1. x-CS Herediano (GP: 4; GD: +6; PTS: 10)
2. z-Club Leon (GP: 3; GD: +2; PTS: 4)
3. z-Isidro Metapan (GP: 3; GD: -8; PTS: 0)

x-Clinched berth in quarterfinal round

z-Eliminated from tournament

MLS: Hoops Knock Off Sounders

At Frisco, Texas:

In the lone Wednesday Major League Soccer contest, David Texeira scored twice (8', 78') as FC Dallas defeated the visiting Seattle Sounders 3-1.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

CONCACAF Champions League: Dominating Home Wins For SKC, Timbers

Two games were played in the CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday.

Group Two:

At Kansas City, Kansas:

Claudio Bieler scored twice (13', PK-70') as Sporting Kansas City dominated visiting Real Esteli 3-0, eliminating the Nicaraguan club from the tournament.

GROUP TWO STANDINGS:

1.    Sporting Kansas City (GP: 3; GD: +5; PTS: 7)
2.    Deportivo Saprissa (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 4)
3. z-Real Esteli (GP: 4; GD: -6; PTS: 2)

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group Five:

At Portland, Oregon:

Norberto Paparatto scored twice (61', 88') as the Portland Timbers destroyed visiting Alpha United 6-0.

GROUP FIVE STANDINGS:

1.    Portland Timbers (GP: 3; GD: +11; PTS: 9)
2.    CD Olimpia (GP: 3; GD: +5; PTS: 6)
3. z-Alpha United FC (GP: 3; GD: -16; PTS: 0)

z-Eliminated from tournament

Sunday, September 21, 2014

MLS: Reds Pick Up Critical Win Over Feckless Goats

At Toronto:

Jackson Goncalves (23'), Luke Moore (45'+2), and Gilberto Oliveira Souza Junion (54') each scored a goal as Toronto FC revived their flagging playoff hopes (and snapped a six-match winless streak) with a 3-0 home domination of sleepwalking Chivas USA in the lone Sunday Major League Soccer contest.  It was the ninth time in their ten starts that the Goats were held without a goal.



MLS STANDINGS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

1.      DC United (GP: 29; GD: +11; PTS: 48)
2.      Kansas City (GP: 29; GD: +9; PTS: 45)
3.      New England (GP: 29; GD: +1; PTS: 42)
4.      New York (GP: 29; GD: +6; PTS: 41)
5.      Columbus (GP: 29; GD: +5; PTS: 40)
6.      Philadelphia (GP: 29; GD: +2; PTS: 38)
7.      Toronto FC (GP: 28; GD: -4; PTS: 37)
8.      Houston (GP: 28; GD: -17; GD: 33)  
9.      Chicago (GP: 28; GD: -6; PTS: 31)
10. z-Montreal (GP: 29; GD: -18; PTS: 24)

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

1.   x-Seattle (GP: 28; GD: +11; PTS: 54)
2.   x-Los Angeles (GP: 28; GD: +28; PTS: 54)
3.      Real Salt Lake (GP: 29; GD: +13; PTS: 49)
4.      FC Dallas (GP: 29; GD: +10; PTS: 45)
5.      Portland (GP: 29; GD: +4; PTS: 39)
6.      Vancouver (GP: 29; GD: -3; PTS: 37)
7.      Colorado (GP: 29; GD: -13; PTS: 31)
8.      San Jose (GP: 28; GD: -8; PTS: 28)
9.      Chivas USA (GP: 29; GD: -31; PTS: 24)

NOTE: With Seattle and Los Angeles level on points (54), the Sounders have more wins than the Galaxy (17 to 15).

CAF Champions League: AS Vita Club Open Semifinal Series With 2-1 Home Win

At Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

Goals from Firmin Ndombe Mubele (37') and Nzinga Luvumba (54') enabled AS Vita Club to hold off visiting CS Sfaxien 2-1 on Sunday in the opening match of a two-game CAF Champions League semifinal series.  Ali Maaloul scored in the 69th minute to keep the Tunisian club alive in the series.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

MLS: Timbers, Crew, Red Bulls, Impact (Who Were Still Eliminated), Galaxy (Who Clinch Playoff Berth) Gather Saturday Wins; Fire and DCU Draw

Seven games were played in Major League Soccer on Saturday.

At Portland, Oregon:

With Diego Valeri (28') and Fanendo Adi (66', 69') delivering the scoring, the Portland Timbers took over the fifth and final Western Conference playoff berth with a 3-0 Cascadia Cup home domination of the Vancouver Whitecaps.

At Chester, Pennsylvania:

The Houston Dynamo and home-standing Philadelphia Union, in a contest that really helped neither club's playoff chances, battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Columbus, Ohio:

Federico Higuain scored the only goal of the match in the 48th minute as the Columbus Crew moved into sole possession of the Eastern Conference's final playoff berth with a 1-0 home win over the New England Revolution.

At Montreal:

Jack McInerney (81') and Dilly Duka (88') provided the scoring as the Montreal Impact delivered a crippling blow to San Jose's playoff chances by blanking the visiting Earthquakes 2-0.  Despite the victory, thanks to home wins by Columbus and New York, the Impact became the first club to be eliminated from MLS Cup playoff contention.

At Harrison, New Jersey:

Bradley Wright-Phillips produced a natural hat trick (1', PK-54', 56'; his third hat trick of the season) as the New York Red Bulls dominated the visiting Seattle Sounders 4-1.

At Bridgeview, Illinois:

Matt Watson's equalizer in the 78th minute enabled the Chicago Fire to salvage a 3-3 home draw with DC United.  Quincy Amarikwa (16') and Jeff Larentowicz (32') also scored for the Fire while Luis Silva scored twice (PK-39', 54') and Perry Kitchen once (68') for the Eastern Conference leaders.

At Carson, California:

Alan Gordon scored the winning goal in the 84th minute as the Los Angeles Galaxy locked up a playoff berth with a 2-1 home win over FC Dallas.  The Galaxy now are level on points with Seattle atop the Western Conference standings, though the Sounders, with more wins (17 to 15) hold the first tiebreaker.


CAF Champions League: ES Setif Take Semifinal Opener With TP Mazembe

At Setif, Algeria:

Despite Said Arroussi's 52nd-minute own goal, ES Setif, with scoring courtesy of Sofiane Younes (55') and Abdelmalek Yiaya (89'), took the opening match of their CAF Champions League semifinal series with TP Mazembe 2-1 at home on Saturday.

Friday, September 19, 2014

MLS: RSL Run Roughshod Over Rapids

At Sandy, Utah:

In the lone Friday Major League Soccer contest, Real Salt Lake, thanks to five unanswered goals----courtesy of Joao Plata (32'), Javier Morales (33'), Chris Schuler (37'), Joe Nasco (OG-45'), and Carlos Salcedo (63')----demolished the visiting Colorado Rapids 5-1 as RSL took all three of this season's Rocky Mountain Cup encounters.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

CONCACAF Champions League: SKC, Herediano Gain Thursday Wins; Isidro Metapan Eliminated

Two games were played on Thursday in the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League.

Group Two:

At Kansas City, Kansas:

Antonio Rodriguez Dovale (a.k.a. Toni) scored twice (69', 76') as Sporting Kansas City defeated visiting Deportivo Saprissa 2-1.

GROUP TWO STANDINGS:

1. Sporting Kansas City (GP: 2; GD: +2; PTS: 4)
2. Deportivo Saprissa (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 4)
3. Real Esteli (GP: 3; GD: -3; PTS: 2)



Group Seven:

At San Salvador, El Salvador:

Victor Nunez (33', 60') and Yendrick Ruiz (72', 88') each scored twice as CS Herediano eliminated AD Isidro Metapan from the tournament with a 4-2 road victory.

GROUP SEVEN STANDINGS:

1.    CS Herediano (GP: 3; GD: +6; PTS: 7)
2.    Club Leon (GP: 2; GD: +2; PTS: 4)
3. z-CD Isidro Metapan (GP: 3; GD: -8; PTS: 0)

z-Eliminated from tournament

Europa League: Group-Stage Play Opens

24 games were contested on Thursday, which marked the opening day of Europa League group-stage play.

Group A:

At Monchengladbach, Germany:

Ikechukwu Uche's equalizer in the 68th minute lifted Villarreal to a 1-1 road draw with Borussia Monchengladbach.  Patrick Herrmann scored for the hosts in the 21st minute.

At Nicosia, Cyprus:

Philippe Koch's own goal in the 87th minute proved costly as Apollon Limassol defeated visiting FC Zurich 3-2.

GROUP A STANDINGS:

1. Apollon Limassol (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. Villarreal (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
3. Borussia Monchengladbach (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. FC Zurich (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)



Group B:

At Bruges, Belgium:

Club Brugge battled visiting Torino to a 0-0 deadlock.

At Copenhagen, Denmark:

FC Copenhagen, with Nicolai Jorgensen delivering both goals (68', 81') blanked visiting HJK Helsinki 2-0.

GROUP B STANDINGS:

1. FC Copenhagen (GP: 1; GD: +2; PTS: 3)
2. Club Brugge (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
3. Torino FC (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. HJK Helsinki (GP: 1; GD: -2; PTS: 0)



Group C:

At Belgrade, Serbia:

Partizan Belgrade and visiting Tottenham Hotspur battled to a 0-0 draw.

At Istanbul, Turkey:

Facundo Parra's equalizer in the 88th minute lifted Asteras Tripoli to a 1-1 draw with Besiktas.  Gokhan Tore scored for the Black Eagles in the 33rd minute.

GROUP C STANDINGS:

1. Asteras Tripoli FC (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
2. Besiktas JK (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
3. Partizan Belgrade (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. Tottenham Hotspur (GP:1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)



Group D:

At Wals-Siezenheim, Austria:

Alan Douglas Borges de Carvalho (36') and Jonatan Soriano (78') each scored a goal as FC Red Bull Salzburg came back from a pair of one-goal deficits to salvage a 2-2 home draw with Celtic.  Wakaso Mubarak (14') and Scott Brown (60') provided the scoring for the Bhoys.

At Zagreb, Croatia:

Dinamo Zagreb, with El Arbi Hillel Soudani delivering a natural first-half hat trick (17', 24', 45'+1), demolished visiting FC Astra Giurgiu 5-1.

GROUP D STANDINGS:

1. Dinamo Zagreb (GP: 1; GD: +4; PTS: 1)
2. Celtic (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
3. FC Red Bull Salzburg (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. FC Astra Giurgiu (GP: 1; GD: -4; PTS: 0)



Group E:

At Eindhoven, Netherlands:

Luuk de Jong's successfully-converted penalty kick in the 26th minute produced all the scoring in PSV Eindhoven's 1-0 hove win over Estoril.

At Athens:

Aleksandr Kokorin (40') and Alexei Ionov (49') produced the scoring as Dynamo Moscow held off home-standing Panathinaikos 2-1.

GROUP E STANDINGS:

1. Dynamo Moscow (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. PSV Eindhoven (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. Panathinaikos (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)
4. Estoril (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)



Group F:

At Baku, Azerbaijan:

Sainte-Etienne held hosts Qarabag FK to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Kiev, Ukraine:

Danilo D'Ambrosio scored the only goal of the match in the 71st minute as Inter Milan defeated ten-man FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 1-0 on the road.  This game was played in Kiev instead of Dnipropetrovsk due to pro-Russian unrest in eastern Ukraine.

GROUP F STANDINGS:

1. Inter Milan (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. Qarabag FK (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
3. Saint-Etienne (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)



Group G:

At Liege, Belgium:

Laurent Ciman (74') and Vinicius Araujo (87') delivered the goals as Standard Liege blanked visiting HNK Rijeka 2-0.

At Seville, Spain:

Grzegorz Krychowiak (8') and Stephane M'Bia (31') each scored a goal as Sevilla began their Europa League title defense with a 2-0 home blanking of Feyenoord Rotterdam.

GROUP G STANDINGS:

1. Sevilla (GP: 1; GD; +2; PTS: 3)
    Standard Liege (GP: 1; GD: +2; PTS: 3)
3. Feyenoord Rotterdam (GP: 1; GD: -2; PTS: 0)
    HNK Rijeka (GP: 1; GD: -2; PTS: 0)



Group H:

At Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France:

Simon Kjaer's equalizer in the 63rd minute enabled LOSC Lille Metropole to salvage a 1-1 home draw with FC Krasnodar.  Ricardo Laborde scored in the 35th minute for the visiting Russian club.

At Liverpool, England:

Seamus Coleman (45'+1), Leighton Baines (47'), and Kevin Mirallas (89') each scored a goal as Everton dominated visiting VfL Wolfsburg 4-1.

GROUP H STANDINGS:

1. Everton (GP: 1; GD: +3; PTS: 3)
2. FC Krasnodar (GP: 1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
3. LOSC Lille Metropole (GP:1; GD: 0; PTS: 1)
4. VfL Wolfsburg (GP: 1; GD: -3; PTS: 0)



Group I:

At Bern, Switzerland:

Jan Lecjaks became the first of five different goal scorers with his fifth-minute tally as BSC Young Boys demolished visiting FC Slovan Bratislava 5-0.

At Naples, Italy:

Dries Mertens scored twice in the second half (51', 81') as Napoli downed visiting Sparta Prague 3-1.

GROUP I STANDINGS:

1. BSC Young Boys (GP: 1; GD: +5; PTS: 3)
2. Napoli (GP: 1; GD: +2; PTS: 3)
3. Sparta Prague (GP: 1; GD: 2; PTS: 0)
4. FC Slovan Bratislava (GP: 1; GD: -5; PTS: 0)



Group J:

At Bucharest, Romania:

Claudiu Keseru delivered a natural hat trick (61', 65', 72') while Raul Rusescu added a double (PK-59', 73') as Steaua Bucharest blasted open a contest that had been scoreless at halftime and turned the game with visiting Aalborg BK into a 6-0 massacre with all six goals taking place during a 22-minute span.

At Vila do Conde, Portugal:

Andriy Yarmolenko (20'), Younes Belhanda (25'), and Artem Kravets (70') each scored a goal as Dynamo Kiev dominated Rio Ave 3-0 on the road.

GROUP J STANDINGS:

1. Steaua Bucharest (GP: 1; GD: +6; PTS: 3)
2. Dynamo Kiev (GP: 1; GD: +3; PTS: 3)
3. Rio Ave (GP: 1; GD: -3; PTS: 0)
4. Aalborg BK (GP: 1; GD: -6; PTS: 0)



Group K:

At Thessaloniki, Greece:

Stefanos Athanasaidis produced a natural hat trick (11', 16', 28') during the first half hour of the match as PAOK FC destroyed visiting FC Dinamo Minsk 6-1.

At Florence, Italy:

Juan Vargas (34'), Juan Cuadrado (67'), and Filippo Bernardeschi (88') each scored a goal as Fiorentina dominated visiting ten-man Guingamp 3-0.

GROUP K STANDINGS:

1. PAOK FC (GP: 1; GD: +5; PTS: 3)
2. Fiorentina (GP:1; GD: +3; PTS: 3)
3. Guingamp (GP: 1; GD: -3; PTS: 0)
4. FC Dinamo Minsk (GP: 1; GD: -5; PTS: 0)


Group L:

At Lviv, Ukraine:

Avram Papadopoulos scored the winning goal in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time as Trabzonspor defeated FC Metalist Kharkiv 2-1 on the road in a contest that was moved from Kharkiv due to the ongoing pro-Russian unrest in eastern Ukraine.

At Warsaw, Poland:

Miroslav Radovic scored the only goal of the match in the 58th minute as Legia Warsaw defeated visiting Lokeren from Belgium 1-0.

GROUP L STANDINGS:

1. Trabzonspor (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
2. Legia Warsaw (GP: 1; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
3. FC Metalist Kharkiv (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)
4. Lokeren (GP: 1; GD: -1; PTS: 0)