HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

All of us here at Soccer or Association Football wish each and every one of you out there in InternetLand a Happy and Prosperous 2007. Hope you don't find yourself relegated!

Two 2-2 Draws In Sunday Eredivisie Action

Two contests took place Sunday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Alkmaar:

Visiting Roda JC Kerkrade and AZ Alkmaar battled to a 2-2 draw. Andres Oper scored both goals (23', 67') for The Pride of the South Koempels, while Danny Koevermans scored the late equalizer (84') for AZ.

At Almelo:

Fred Benson's equalizer (71') allowed Vitesse Arnhem to gain a 2-2 road deadlock with SC Heracles Almelo.

PSV Doubles Up ADO

Five games were played Saturday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Eindhoven:

Thanks to goals from Patrick Kluivert (33') and Jefferson Farfan (48'), PSV Eindhoven held off struggling and visiting ADO Den Haag.

At Nijmegen:

Ajax Amsterdam and homestanding NEC Nijmegen battled to a 2-2 draw in which all four goals were scored in the final thirty minutes. Gabri (80') scored the equalizer for Ajax, roughly one minute after Peter Wisgerhof scored to give NEC the lead.

At Rotterdam:

Three different goal scorers powered Sparta Rotterdam to a 3-0 thumping of visiting Twente Enschede.

At Heerenveen:

Visiting FC Ultrecht and SC Heerenveen battled to a 0-0 deadlock.

At Waalwijk:

With Koen Van Der Laak (PK-26') and Erik Nevland (49') providing the tallies, FC Groningen finished 2006 with a 2-0 road win over struggling RKC Waalwijk.

Saturday Six-Pack In Scotland

Six games were played in the Scottish Premier League on Saturday:

At Motherwell:

Darren Lee Smith's equalizer in second-half stoppage time enabled homestanding Motherwell to gain a 1-1 home draw with runaway league-leading Celtic.

At Kilmarnock:

Visiting Hearts and Kilmarnock battled to a 0-0 deadlock.

At Dundee:

Collin Samuel scored twice (62', 90') and Barry Robson (PK-81')once as Dundee United came from behind to shock visiting Aberdeen 3-1.

At Glasgow:

Rangers and visiting St. Mirren settled for a 1-1 stalemate. Richard Brittain (14') scored first for the Buddies, while Kris Boyd equalized for the hosts (19').

At Falkirk:

Anthony Stokes' first-half hat trick (33', 37', 45')powered Falkirk to a 3-1 home triumph at the expense of Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

At Edinburgh:

Christopher Killen scored both goals (63', PK-72') as Hibernian blanked visiting (and basement-occupying) Dunfermline 2-0.

Red Devils Again Stretch Their EPL Lead Over Chelsea

Nine games were played Saturday in the English Premier League:

At Manchester:

Manchester United gave Sir Alex Ferguson a neat 65th-birthday present by defeating visiting Reading 3-2 to stretch their EPL standing lead over Chelsea to six points. Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice (59', 77') for the Red Devils.

At London:

Carlos Bocanegra's equalizer at 84 minutes enabled Fulham to gain a big 1-1 road draw with Chelsea to knock the two-time defending champs six points in back of Manchester United atop the EPL standings.

At London:

Bryan Hughes scored the game winner at 90 minutes to Charlton Athletic their first win for new head coach (manager) Alan Pardew, a 2-1 home come-from-behinder over slumping Aston Villa.

At Liverpool:

Victor Anichebe's double (9', 58') helped powered Everton to an impressive 3-0 whitewashing of visiting Newcastle United.

At Sheffield:

Christian Nada (pictured here, celebrating [Shaun Botterill/Getty Images]) scored the lone goal (41') as Sheffield United blanked visiting Arsenal 1-0.

At Blackburn:

Blackburn, thanks to Benni's McCarthy's game winner in the 74th minute, defeated Middlesbrough 2-1 at home.

At Bolton:

Powered by goals from Abdoulaye Faye (30'), Ivan Campo (40'), and Nicolas Anelka (62'), Bolton picked up their fifth straight EPL victory, 3-2 over visiting Portsmouth.

At London:

Luis Garcia scored the lone goal (45') as Liverpool defeated homestanding Tottenham Hotspur 1-0.

At London:

DaMarcus Beasley notched his first goal (83') for Manchester United as the visiting Citizens defeated West Ham United 1-0.

Feyenoord Wins Rotterdam Derby With Excelsior

At Rotterdam:

In the lone Friday Dutch Eredivisie contest, With Danny Buys (31') , Nicky Hofs (40'), and Stein Huysegems(50') providing the goals, Feyenoord took the local derby match with homestanding Excelsior 3-1.

Wednesday Dutch Six-Pack

Six games were contested Wednesday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Amsterdam:

Ajax Amsterdam climbed up to second place in the Eredivisie standings following their 2-0 home win over Roda JC Kerkrade. Wesley Sneijder (16') and Zdenek Grygera (42') provided the goals for the hosts.

At Enschede:

Goals from Blaise N'Kufo (30') , Kennedy Bakircioglu (43'), and Luke Wilkshire (59') sent Twente Enschede to a 3-0 home whoompin' of AZ Alkmaar.

At The Hague:

Santi Kolk's equalizer at 88 minutes enabled ADO Den Haag to gain a 1-1 home deadlock with fellow struggler RKC Waalwijk.

At Utrecht:

Visiting SC Heracles Almelo and FC Utrecht battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Breda:

Victor Sikora's goal at 89 minutes allowed homestanding NAC Breda to come from behind to knock off Vitesse Arnhem 2-1.

At Nijmegen:

SC Heerenveen, with goals from Afonso Alves (16') and Will Johnson (82'), blanked NEC Nijmegen on the road 2-0.

Caley Knock Off Rangers

At Inverness:

In Wednesday's lone Scottish Premier League contest, John Rankin's goal in second-half stoppage time enabled Inverness Caledonian Thistle to pick up their second victory this season over Rangers, this time coming from behind to beat the visitors 2-1.

Cottagers Spoil Alan Pardew's Debut As Addicks' Boss

At London:

A game-tying goal in second-half stoppage time by Franck Queudrue enabled Fulham to gain a 2-2 road draw and deny Charlton Athletic a home win in Alan Pardew's debut as Addicks' manager in Wednesday lone English Premiership match.

PSV and Feyenoord: Fit To Be Tied

Three games were contested Tuesday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Rotterdam:

Angelos Charisteas' 38th-minute equalizer enabled Feyenoord Rotterdam to earn a 1-1 deadlock with visiting PSV Eindhoven. The draw still stretched the guests unbeaten streak to 18 games.

At Tilburg:

Kristof Imschoot's double (82', 85') enabled struggling Willem II Tilburg to come from behind to down visiting Excelsior 2-1.

At Groningen:

Sparta Rotterdam racked up a 1-0 road win at FC Groningen's expense, thanks to Edwin Van Bueren's goal at 63 minutes.

Bhoys Bounce Back To Tie Dundee United

Five games Tuesday in the Scottish Premier League:

At Glasgow:

Darren O'Dea (78') and Shunsuke Nakamura (80') scored to allow Celtic to come back from a 2-0 deficit to gain a 2-2 home draw with Dundee United.

At Edinburgh:

In the local derby, after blowing a 2-0 lead, Hearts pulled out a 3-2 home win over Hibernian thanks to Saulius Mikoliunas' game winner (70').

At St. Mirren:

Simon Lappin was the hero as his game winner (67') lifted St. Mirren to their first SPL win since September, besting visiting Falkirk 1-0.

At Aberdeen:

Thanks to goals from 17-year old Chris Maguire (6'), Barry Nicholson (9'), and Steve Lovell (87'), Aberdeen picked up an easy 3-1 home victory over Kilmarnock.

At Dunferline:

Motherwell, powered by tallies from Marc Fitzpatrick (26') and Scott McDonald (79'), blanked basement-dwelling Dunfermline 2-0 on the road.

Red Devils Stretch EPL Lead

Here's a rundown of Tuesday play in the English Premier League:

At Manchester:

Cristiano Ronaldo popped in two goals (47', 51') and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer added another (59') as Manchester United overpowered visiting Wigan 3-1 to strecth their lead in the EPL standings to four points over Chelsea.

At London:

Didier Drogba's double (38', 72') powered Chelsea to a 2-1 home lead over Reading, only to see the Royals gain a 2-2 closing draw after the Blues' Micheal Essien scored an own goal at 85 minutes.

That is Didier Drogba scoring his first of two goals for Chelsea (Empics Photo).

At Bolton:

Nicolas Anelka scored the game winner at 57 minutes as Bolton came from behind to defeat visiting Newcastle United 2-1 for the second time this season, thus climbing to third place in the EPL standings in the process.

At London:

Jermain Defoe's double (58', 77') powered Tottenham Hotspur to a 2-1 home victory over Aston Villa.

At Watford:

Robin Van Persie's game winner (83') lifted Arsenal to a 2-1 road win over hapless Watford.

At Liverpool:

Middlesbrough and homestanding Everton battled to a 0-0 draw.

At London:

Portsmouth, thanks to Linvoy Primus' double (16', 38') held off homestanding West Ham United 2-1.

At Blackburn:

A 49th-minute goal from Benedict McCarthy powered Blackburn to a 1-0 home win over Liverpool.

At Sheffield:

With Stephen Ireland scoring his first goal for Manchester City (78') , the Citizens snapped a three-game losing streak, beating Sheffield United on the road 1-0.

Deposed Hammers Coach New Boss Man For Addicks

London:

Recently-deposed West Ham United coach Alan Pardew was named new head coach (manager) at Charlton Athletic, replacing Les Reed, who served for roughly a month after being promoted to replace the fired Iain Dowie.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
From all of us at Soccer or Association Football!

Stunning Comeback Win For Vitesse Over Ajax

Four games Sunday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Arnhem:

Second half goals from Danko Jazovic (49'), Mads Junker (51'), Fred Benson (89'), and Youssouf Hersi (90') capped an incredible comeback as Vitesse Arnhem came back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to shock visiting Ajax Amsterdam 4-2.

At Alkmaar:

AZ Alkmaar settled for a 0-0 home draw versus NEC Nijmegen.

At Kerkrade:

Dieter Van Tornhout (2', 31') provided both goals as Roda JC Kerkrade blanked visiting Twente Enschede 2-0.

At Waalwijk:

RKC Waalwijk will spend Christmas Day in the Eredivisie basement after their 1-1 home draw with FC Utrecht. Robert Fuchs (7') gave RKC the early lead, but Tom Caluwe (25') equalized for the visitors.

Feyenoord Wins Rotterdam Derby With Sparta

Four Saturday matches took place in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Rotterdam:

Tim Vincken's game winner in the 75th minute lifted Feyenoord to a 3-2 home win in the Rotterdam derby against Sparta.

At Heerenveen:

Afonso Alves (24') and Lasse Nilsson (42') provided the offense as SC Heerenveen blanked visiting Excelsior 2-0.

At Breda:

NAC Breda salvaged a 1-1 home draw with ADO Den Haag thanks to Leonardo's equalizer (81')

At Eindhoven:

PSV Eindhoven, thanks to four different goal scorers, pistolwhipped sliding Willem II Tilburg 4-0 at home for their 12th consecutive win.

Full Saturday In Scotland

Six games were played Saturday in the Scottish Premier League:

At Aberdeen:

Rangers moved into second place in the SPL by besting hosts Aberdeen 2-1. Nacho Novo (22') and Libor Sionko (24') scored for the guests.

At Edinburgh:

Five different goal scorers powered Hibernian to a 5-1 brassknuckling of visiting---and slumping---St. Mirren.

At Glasgow:

Thomas Gravesen (24') provided the only goal in Celtic's 1-0 home triumph over Falkirk to maintain their 16-point advantage at the top of the SPL standings.

At Kilmarnock:

Nine-man Motherwell suprised homestanding Kilmarnock 2-1. Richie Foran (15') and James Paterson (20') scored for The Steelmen.

At Dundee:

Paul Hartley's successful penalty kick (55') lifted Hearts to a 1-0 road win over Dundee United.

At Dunfermline:

Visiting Inverness Caledonian Thistle and basement-occupying Dunfermline played to a 0-0 stalemate.

Busy Saturday In Ligue 1

Nine games were played Saturday in France's Ligue 1:

At Lyon:

Resurgent Monaco surprised league-leading Lyon by holding the hosts to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Montbeliard:

Karim Ziani's second-half double (62', PK-65') enabled homstanding Sochaux to come from behind to defeat AS Nancy Lorraine 2-1.

At Lille:

Kanga Akale's 55th-minute equalizer enabled AJ Auxerre to gain a 1-1 road deadlock with Lille.

At Valenciennes:

First-half goals from Steve Savidan (PK-13') and Rudy Mater (19') guided Valenciennes to a 2-1 home win over struggling Sedan.

At Troyes:

Georges Ba and his 74th-minute equalizer enable Troyes to gain a 1-1 home draw with Paris Saint-Germain.

At Lorient:

Visiting Rennes and Lorient battled to a 0-0 deadlock.

At Nice:

A nice come-from-behind 2-1 road win for Lens over Nice as Jussie (PK-74') and Aruna Dindane (78') scored second-half goals for the guests.

At Bordeaux:

Gerald Cid scored the lone goal (61') of Bordeaux's 1-0 home victory over Le Mans.

At Toulouse:

Four second-half goals---one from each of four different players---powered Nantes to a 4-0 road fistbeating of Toulouse.

MAMA MIA! Ascoli Wins! Inter Ties Serie A Win Record

Ten matches marked Saturday's Italian Serie A play:

At Ascoli:

Sasa Bjelanovic scored twice (14', 37') to help lead Ascoli to their first win of the Serie 1 season, a 3-0 home whitewashing of struggling Chievo Verona.

At Milan:

Inter Milan came from behind to defeat visiting Atalanta 2-1 to tie the Serie A record for consecutive wins at 11.

At Leghorn:

Christiano Lucarelli's 61st-minute equalizer enabled Livorno to gain a 1-1 home draw with Torino.

At Siena:

With each team scoring a goal a minute apart late in the first half, visiting Palermo and AC Siena battled to a 1-1 deadlock.

At Catania:

Gionatha Spinesi's hat trick (7', PK-45', 88')helped enable Catania Calcio to climb back up to fourth place in the Serie A standings as they defeated visiting Sampdoria 4-2.

At Parma:

After spotting Parma a 1-0 lead, visiting Lazio scored three unanswered goals as they defeated the hosts 3-1.

At Udine:

AC Milan, thanks to goals from Kaka (PK-31'), Alberto Gilardino(35'), and Ricardo Oliveira (76'), whitewashed hosts Udinese 3-0.

At Florence:

With four players scoring once apiece, Fiorentina belted visiting Messina 4-0.

At Reggio Calabria:

Nicola Amoruso's double (8', 27') helped spike Reggina to a 4-1 home victory over Empoli.

At Rome:

Powered by goals from Rodrigo Taddei (5') and Alessandro Mancini (56'), AS Roma blanked visiting Cagliari Calcio 2-0.

Red Devils and Blues Keep On Winning

Ten games were contested Saturday in the English Premier League as the first half of the regular season came to a close:

At Birmingham:

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice (58', 85') to help spark Manchester United to an impressive 3-0 road plastering of Aston Villa to remain on top of the EPL standings.

At Wigan:

After blowing a two-goal lead (as Wigan Athletic's Emile Heskey scored twice [45', 75']), visiting Chelsea won the match Arjen Robben's goal at 90' to stay two points in back of Manchester United.

At London:

Robin Van Persie's double (85', 88') helped Arsenal spank visiting Blackburn 6-2.

At London:

In a local London derby, visiting West Ham United and Fulham battled to a 0-0 draw.

At Manchester:

Nicolas Anelka's double (8', 25') provided all the scoring in Bolton's 2-0 road blanking of slumping Manchester City.

At Reading:

Andrew Johnson (14') and James McFadden (47') each had a tally as Everton blanked homestanding Reading 2-0.

At Middlesbrough:

Goals from Aiyegbeni Yakubu (29') and Julio Arca (52') sparked Middlesbrough to a 2-0 triumph at home over sad-sack Charlton Athletic.

At Newcastle:

Three first-half goals, one from each of three different players, were more than enough as Newcastle United bested visiting Tottenham Hotspur 3-1.

At Liverpool:

Craig Bellamy (47') and Xabi Alonso (88') provided the scoring punch for Liverpool as the Reds downed visiting--and struggling--Watford 2-0.

At Portsmouth:

Second-half goals from Sol Campbell (54') and Noe Pamarot (68') helped spark a come-from-behind 3-1 home win for Portsmouth over Sheffield United.

A Friday Dutch Treat For The Pride Of The North

Al Almelo:

Goran Lovre's goal (62') was the only tally of FC Groningen's 1-0 road win at the expense of SC Heracles Almelo in the only Friday match in the Dutch Eredivisie.

Home Win For Marseille

At Marseille:

Goals from Djibril Cisse (9', in his first action since his pre-World Cup injury) and Mickael Pagis (64') lifted Marseille to a 2-1 home win over St. Eteinne in Friday's lone French Ligue 1 contest.

Benfica Delivers Fanny Kicking To Belenenses

At Lisbon:

In the only Thursday contest in the Portuguese BWINLIGA, four different goal scorers lifted SL Benfica to a homemade 4-0 frontier-style fistbeating of Belenenses.

Barca Held To Draw By Atletico

At Barcelona:

Sergio Aguero scored the tying goal in the 59th minute to lift Atletico Madrid to a 1-1 road draw with FC Barcelona in Thursday's lone Spanish Premiera Liga contest.

New Coach For DC United

Major League Soccer's DC United named assistant coach Tom Soehn as their new head coach on Thursday, replacing Peter Nowak (who is now an assistant to Bob Bradley on the full US National Team, as well as assistant coach of the under-23 squad).

In Italy, Everyone Plays!

On Wednesday, all 20 Serie A teams played. That means ten games were played in Italy's top division:

At Milan:

Kaka's double (4', 88') helped spark AC Milan to a 3-0 home whitewashing to Catania Calcio.

At Empoli:

Francesco Marianini provided the lone tally (47') as Empoli defeated visiting AC Siena 1-0 in a Tuscany derby.

At Genoa:

Sampdoria, after trailing 1-0, scored four unanswered goals as they hammered visiting Livorno 4-1 to climb into fourth place in the Serie A standings. Fabio Quagliarella scored twice (47', 57') for the hosts.

At Bergamo:

Second-half goals from Raffaele De Martino (52') and Antonio Di Natale (90') lifted Udinese to a come-from-behind 2-1 road win over Atalanta.

At Rome:

Inter Milan continued to top the Serie A standings by blanking Lazio on the road 2-0, despite playing the second half with ten men. Esteban Cambiasso (39') and Marco Materazzi (85') provided the scoring for the Nerozzurri.

At Turin:

Francesco Totti (37') and Alessandro Mancini (80') provided the goals for AS Roma as they defeated hosts Torino 2-1.

At Cagliari:

Luca Toni provided both goals (32', 75') in Fiorentina's 2-0 road win over Cagliari Calcio, spoiling Franco Columba's debut as the Islanders' manager.

At Messina:

Daniele Paponi's 77th-minute equalizer lifted Parma to a 1-1 road deadlock with Messina.

At Verona:

Simone Tiribocchi scored the game winner at 89 minutes as Chievo Verona won a thriller against visiting Reggina 3-2.

At Palermo:

Four differnet players each tallied a goal as Palermo kept hapless Ascoli the only winless team left in the four big European leagues by fistbeating the guests 4-0.

Emotional Road Win For Recreativo Over Real Madrid

Seven games were contested Wednesday in the Spanish Premira Liga:

At Madrid:

Recreativo Huelva paid their respects to the supporters who lost their lives in a traffic accident en route to the match in the best way possible as they pummeled Real Madrid 3-0. Florent Sinama Pongolle (35'), Ikechukwu Uche (52'), and Emilio Viqueira (90') provided the scoring for The Senior.

At Vigo:

Visiting Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo battled to a 0-0 draw.

At Santander:

Ruben Gonzalez (49') and Gonzalo Colsa (64') provided the scoring punch to lift Racing Santander to a 2-1 home win over Villarreal.

At Madrid:

Raul Tamudo (74') provided the lone goal of Espanyol's 1-0 road win over Getafe.

At Seville:

FC Sevilla, with Frederic Kanoute scoring twice (29, PK-64'), crushed struggling--- and visiting--- Deportivo La Coruna 4-0.

At Tarragona:

Marcos Assuncao's 64th-minute penalty kick provided the only score in a match that saw Real Betis pick up only their third La Liga win of the season, a 1-0 road win over Gimnastic de Tarragona.

At Pamplona:

Osasuna, thanks to goals from Cesar Cruchaga (57') and Roberto Soldado (69'), held off visiting Levante 2-1.

Valencia Wins, Real Zaragoza and Athletic Bilbao Draw

Two games were played Tuesday in Spain's Premiera Division:

At Bilbao:

Real Zaragoza and homestanding Athletic Bilbao played to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Valencia:

Goals from Vincente Rodriguez (39'), David Villa (57') , and Fernando Morientes (82') propelled Valencia to an easy 3-1 home decision over Mallorca.

Boavista and Braga: Fit To Be Tied

At Braga:

Roland Linz scored the equalizer in the 58th minute, allowing visiting Boavista to finish their match with Sporting Braga, Monday's lone contest in the Portugese BWINLIGA, deadlocked at 2-2.

Cottagers Top Boro 2-1

At London:

In Monday's lone English Premiership match, Heider Helguson (PK-12') and Brian McBride (35') provided the goals as Fulham defeated visiting Middlesbrough 2-1.

Soap Opera For A-League's Kiwi Club

Here's an interesting article on the problems plaguing the New Zealand Knights, the New Zealand entry in Australia's Hyundai A-League. From what I have read online it looks like this is a club that has NO business being a member club in this league.

Easy Win For FC Porto

Four games Sunday in Portugal's BWINLIGA:

At Porto:

Pepe's double (24', 66') helped guide FC Porto to a 4-0 home fistbeating of Pacos Ferreira.

At Aveiro:

Mario Jardel's successful 67th-minute penalty kick allowed SC Beira-Mar to gain a 1-1 home draw with CD Nacional.

At Amadora:

Edu Silva Sales scored the lone goal (9') of Estela Amadora's 1-0 win over Deportivo Aves.

At Figueira da Foz:

Goals from Claudio Lito (69') and Orestes Alves (74') fueled a come-from-behind win for Naval 1º de Maio as the hosts defeated Uniao Leiria 2-1.

Soccer Sunday In The Netherlands

Five matches took place Sunday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Rotterdam:

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's hat trick (24', 48', 74') propelled Ajax Amsterdam to a 3-1 road triumph over 10-man Excelsior.

At Enschede:

Blaise N'Kufo scored twice (8', 71') to help propel Twente Enschede to a 4-1 home pounding of SC Heerenveen.

At Utrecht:

FC Utrecht, on goals from Gregoor van Dijk (9') and Robin Nelisse (17'), held off visiting Feyenoord Rotterdam 2-1 in a match in which both clubs were reduced to ten men.

At Waalwijk:

Romano Denneboom's tally (37') lifted NEC Nijmegen to a 1-0 win over cellar-dwellers RKC Waalwijk, spoiling Mark Wotte's debut as the hosts' new coach.

At Alkmaar:

Gijs Luirink (26') and Danny Koevermans (PK-40') provided the scoring as AZ Alkmaar blanked visiting FC Groningen 2-0.

Rangers Salvage Old Firm Derby Draw With Celtic

At Glasgow:

In Sunday's only Scottish Premier League contest, Brahim Hemdani's 88th-minute equalizer enabled hosts Rangers to gain a 1-1 stalemate with archrival Celtic.

Three Games Sunday In France

Three games Sunday in France's Ligue 1:

At Paris:

Visiting Nice and Paris Saint-Germain battled to a 0-0 draw.

At Auxerre:

Kanga Ikale and Ireneusz Jelen provided the scoring for AJ Auxerre as the hosts bested Lorient in a 2-1 come from behinder.

At Lens:

In a contest pitting the top two clubs in the Ligue 1 stadings, frontrunners Lyon, with two goals from Juninho (23', 62'), crushed Lens 4-0 to open up a 17-point lead atop the standings.

Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen Come Up Winners

Two games were played Sunday in Germany's Bundesliga:

At Dortmund:

Andriy Voronin (24') and Stefan Kiessling (74') provided the goals for Bayer Leverkusen as the guests doubled up Borussia Dortmund 2-1.

At Bremen:

Naldo's game winner (86') allowed Werder Bremen to reclaim first place in the Bundesliga standings as they defeated visiting VfL Wolfsburg 2-1.

Busy Sunday in Serie A

Seven games were contested Sunday in Italy's Serie A:

At Ascoli:

With Alessandro Rosino scoring twice (PK-59', 90'). Torino defeated Ascoli 2-0. The hosts are now the only remaining winless team in the four big European leagues.

At Milan:

Thanks to goals from Marca Materazzi (49') and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (59'), Inter Milan racked up another win, this time a 2-0 home decision over Messina.

At Leghorn:

Christiano Lucarelli's 65th-minute equalizer enabled Livorno to gain a 1-1 home draw with rising Lazio.

At Parma:

Chievo Verona gained a 2-2 road deadlock with Parma, thanks to Lorenzo D'anna's 66th-minute equalizer.

At Reggio Calabria:

Fabio Quagliarella scored the only goal in the match (68') as visiting Sampdoria defeated Reggina 1-0.

At Siena:

Mario Frick's goal in the 85th minute lifted AC Siena to a 1-1 home stalemate with Atalanta.

At Rome:

Alessandro Mancini (44', 83') and Francesco Totti (PK-56', 90') each scored twice
as AS Roma put the big-time hurt on visiting Palermo 4-0.

Sunday Spanish Six-Pack: A Win At Last For The Royal Society Football Club of San Sebastian

Six games played Sunday in the Spanish Premiera Division:

At Valencia:

Alvaro came up with the game-tying goal at 51 minutes to lift Levante to a 1-1 home draw with Celta Vigo.

At San Sebastian:

Diego Rivas notched the game-winning tally in the 60th minute, lifting Real Sociedad to their first win of the league season, a 3-2 verdict over struggling Gimnastic de Tarragona.

At Huelva:

Three different goal scorers powered visiting FC Sevilla to a 3-1 win over Recreativo Huelva, allowing them to take over first place in the La Liga standings.


At Villarreal:

Four different players each tallied a goal as visiting Osasuna popped Villarreal 4-1.

At Barcelona:

Ruud van Nistelrooy cashed in the game's lone goal (50') as Real Madrid defeated homestanding Espnayol 1-0.

At Madrid:

Atletico Madrid, with Nuno Maniche scoring the lone goal of the match (24'), defeated visiting Getafe 1-0.

Winning Debut For West Ham's New Coach As Hammers Shock Red Devils; Chelsea Benifits; Spurs Win

Three games Sunday in the English Premier League:

At London:

Alan Curbishley's debut as West Ham United manager was a shocking success as Nigel Reo-Coker tallied the only goal (75') in the Hammers' 1-0 home upset of league-leading Manchester United.

At Liverpool:

Chelsea benifitted from late goals from Frank Lampard (81') and Didier Drogba (87') as the Blues twice came from behind before defeating hosts Everton 3-2 to move to within two points of frontrunning Manchester United in the EPL standings.

At Manchester:

Calum Davenport (16') and Tom Huddlestone (24'-his first Premiership tally) provided the first-half scoring for Tottenham Hotspur as the visitors doubled up Manchester City 2-1.

Adriano Goal Wins FIFA World Club Title For Internacional

At Yokohama, Japan:

Substitute Adriano scored the only goal of the match (82') as Internacional (Porto Allegre, Brazil) defeated FC Barcelona to capture the FIFA World Club championship 1-0 on Sunday. That's team Captain Fernandao with the FIFA Club World Cup trophy after the victory.


Reuters photo.

Home Wins For Benfica and Sporting Club Portugal

Two games played Saturday in Portugal's BWINLIGA:

At Lisbon:

Nuno Miguel Gomes (13'), Simao Sabrosa (63') and Nuno Assis Lopes (86') provided the scoring punch as SL Benfica whitewashed visiting Vitoria Setubal 3-0.

At Lisbon:

Liedson Da Silva scored the lone goal (27') of Sporting Club Portugal's 1-0 home win over Academica de Coimbra.

Wins For ADO, Vitesse, and NAC Breda

Three games Saturday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At The Hague:

Eljero Elia (8') and Santi Kolk (20') provided the goals as ADO Den Haag climbed out of the Eredivisie basement with a 2-1 home win over Willem II Tilburg.

At Kerkrade:

Danko Lazovic tallied twice (38', 74') to help lead Vitesse Arnhem to a 4-2 road doubling of Roda JC Kerkrade.

At Rotterdam:

A first half goal from each of three different players--Brian Pinas (9'), Patrick Mtiliga (28'), and Maceo Rigters (45')--fueled NAC Breda to a 3-0 road whitewashing of Sparta Rotterdam.

Busy Saturday In Scotland

Five games were played Saturday in the Scottish Premier League:

At Falkirk:

Liam Craig scored what would be the game winner (21') as Falkirk held off visiting Hibernian 2-1.

At St. Mirren:

Visting (and cellar-dwelling) Dunferline and St. Mirren battled to a 0-0 deadlock.

At Edinburgh:

Steve Lovell scored the lone goal of the match (87') to lead visiting Aberdeen to a 1-0 win over Hearts to move into second place in the SPL standings.

At Inverness:

Steven Naismith (29, PK-68') and Colin Nish (35', 50') each scored twice as Kilmarnock came back from a 3-2 halftime deficit to defeat Inverness Caledonian Thistle 4-3 on the road.

At Motherwell:

Noel Hunt's game-winning tally (79') lifted ten-man Dundee United to a 3-2 win over homestanding Motherwell.

Shutouts In Six Of Seven Saturday French Matches---One Of Them A Scoreless Draw!

Seven games took place Saturday in France's Ligue 1:

At Nancy:

Benjamin Gavanon (43') and Carlos Henique Kim (71') provided the goals as AS Nancy Lorraine blanked visiting Marseille 2-0.

At Rennes:

In the only Saturday Ligue 1 match that did not end up with a goose egg for either team, Jimmy Briand's 72nd minute equalizer enabled Rennes to gain a 1-1 home draw with Troyes, who, nevertheless, climbed out of the relegation zone.

At Le Mans:

Marko Basa (31') and Romaric Koffi (77') scored for LeMans as they defeated visting Toulouse 2-0.

At Sedan:

Sedan, with goals from Gregory Pujol (29') and Nicolas Marin (33'), knocked off visiting Lille 2-0 for only their second league win of the season.

At Monte Carlo:

Three different goal scorers paced AS Monaco to a 3-0 home whitewashing of Sochaux.

At St. Etienne:

With three different players each scoring one, St. Etienne moved into third place in the Ligue 1 standings after their 3-0 home blasting of Valenciennes.

At Nantes:

Homestanding Nantes and Bordeaux battled to a 0-0 draw.

Bayern Belts Mainz

Six Saturday games were played Saturday in Germany's Bundesliga:

At Mainz:

With one goal of each of four differnet players, Bayern Munich delivered a 4-0 fistbeating to homestanding Mainz.

At Aachen:

Thanks to Bastian Reinhardt's 90-minute own goal, Alemania Aachen gained a 3-3 home deadlock with Hamburg SV.

At Bielefeld:

Sub Zlatan Bajramovic delivered the only goal (82') in Schalke 04's 1-0 road win over Arminia Bielefeld, thus allowing them to move three points up over Werder Bremen atop the Bundesliga standings.

At Nuremberg:

Three different goal scorers helped FC Nurnberg erase an early one-goal deficit to best visiting Hannover 96, 3-1.

At Cottbus:

Visiting VfB Stuttgart and Energie Cottbus battled to a rather dull 0-0 draw.

At Berlin:

Hertha Berlin, thanks to Christian Gimenez's 63rd-minute tally, defeated visiting Frankfurt 1-0.

Milan and Fiorentina Draw; Udinese Triple Cagliari

Two games were contested Saturday in Italy's Serie A:

At Florence:

Fiorentina's Adrian Mutu (PK-26', 70') and AC Milan's Alberto Gilardina (4', 90') each scored tied as their respective clubs battled to a 2-2 stalemate.

At Udine:

Three different goal scorers sent Udinese to a 3-1 home victory over Cagliari Calcio.

Athletic Bilbao, Racing Santander, Valencia Road Warriors, And Winners

Three contests dotted Saturday's Spanish Premiera Division play:

At La Coruna:

Athletic Bilbao racked up only their third league win of the season as they continued their climb out of the relegation zone by beating Deportivo La Coruna 2-0 on the road, with Javier Martinez scoring both goals (8', 90').

At Mallorca:

With goals from Ruben Gonzalez (64') and Javier Balboa (88'), visiting Racing Santander came from behind to top Mallorca 2-1.

At Zaragoza:

Miguel Angulo scored the lone goal (42') in Valencia's 1-0 road victory over Real Zaragoza.

Gunners Erase Two-Goal Deficit To Tie Pompey

Six games were played Saturday in the English Premier League:

At London:

Emmanuel Adebayor (58') and Gilberto Silva (60') provided the second-half goals that lifted Arsenal from a 2-0 deficit to gain a 2-2 home draw with Portsmouth.

At Birmingham:

Gary Speed's successful penalty kick (75') provided the lone goal in Bolton's 1-0 road win at Aston Villa's expense.

At London:

Liverpool continued Charlton Athletic's rough times, blanking the homestanding Addicks 3-0. Xabi Alonso (PK-3'), Craig Bellamy (82') , and Stephen Gerrard (88') provided the scoring for the Reds.

At Newcastle:

Obafemi Martins tallied twice (49', 85') to lead Newcastle United to a 2-1 home win over Watford.

At Reading:

Second-half goals from Benedict McCarthy (64') and David Bentley (84') propelled Blackburn to a 2-1 comeback victory over hosts Reading.

At Wigan:

Rob Hulse notched the lone goal (45') of Sheffield United's 1-0 road victory over Wigan Athletic.

Triumphant Trip To Funchal For Belenenses

At Funchal:

In the lone Friday Portuguese BWINLIGA contest, Jose Pedro Salazar scored twice (38', PK-64') to help lead Belenenses to an easy 4-1 road win over Maritimo.

Easy Win For PSV

At Eindhoven:

Timmy Simons (PK-25'), Phillip Cocu (51'), and Patrick Kluivert
(64') provided the scoring punch as PSV Eindhoven punched out visiting SC Heracles Almelo 3-0 in the lone Friday Dutch Eredivisie match.

Mochengladbach Blanked By Bochum

At Bochum:

In Friday's only German Bundesliga match, Theofanis Gekas' goal in the 45th minute helped pace VfL Bochum to a 2-0 home win over Borussia Mochengladbach to pull themselves out of the relegation zone, while knocking the slumping visitors in.

Draws For UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup Knockout Stages

Here are the results from Friday's draw for the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup knockout stages at Nyon, Switzerland:

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUND OF 16:

FC Porto vs. Chelsea

Celtic vs. AC Milan

PSV Eindhoven vs. Arsenal

Lille vs. Manchester United

AS Roma vs. Lyon

Barcelona vs. Liverpool

Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich

Inter Milan vs. Valencia

The opening match of each two-game home-and-away series will be played on February 20 and 21, with the return contests played on March 6 and 7.



UEFA CUP ROUNDS OF 32 AND 16:

Zulte Waregem vs. Newcastle United

Fenerbahce vs. AZ Alkmaar

The winners of these two two-game sets would meet in the Round of 16.

Sporting Braga vs. Parma

Feyenoord Rotterdam vs. Tottenham Hotspur

The winners of these two two-game sets would meet in the Round of 16.

Lens vs. Panathinaikos

Bayern Leverkusen vs. Blackburn Rovers

The winners of these two two-game sets would meet in the Round of 16.

Hapoel Tel-Aviv vs. Rangers

Bordeaux vs. Osasuna

The winners of these two two-game sets would meet in the Round of 16.

Livorno vs. Espanyol

CSKA Moscow vs. Maccabi Haifa

The winners of these two two-game sets would meet in the Round of 16.

Werder Bremen vs. Ajax Amsterdam

Spartak Moscow vs. Celta Vigo

The winners of these two two-game sets would meet in the Round of 16.

AEK Athens vs. Paris Saint-Germain

SL Benfica vs. Dinamo Bucharest

The winners of these two two-game sets would meet in the Round of 16.

Steaua Bucharest vs. Sevilla

Shakhtar Donetsk vs. AS Nancy Lorraine

The winners of these two two-game sets would meet in the Round of 16.

Lamar Hunt, 1932-2006

Lamar Hunt, a major, visionary figure in American sports, a member of eight separate Halls of Fame, founder of the American Football League, founder and owner of the AFL/National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs, and a major force in American soccer, having been the owner of the Dallas Tornado of the United Soccer Association ,and later, the North American Soccer League, as well as owner-operator of Major League Soccer's FC Dallas and Columbus Crew (and, until recently, Kansas City Wizards), and for whom our country's soccer tournament, the US Open Cup was named for, passed away in Dallas on Wednesday night from prostate cancer at age 74. Details on Mr. Hunt's life and career can be found here.

UEFA Cup Group Stage, Matchday # 5, Continued

And now, friends and neighbors, here's a rundown of UEFA Cup action as group stage play concluded on Thursday:

GROUP A:

At Glasgow:

Alan Hutton's 55th-minute goal was the only score of Rangers 1-0 home win over FK Partizan , locking up the top spot in Group A for the locals, while leaving the visitors from the Belgrade, Serbia with only one point in four matches.

At Auxerre, France:

Cristiano Lucarelli propelled visiting Livorno into the UEFA knockout stage with his 59th-minute tally in the Italian club 1-0 road win over AJ Auxerre.

GROUP B:

At London:

Jermain DeFoe tallied twice (39', 50') and Dimitar Berbatov once (16') as Tottenham Hotspur locked up the top spot in Group B with an easy 3-1 home victory over Dinamo Bucharest. Even with the setback, the visiting Red Dogs from Romania also reached the round of 32.

At Leverkusen, Germany:

Bernd Schneider (78') and Sergej Barbarez (87') provided the scoring punch as Bayer Leverkusen locked up a knockout stage berth with a 3-1 home win over Besiktas, knocking the visiting Turkish club out of European competition.

GROUP C:

At Braga, Portugal:

Joao Pinto (61') and Vitor Castanheira (90'+1) provided the goals and Sporting Braga provided more misery for Grasshoppers as they blanked the visitors 2-0 to secure a knockout-stage berth in the UEFA Cup. It was a horrendous group stage campaign for the men from Zurich. They and Austria Vienna were the only two teams in UEFA Cup group play that were unable to secure a single point.

At Seville, Spain:

Shota Arveladze twice tallied (62', 90'+3) to fuel AZ Alkmaar to a come-from-behind, 2-1 road victory over Sevilla to capture top spot in Group C. Both teams qualified for UEFA Cup knockout stage action.

GROUP D:

At Parma, Italy:

David Lopez scored twice (33', 44') to help guide Osasuna to a 3-0 win over hosts Parma (who already captured first place in Group D). The Spanish club joins Parma in the UEFA Cup's final 32.

At Heerenveen, Netherlands:

Afonso Alves scored the lone goal of the match (90'+3) as SC Heerenveen blanked visiting Lens 1-0. However, because of Osasuna's win at Parma, the hosts were eliminated from European competition while the French guests qualified for the knockout stage of the UEFA Cup.

Blues, Gunners Wednesday Winners

Two matches were decided Wednesday in the English Premier League:

At London:

Didier Drogba came off the bench to score the lone goal (74') of Chelsea's 1-0 home victory at the expense of Newcastle United.

At Wigan:

Arsenal, thanks to Emmanuel Adebayor's 88th-minute tally, picked up a 1-0 road win over Wigan Athletic.

UEFA Cup Group Stage, Matchday # 5

Okay, boys and girls, here's a rundown of Wednesday play in the group stage of the 2006-07 UEFA Cup competition:

GROUP E:

At Blackburn, England:

Lucas Neill's goal in the third minute of second-half stoppage time propelled Blackburn Rovers to a 1-0 home win over AS Nancy Lorraine, clinching the top spot in Group E for the Rovers while ASNL finished second. Both clinched berths in the UEFA Cup knockout stage.

At Rotterdam, Netherlands:

Nicky Hofs (16'), Jonathan De Guzman (41'), and Angelos Charisteas (67') each tallied once to lift homestanding Feyenoord Rotterdam to a 3-1 home victory over Wisla Krakow to clinch a berth in the UEFA Cup knockout stage.

GROUP F:

At Barcelona:

Walter Pandiani's 57th-minute tally was the lone goal of the match as RCD Espanyol finished group play with four wins in as many matches en route to the UEFA Cup knockout stage by beating visiting Austria Vienna 1-0.

At Gent, Belgium:

Klaas Jan Huntelaar scored twice (4', 57') to help lead Ajax Amsterdam to a 3-0 road whitewashing of Zulte Waregem to leapfrog the Belgian side to finish second in Group F. Both teams qualified for the UEFA Cup knockout stage.

GROUP G:

At Paris:

Pauleta (29', 47') and Bonaventure Kalou (52', 54') each scored twice to lead Paris Saint-Germain to an impressive 4-0 home fistbeating of Group G winners Panathinaikos to join the Greek side in the UEFA Cup round of 32 (the start of the knockout stage).

At Tel-Aviv, Israel:

Hapoel Tel-Aviv claimed Group G's third and final knockout-stage qualifying spot with a 1-1 home draw with Mlada Boleslav. Elyaniv Barda scored for the hosts in the 27th minute.

GROUP H:

At Palermo, Italy:

Visiting Celta Vigo grabbed a spot in the final 32 by tying Palermo (and knocking the host Sicilians out of European competition) 1-1. Baiano scored first for Celta in the 59th minute while Giovanni Tedesco notched the equalizer in the 70th.

At Istanbul, Turkey:

With goals from Tuncay Sanli (64') and Semih Senturk (83'), Fenerbahce bounced back from a two-goal deficit to gain a 2-2 home stalemate with Eintrach Frankfurt and clinch a berth in the round of 32.

Will Freddy Be Better Off With RSL?

My thinking is that Freddy Adu will likely be better off playing for Real Salt Lake. He'll be starting on a regualar basis and won't be coming off the bench as he did for the most part during his rookie year at DC United.

DC United Bids Freddy Adeiu

Salt Lake City:

DC United traded Freddy Adu to Real Salt Lake on Monday along with goalkeeper Nick Rimando in exchange for a major player allocation, the rights to goalie Jay nolly and future considerations.

Porto Top CD Nacional

At Funchal:

In Monday's lone BWINLIGA match, Lucho Gonzalez scored the game winner in the 88th minute as FC Porto came from behind to defeat CD Nacional 2-1.

West Ham Drops Hammer On Coach

At London:

Two days following their 4-0 fistbeating at the hands of Bolton left them in the Premiership's relegation zone, West Ham United Monday fired head coach (manager) Alan Pardew.

Villa, Blades Battle To Draw At Bramall Lane

At Sheffield:

In Monday's single English Premiership contest, Milan Baros scored the equalizer in the 64th minute to enable visiting Aston Villa to gain a share of the spoils in their 2-2 deadlock with Sheffield United.

!VIVA CHIVAS! Goats Win Another Mexican Title

At Toluca, Mexico:

Adolfo Bautista scored the deciding goal in the 69th minute, allowing visiting Chivas of Guadalajara to win game two of their two-game total goals championship series on Sunday with Toluca 2-1 and capture their eleventh Mexican league title 3-2 on aggregate.

Sunday Quartet In Portugal

Four games were played Sunday in Portugal's BWINLIGA:

At Vila das Aves:

Moudou Sougou scored the lone goal (59') for Uniao Leiria as they defeated homestainding Deportivo Aves 1-0.

At Coimbra:

Collins Mbesuma (on loan from Portsmouth) twice tallied (32', 76') to help power Maritimo to a 2-1 road win over Academica de Coimbra.

At Pacos de Ferreira:

Estrela Amadora and homestanding Pacos Ferreira battled to a 1-1 stalemate.

At Figueira da Foz:

Visting SL Benfica and Naval 1° de Maio battled to a 0-0 deadlock.

Four More Games In The Netherlands

Four games played Sunday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Amsterdam:

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's 75th-minute equalizer enabled Ajax Amsterdam to gain a 2-2 home draw with AZ Alkmaar.

At Rotterdam:

Three second-half tallies---from Nicky Hofs (55'), Jonathan De Guzman (58'), and Angelos Charisteas (PK-85')---guided Feyenoord Rotterdam to a 3-1 home victory over hapless ADO Den Haag.

At Arnhem:

Vitesse Arnhem came back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat visiting RKC Waalwijk 3-1.

At Tilburg:

Blaise N'Kufo was anything but blase as his hat trick (31', 43', 68') powered Twente Enschede to a 3-1 road win over Willem II Tilburg.

Another Celtic Victory

At Dunfermline:

In the lone Sunday contest in the Scottish Premier League, Aiden MeGeady (49') and Maciej Zurawski (68') provided the scoring punch as Celtic racked up a 2-1 road win at Dunfermline's expense.

Another Win For Lyon; Mastiffs Settle For Draw With St. Etienne

Two games Sunday in France's Ligue1:

At Lyon:

Goals from Cris (87') and Florent Malouda (88') powered Lyon to another league victory, 3-1 at home over Paris Saint Germain.

At Lille:

Aruajo Ilan's double (8', 66') enable St. Etienne to earn a 2-2 road deadlock with Lille.

Schalke 04 and Alemania Aachen Come Up Sunday Winners

In Sunday German Bundesliga action:

At Gelsenkirchen:

Christian Pander (14'), Kevin Kuranyi (25'), and Peter Lovenkrands(47') scored one goal each, leading Schalke 04 to a 3-1 home win over Borussia Dortmund in the Ruhr Valley derby.

At Wolfsburg:

Alemania Aachen came from behind to defeat homestanding VfL Wolfsburg 2-1. Laurentiu-Aurelian Reghecampf (71') and Nico Herzig (77') scored for the winners.

Busy Sunday in Serie A

Eight games were contested Sunday in Italy's Serie A:

Busy Sunday In Spain's Top Division

Eight games were contested Sunday in the Spanish Premiera Liga.

Blues and Gunners Go Sister Kissing

At London:

In the lone Sunday match in the English Premier League, Michael Essien's equalizer in the 84th minute lifted Chelsea to a 1-1 home draw with Arsenal.

Boavista (At Home), SC Portugal (On The Road) Rack Up 3-0 Wins

Two games were played Saturday in the Portuguese BWINLIGA:

At Porto:

Rafal Grzelak tallied twice (14', 45') to help guide Boavista to a 3-0 home whitewashing of Beira Mar.

At Setubal:

Liedson Da Silva's double (3', 53') helped to lead Sporting Club Portugal to a 3-0 blasting of Vitoria Setubal.

Saturday Dutch Quartet

Four games were played Saturday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Groningen:

Second-half goals from Ibrahim Afellay (61') and Arouna Kone (85') lifted PSV Eindhoven to a 2-0 road shutout over FC Groningen to tighten their hold on the top spot in the Eredivisie standings.

At Breda:

NAC Breda came from behind to defeat visiting Excelsior 2-1 thanks to goals from Ronnie Stam (36') and Mike Zonneveld (66').

At Nijmegen:

Thanks to goals from Jonas Olsson (6') and Peter Wisgerhof (47'), NEC Nijmegen picked up a 2-0 home win over FC Utrecht.

At Almelo:

Haris Medunjanin's double (33', 45') helped lift visiting Sparta Rotterdam to a 3-2 win over SC Heracles Almelo.

Rangers Blank Hibs, Plus Other Saturday SPL Action

Five Saturday matches were contested in the Scottish Premier League:

At Glasgow:

Dado Prso (16'), Libor Sionko (32'), and Barry Ferguson (36') provided the scoring as Rangers manhandled visiting Hibernian 3-0.

At Aberdeen:

Tallies courtesy of Darren Mackie (17') and Chris Clark (44') lifted Aberdeen to a 2-1 home win over Falkirk.

At Dundee:

Noel Hunt tallied twice (22', 65') to help pace Dundee United to a 2-1 win over visiting Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

At Edinburgh:

Four different goal scorers lifted Hearts to an easy 4-1 victory over visiting Motherwell.

At Kilmarnock:

Mark Corcoran's 75th-minute equalizer enabled St. Mirren to pick up a 1-1 road stalemate with Kilmarnock.

Busy Saturday In Ligue 1

Eight games Saturday in France's Ligue 1:

At Toulouse:

Issam Jomaa's goal in second-half stoppage time lifted Lens to a 1-0 road win over Toulouse.

At Nantes:

Visiting Le Mans and cellar-dwelling Nantes battled to a 0-0 draw.

At Bordeaux:

Sylvain Marveaux (11') and John Utaka (61') powered Rennes to their first road win of the Ligue 1 season, handing Bordeaux their first home setback in league play since August 20, 2-1.

At Nice:

AS Nancy Lorraine and hosts Nice played to a 0-0 deadlock.

At Lorient:

Goals from Andre-Pierre Gignac (23') and Rafik Saifi (29') lifted Lorient to a 2-0 home victory at the expense of struggling Sedan.

At Troyes:

With Ireneusz Jelen scoring twice (53', 84') and Kanga Akale scoring the equalizer (90'), visiting AJ Auxerre battled back from two two-goal deficits to gain a 3-3 draw with Troyes.

At Marseille:

Mamadou Niang's game winner (77') lifted Marseille to a 2-1 home win over AS Monaco.

At Valenceinnes:

Visiting Sochaux and Valenceinnes battled on to a 0-0 stalemate.

Another Saturday Bundesliga Six-Pack In Germany

Six matches were contested Saturday in Germany's Bundesliga:

At Munich:

Daniel van Buyten provided the game winner (54') as Bayern Munich defeated visiting Energie Cottbus 2-1.

At Hannover:

Thomas Brdaric (68') scored the equalizer for Hannover 96 in their 1-1 home draw with Arminia Bielefeld. This goal came just after the guests' Marcel Ndjeng scored to put Bielefeld on top briefly.

At Mochengladbach:

Ranisav Jovanovic's 89th-minute equalizer lifted struggling Mainz to a 1-1 road deadlock with Borussia Mochengladbach.

At Stuttgart:

Sub Marco Streller scored the only goal (87') of VfB Stuttgart's 1-0 home victory over VfL Bochum.

At Frankfurt:

Naldo's hat trick (3', 31', 48') lifted visiting Werder Bremen to a 6-2 pasting of Eintracht Frankfurt.

At Hamburg:

Hamburg and visiting Nurnberg battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

Reggina, Palermo Post Home Wins

Two games Saturday in Italy's Serie A:

At Reggio Calabria:

Alessandro Lucarelli (29') and Nicola Amoruso (78') provided the tallies as cellar-dwelling Reggina kept visiting Ascoli the only remaining winless club in Serie A 2-1.

At Palermo:

Fabio Simplicio scored twice (2', 79') to lift Palermo to a 3-0 home whitewashing of Livorno.

Ronaldinho Leads Barca Over Real Sociedad; Sevilla Stuns Real Madrid

Two games Saturday in Spain's Premiera Liga:

At Barcelona:

Ronaldinho scored the lone goal (61') of FC Barcelona's 1-0 home win over struggling Real Sociedad.

At Seville:

FC Sevilla, thanks to goals from Frederic Kanoute (17') and Javier Chevanton (77'), came from behind to defeat Real Madrid 2-1, thus overtaking the visitors to take over second place in the top Spanish soccer division.

Red Devils Top Citizens In Manchester Derby

Here's a rundown of Saturday action in the English Premier League:

At Manchester:

Wayne Rooney (6') , Louis Saha (45') , and Cristiano Ronaldo(84') paced Manchester United to a 3-1 home win over Manchester City

At Bolton:

Kevin Davies scored twice (17', 52') to lead Bolton Wanderers to a 4-0 home dressdown of struggling West Ham United. The game marked the Totters' Gary Speed's record 500th English Premier League match. He set up three of the Bolton tallies.

At Liverpool:

It was a good old fasioned fanny kicking as four different Reds tallied in Liverpool's 4-0 drubbing of visiting Fulham.

At Blackburn:

Obafemi Martins' double (31', 90') spurred Newcastle United to a 3-1 road win over 10-man Blackburn Rovers. It marked the Magpies' third straight premiership win.

At Middlesbrough:

Aiyegbeni Yakubu's equalizer (66') lifted Middlesbrough to a 1-1 home draw with Wigan Athletic.

At Portsmouth:

Portsmouth, with goals from Matt Taylor (14') and Nwankwo Kanu (26'), blanked visiting Everton 2-0.

At London:

Dimitar Berbatov scored twice (31', 66') to help lead Tottenham to a 5-1 home fistbeating of intracity rival Charlton Athletic.

At Watford:

Visiting Reading and Watford battled to a 0-0 stalemate, the same result that took place in both their Championship meetings last season.

Home Win For The Blues From Restelo

At Lisbon:

In Friday's one match in Portugal's BWINLIGA, Jorge Manuel Silas (2') and Filipe Ruben Amorim (77') provided the scoring as Belenenses blanked visting Sporting Braga 2-0.

Dutch Treat For Heerenveen

At Heerenveen:

In the one Friday Dutch Eredivisie match, Niklas Tarvajarvi's game-winner (87') lifted SC Heerenveen to a 1-0 home win over Roda JC Kerkrade, enabling the hosts to climb up to sixth place in the Eredivisie standings.

Leverkusen Top Hertha 2-1

At Leverkusen:

In the one Friday German Bundesliga match, goals from Paul Freier (33') and Marko Babic (79') enabled Bayer Leverkusen to top visiting Hertha Berlin 2-1.

Wednesday EPL Action

Wednesday action in the English Premier League:

At Newcastle:

Emre's 84th minute tally lifted Newcastle United to a come-from-behind 3-2 win over visiting Reading.

At London:

David Cotterill notched his first Premiership tally in the 51st minute to help guide Wigan Athletic to a 2-0 road win over West Ham United.

UEFA Champions League Group Stage, Matchday # 6, Continued

Wednesday marked the final day of group stage action in the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League:

Note:**Clinched berth in Champions League knockout stage; *Clinched berth in UEFA Cup knockout stage

GROUP E:

At Kiev, Ukraine:

Late goals from Ronaldo (86', PK-88') powered knockout-stage bound Real Madrid to a 2-2 road draw with Dynamo Kiev.

At Lyon, France:

Steaua Bucharest and homestanding Lyon battled to a 1-1 stalemate.

Final Standings:

**Lyon, 14 points; **Real Madrid, 11; *Steaua Bucharest, 5; Dynamo Kiev, 2

GROUP F:

At Manchester, England:

Goals from Nemanja Vidic (45'+1'), Ryan Giggs (61'), and Louis Saha (75') sent Manchester United to the Champions League's knockout stage (as Group F winners) with a 3-1 home win over now-UEFA-Cup bound SL Benfica.

At Copenhagen, Denmark:

Dispite being eliminated from European competition, FC Copenhagen did not roll over and die, for they posted a 3-1 home victory over knockout stage-bound Celtic.

Final Standings:

**Manchester United, 12; **Celtic, 9; *SL Benfica 7, FC Copenhagen 7
Note: SL Benfica gained the UEFA Cup berth by virtue of their draw and win in two matches versus FC Copenhagen.

GROUP G:

At Porto, Potugal:

Visting Arsenal and FC Porto both clinched Champions League knockout stage berths by playing to a 0-0 deadlock.

At Hamburg, Germany:

Boubacar Sanogo's game winning tally (90') lifted struggling Hamburg to a 3-2 home victory over CSKA Moscow, helping to send the visitors to the UEFA Cup knockout stage.

Final Standings:

**Arsenal, 11 poins; **FC Porto, 11; *CSKA Moscow, 8; Hamburg, 3
Note: Arsenal claimed first place in Group G by virtue of their win and draw in two games versus FC Porto.

GROUP H:

At Brussels:

Bruno Cirillo's equalizer (81') enabled AEK Athens to post a 2-2 road draw with RSC Anderlecht. The Greek side had to settle for a UEFA Cup berth because of Lille's win at AC Milan.

At Milan:

Goals from Peter Odemwingie (7') and Kader Keita (67') powered visiting Lille into the Champions League knockout stage as they defeated knockout stage-bound AC Milan 2-0.

Final Standings:

**AC Milan, 10 points; **Lille, 9; *AEK Athens, 8; RSC Anderlecht, 4

Addicks, Spurs, Grab Home Wins

Two games were played Tuesday in the English Premier League:

At London:

Goals from Dimitar Berbatov (48') and Robbie Keane (84') powered Tottenham Hotspur to a 2-1 home win over Middlesbrough.

At London:

Talal El Karkouri tallied the lone goal in second half stoppage time as Charlton Athletic climbed out of the EPL basement with a 1-0 home victory over Blackburn.

UEFA Champions League Group Stage, Matchday # 6

Here is a rundown of Tuesday action in this, the final week of group stage play in the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League:

Note: **Clinched spot in Champions League knockout stage (starting with round of 16); *Clinched spot in UEFA Cup knockout stage (starting with round of 32)

GROUP A:

At Barcelona:

Goals from Ronaldinho (13') and Eider Gudjohnsen (18') powered defending champion FC Barcelona to a 2-0 home win over Werder Bremen to lift themselves into the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League, while sending the German side to the UEFA Cup's round of 32.

At London:

Chelsea finished atop the Group A standings following their 2-0 home win over Levski Sofia. Andriy Shevchenko (27') and Shaun Wright-Phillips (83') scored for the Blues.

Final Standings:

**Chelsea, 13 points; **Barcelona, 11; *Werder Bremen, 10; Levski Sofia, 0

GROUP B:

At Lisbon:

Three different goal scorers lifted Spartak Moscow to a 3-1 road win over Sporting Club Portugal, overtaking the hosts to grab a spot in the UEFA Cup knockout stage.

At Munich:

In a battle of the two Group B clubs that have already booked their places in the knockout stage, Patrick Viera's equalizer in the first minute of second half injury time lifted Inter Milan to a 1-1 road deadlock with Bayern Munich. Bayern still finished atop Group B.

Final Standings:
**Bayern Munich, 12; **Inter Milan, 10; *Spartak Moscow, 5; Sporting Club Portugal, 5
Spartak reached the UEFA Cup knockout stage because of one win and one draw in two games against SC Portugal.

GROUP C:

At Istanbul:

Three different scorers led Galatasaray to a 3-2 win over Liverpool. The Reds still clinched first place in Group C while the hosts picked up their one win in the group stage and are done with European competition.

At Eindhoven, Netherlands:

UEFA Cup-bound Bordeaux racked up an impressive 3-1 road win over PSV Eindhoven, who already had locked up a birth in the CL knockout stage.

Final Standings:
**Liverpool, 13 points; **PSV Eindhoven, 10; *Bordeaux, 7; Galatasaray, 4

GROUP D:

At Athens:

Nery Alberto Castillo notched the tying goal in the 54th minute to gain a 1-1 home draw for Olympiacos against Shakhtar Donetsk. However, the visitors still claimed third place and a UEFA Cup berth.

At Rome:

Christian Panucci provided the lone goal (13') as AS Roma clinched a spot in the CL knockout stage with their 1-0 home win over Valencia, who still finished on top in Group D.

Final Standings:
**Valencia, 13 points; **AS Roma, 10; *Shakhtar Donetsk; Olympiacos, 3