Matchday # 4 In UEFA Champions League Play

And now, ladies and gentlemen, here's a rundown of Tuesday's action in the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League:

GROUP A:

At Barcelona:

Didier Drogba's equalizer three minutes into second-half stoppage time lifted Chelsea to a 2-2 road draw with FC Barcelona. The draw keeps the Blues atop the Group A standings at 10 points, with Barca dropping to third place at five.

At Sofia, Bulgaria:

By pounding hosts PFC Levski Sofia 3-0, Werder Bremen moved into second place in Group A with seven points.



GROUP B:

At Moscow:

A goal from Julio Cruz in the first minute held up as Inter Milan picked up a critical 1-0 road win over Spartak Moscow. The win put Inter into second place in Group B at six points.

At Munich:

Bayern Munich, by battling Sporting Club of Portugal to a 0-0 home stalemate, clinched a berth in the knockout stage, which starts with the round of 16. The draw dropped Sporting into third place in Group B at five points.

GROUP C:

At Liverpool:

Liverpool, on goals from Luis Garcia (23', 76') and Steven Gerrard (72'), belted visiting Bordeaux 3-0 to clinch a berth in the knockout stage. The loss eliminated the visiting French club from Champions League contention.

At Eindhoven, Netherlands:

Goals from Timmy Simons (59') and Arouna Kone (84') lifted PSV Eindhoven to a 2-0 home win over Galatasaray, which put PSV into the knockout stage. The defeat eliminated the visiting club from Istanbul from Champions League contention. They and Bordeaux will now scramble for third place in Group C and the UEFA Cup third-round berth.

GROUP D:

At Donetsk, Ukraine:

Valencia clinch a berth in the knockout stage with a 2-2 road deadlock versus FC Shakhtar Donetsk. Roberto Ayala notched the 68th-minute equalizer for the guests.

At Rome:

Francesco Totti's goal in the 68-th minute enabled AS Roma to pick up a 1-1 home draw with Olympiacos. Julio Cesar scored for the guests (19') who, by tying, prevented Roma from advancing to the knockout stage and kept their (and Shakhtar's) flickering hopes of advancing alive.

FC Pacos de Ferreira Top Boavista

At Pacos de Ferreira:

On goals from Edson Nobre (19') and Didi (75'), FC Pacos de Ferreira defeated visiting Boavista 2-0 in the lone Portugese BWINLiga match on Monday.

Dons Top Hibs

At Aberdeen:

In a rare Monday Scottish Premier League contest, Lee Miller's equalizer (56') and Scott Severin's game winner (90') lifted Aberdeen to a 2-1 come from behind home win over Hibernian.

Citizens Blank Boro 1-0

At Manchester:

In the lone Monday English Premier League contest, Richard Dunne's 23rd-minute tally lifted Manchester City to a 1-0 home win over Middlesbrough.

United, Dynamo Notch Series Wins

Two games were played Sunday as the Major League Soccer playoffs continued:

At Washington:

DC United, thanks to Christian Gomez's 86th-minute goal, tied the visiting New York Red Bulls 1-1 in game two of their Eastern Conference two-game total-goals series, enabling the four-time MLS Cup winners to win the series 2-1 on aggregate. This enabled DC to advance to next Sunday's Eastern Conference championship game, at home against the New England Revolution.

At Houston:

The Houston Dynamo, thanks to Brian Ching's goal nearly two minutes into second-half stoppage time, blanked visiting CD Chivas 2-0. This allowed the Dynamo to win the two-game Western Conference semifinal series on aggregate, 3-2. Houston next weekend will host the Colorado in the Western Confernece championship game.

It's A Russian Six-Pack

Six games were contested Sunday in the Russian Premier League:

At Moscow:
Dinamo Moscow, powered by goals from Maxim Romashchenko (41') and Leandro Fernandez (69'), blanked visiting Lokomotiv Moscow 2-0.

At Moscow:
Igor Lebedenko notched the only tally (77') in Saturn Moscow's 1-0 home win over FC Luch-Energia Vladivostok.

At Saint Petersburg:
FC Moscow, thanks to Petr Bystrov's 90th-minute equalizer, gained a 1-1 road draw with Zenit St. Petersburg.

At Moscow:
First-half goals from Alexandru Gatcan (21') and Orlando Calisto (45') enabled visting FK Rubin Kazan to hold off Torpedo Moscow 2-1.

At Tomsk:
Denis Kiselev's 79th-minute tally was all the scoring in FC Tom' Tomsk's 1-0 home victory over Spartak Nalchik.

At Perm:
Ildar Akmetzinov scored the lone goal (83') in the 1-0 home win for FK Amkar Perm' at the expense of PFK Samara Kryliya Sovetov.

Quartet Of Sunday Games In Portugal

Four games were played Sunday in Portugal's BWINLiga:

At Vila Das Aves:
Eduardo Dody notched the only goal (63') of Belenenses' 1-0 road win over Desportivo das Aves.

At Funchal:
Homestanding Clube Desportivo Nacional de Madeiro and Naval 1° de Maio battled to a 1-1 draw.

At Amadora:
Paolo Sergio Goncalves scored the only goal (80') in Estrela Amadora's 1-0 home win against Vitoria Setubal.

At Braga:
With four different goal scorers, visiting Maritimo stunned Braga 4-1.

Five Games On Eredivisie Sunday Slate

Five games were played Sunday in the Netherlands' top soccer league:

At Alkmaar:
David Mendes Da Silva scored twice (53', 73') to help lead AZ Alkmaar to a 5-1 home beatdown of FC Ultrecht.

At Enschede:
Otman Bakkal scored a double (12', 16') as Twente Enschede, in front of the home fans, pounded NEC Nijmegen 4-0.

At Kerkrade:
Visiting Feyenoord Rotterdam came from behind to defeat Roda JC Kerkrade 2-1. Angelos Charisteas scored the equalizer in the 39th, while Stein Huysegems knocked in the game-winner in the 66th minute.

At Breda:
Homestanding NAC Breda and FC Groningen battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Rotterdam:
With Ivan Cvetkov's 70-minute score, Sparta Rotterdam went into the win column for the first time this season, 1-0 at home, at the expense of Willem II Tilburg.

Nice Stuns Marseille; Lyon Wins Again

Two games in France's Ligue 1:

At Nice:

It was a nice win for Nice, as the hosts' Ederson scored the game-winning penalty kick in the 90th minute of Les Aiglons 2-1 home triumph over Marseille.

At Lyon:
John Carew's tally in the 13th minute was the only score in Lyon's 1-0 home win over AS Nancy Lorraine as the five-time defending Ligue 1 champs stretched their lead atop the league standings to 11 points.

Comeback Win For Bhoys Over Kilmarnock

At Kilmarnock:

In the only Sunday match in the Scottish Premier League, goals from Shunsuke Nakamura (55') and Kenny Miller (75') enabled Celtic to come from behind to defeat host Kilmarnock 2-1. Colin Nash scored (49') for the losers.

Arminia Bielefeld, VfB Stuttgart Win

Two games were played Sunday in Germany's Bundesliga:

At Bielefeld:
Jonas Kemper scored twice (11', 68') as Arminia Bielefeld belted visiting Alemania Aachen 5-1.

At Stuttgart:
Sami Khedira scored twice (32', 46') and Serdar Tosci contributed one of his own (76') as VfB Stuttgart climbed to fourth place in the Bundesliga standings by whipping visiting Schalke 04 3-0.

Busy Sunday In Spain's La Liga

Here is a rundown of a busy Sunday in Spain's top soccer league:

At Vigo:
Goalkeeper Andres Palop saved Fernando Baiano 88th-minute equalizing penalty kick to preserve FC Sevilla's 2-1 road win over Celta Vigo.

At San Sebastian:
Rodolfo Arruabarrena scored the only goal (82') in Villarreal's first road win of the season, 1-0 over Real Sociedad.

At Madrid:
Getafe, on goals from Manu Del Moral (10') and Nacho (68'), blanked visiting Deportivo La Coruna 2-0.

At Pamplona:
Osasuna and visiting Athletic Bilbao battled to a 1-1 draw.

At Valencia:
Espanyol and homestanding Levante battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Madrid:
Real Zaragoza, thanks to Oscar Gonzalez and his 88th-minute goal, picked up a road win, 1-0 over Atletico Madrid.

At Seville:
Bosko Jankovic provided all the scoring (77') in Mallorca's 1-0 road triumph over Real Betis.

Dramatic Road Win For Palermo

Eight games dotted the Sunday Italian Serie A schedule:

At Florence:
Carvalho de Oliveira Amauri scored twice (80', 89') to lead Palermo to a heart-stopping 3-2 road win over Fiorentina.

At Ascoli:
Paul Codrea's 86th-minute tally lifted AC Siena to a 1-0 road win over Ascoli.

At Cagliari:
Daniele Conte provided all the scoring with his 45th-minute goal as Cagliari picked up their first win of the season, 1-0 at home over Sampdoria.

At Rome:
Homestanding Lazio and Reggina battled to a 0-0 draw.

At Messina:
Messina, thanks to goals from Christian Rigano (45') and Sergio Floccari (90'), came from behind to defeat visiting Chievo Verona 2-1.

At Bari:
In a battle of promoted clubs, Catania Calcio and visiting Torino battled to a 1-1 deadlock. Ivan Franceschini's goal in the 85th minute tied the game for The Bull.

At Parma:
Homestanding Parma, with three different goal scorers, defeated Atalanta 3-1.

At Leghorn:
Visiting Empoli FC and Livorno battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

Hammers Hold Off Blackburn

At London:

In Sunday's lone English Premier League match, West Ham United held off Blackburn Rovers for a 2-1 home win, ending the Hammers' eight game losing streak. 40-year old Teddy Sheringham opened the scoring in the 21st minute, while Hayden Mullins added the insurance goal in the 80th.

Revs, Rapids, Win Playoff Series

Two games Saturday in Major League Soccer playoff action:

At Foxboro, Massachusetts:
Taylor Twellman scored the winning goal in the penalty kick shootout as the New England Revolution won the shootout 4-2, after the two-game total-goals Eastern Conference semifinal series ended 2-2 on aggregate. The Revs now will face the winner of the DC United-New York series in the Eastern Confernece final next weekend.

At Frisco, Texas:
Colorado Rapids goalie Joe Cannon, in the sixth round of the penalty-kick shootout, saved Dario Sala's shot, then Pablo Mastroeni scored on the Rapids final kick as Colorado stunned FC Dallas 5-4 in the penalty kick after the two sides' two-game, total goals Western Conference semifinal series had ended 3-3 on aggregate, before each team scored once in overtime to force the shootout. The Rapids will face the winner of the Chivas USA-Houston series in the Western Conference final next Saturday on the road.

CSKA Moscow Wins; Spartak Settles For Draw

Two games Saturday in Russia's Premier League:

At Rostov:
Mica Olic scored twice (54', 86') as CSKA Moscow picked up a 2-1 home win over FC Rostov.

At Yaroslavi:
Sergei Omelyanchuk's 90th-minute equalizer enabled FC Shinnik Yaroslavi to gain a 1-1 home deadlock with Spartak Moscow.

FC Porto, Uniao Leiria Pick Up Wins

Two games Saturday in Portugal's BWINLiga:

At Leiria:
Bartosz Slusarski scored both goals (35', 81') in Uniao Leiria's 2-0 home win over Academica de Coimbra.

At Porto:
Thanks to goals from Helder Postiga (11') , Ricardo Quaresma (19'), Bruno dos Santos Morales (90'), FC Porto won a wild one from visiting SL Benfica, 3-2, enabling the hosts to overtake Sporting Clube de Portugal and move to the top of the BWINLiga standings.

Ajax, PSV, ADO (!) Pick Up Wins; Vitesse Arnhem, Excelsior Draw

Four games Saturday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At The Hague:
ADO Den Haag went into the win column for the first time this season, thanks to goals from Santi Kolk (57') and Eljero Elia (89'), as the hosts blanked SC Heracles Almelo 2-0.

At Heerenveen:
Visiting Ajax Amsterdam defeated SC Heerenveen 2-0, as Tom De Mul (17') and Wesley Sneijder (76') scored for the Eredivisie standings toppers.

At Rotterdam:
Excelsior Rotterdam came back from a two-goal deficit to gain a 2-2 home draw with Vitesse Arnhem. Luigi Bruins (PK-61') and Johan Voskamp (90') scored the tying goals for the hosts.

At Waalwijk:
PSV Eindhoven had an easy time with RKC Waalwijk, blanking the hosts 3-0. Arouna Kone scored twice (59', 90') and Ibrahim Atellay (52') once for the victors.

Busy Saturday In Ligue 1

Eight games dotted the Saturday French Ligue 1 schedule:

At Lens:
Yohan Demont's 62nd-minute goal was all the scoring in Lens' 1-0 home win over AJ Auxerre.

At Nantes:
In a battle of the bottom two teams in the Ligue 1 standings, Julio Rossi's goal in the 27th minute provided Nantes with the only tally in their 1-0 home win over AS Monaco.

At Bordeaux:
With goals from Wendel (45'), Johan Micoud (46'), and Jean-Claude Darcheville (PK-53'), Bordeaux came back from a one-goal deficit to defeat visiting Sedan 3-1.

At Paris:
Amara Diane provided the only goal (44') in Paris Saint Germain's 1-0 home win over Rennes.

At LeMans:
Visiting Lille and LeMans battled to a 1-1 deadlock.

At Toulouse:
Despite scoring first, thanks to Laurent Battles' 21st-minute goal, Toulouse still went on to lose, at home, 2-1, to Sochaux, as Les Lionceoux got goals from Alvaro Santos (PK-32') and Karim Ziani (88'), whose game winner gave the guests all three points.

At Lorient:
Rafik Saifi provided all the goals, one (43'), in Lorient's 1-0 home win over Valenciennes.

At Troyes:
Host club Troyes, on goals from Gael Danic (56'), Gharib Amzine (75') and David Gigliotti (86'), came from behind to defeat St. Etienne 3-1.

Four Saturday SPL Matches

Four games were contested Saturday in the Scottish Premier League:

At Falkirk:
A hat trick from Anthony Stokes (39', 48', PK-89') helped Falkirk FC to an easy 5-1 home victory over struggling Dundee United.

At Edinburgh:
Jim Hamilton popped in the equalizer (48') enabling Dunfermline to gain a 1-1 road draw with Heart of Midlothian FC.

At Glasgow:
Rangers had to settle for a 1-1 home draw with Motherwell, as the visitors' Brian Kerr tied the score in the 51st minute.

At Paisley:
John Sutton's 65th-minute equalizer lifted St. Mirren to a 1-1 home draw with Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

A Saturday Six-Pack In Germany

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

At Munich:
Roy Makaay (24') and Mark van Bommel (29') each contributed a goal in Bayern Munich's 2-0 home win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

At Nuremberg:
Paulo Cesar Tinga's 87th-minute game-tyer enabled Borussia Dortmund to gain a 1-1 road draw with 1. FC Nurnberg.

At Mochengladbach:
Bayer Leverkusen, on goals from Marko Babic (12') and Andriy Voronin (74'), blanked homestanding Borussia Mochengladbach 2-0.

At Bochum:
Mike Hanke provided the lone goal (25') in VfL Wolfsburg's 1-0 road win over VfL Bochum

At Cottbus:
Thanks to second-half goals from Daniel Gunkel (66') and Shao Jiayi (83'), newcomers Energie Cottbus knocked off Hertha Berlin at home, 2-0.

At Hamburg:
Visiting Hannover 96 and Hamburger SV battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

Ronaldinho Scores Twice In Barca Win; Real Madrid, Racing Santander Also Win

Three games were played Saturday in Spain's La Liga:

At Barcelona:
Ronaldinho scored twice (PK-28', 57') to help lead Barcelona to a 3-0 home blanking of Recreativo Huelva.

At Santander:
Pedro Munitis used his noggin as his 57th-minute header lifted Racing Santander to their first home win of the season, a 1-0 triumph over Valencia, which had come into the match atop the La Liga standings.

At Tarragona:
Real Madrid, thanks to goals from Roberto Carlos (44'), Ivan Helguera (50'), and Robinho (85'), overcame a 1-0 deficit to overtake struggling Gimnastic de Tarragona 3-1.

Inter Wins Wild Derby; Roma Tops Udinese

Two games were on the Saturday schedule in Italy's Serie A:

At Milan:

On goals from Hernan Crespo (17'), Dejan Stankovic (22'), Zlatan Ibrahamovic (47'), and Marco Materazzi (68'), Inter Milan was able to hold off a furious late comback from AC Milan, defeating their intracity rivals 4-3.

At Udine:
Matteo Ferrari scored the only goal of the match in the 66th minute, as AS Roma handed Udinese their first home defeat of the season 1-0.

Wayne Rooney Ends Scoring Drought At Red Devils Drub Trotters

We now present a rundown of Saturday's English Premiership action:

At Bolton:
Wayne Rooney ended his goal scoring drought by notching a hat trick (10', 16', 89') as Manchester United pistolwhipped hosts Bolton Wanderers 4-0. Cristiano Ronaldo contributed one to the Red Devils' cause in the 82nd minute.

At London:
Robin van Persie's 71st-minute equalizer enabled Arsenal to gain a 1-1 home draw with Everton.

At London:
Henri Camara scored the only goal (83') in Wigan Athletic's 1-0 road win over Fulham.

At Liverpool:
With three different goal scorers (Dirk Kuyt, Peter Crouch, and Luis Garcia), Liverpool picked up a 3-1 home win over previously unbeaten Aston Villa.

At Newcastle:
Newcastle and visiting Charlton Athletic battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Portsmouth:
Kanu scored his seventh goal of the season (52') as Portsmouth defeated visiting Reading 3-1.

At Sheffield:
Chelsea, on goals from Frank Lampard (43') and Michael Ballack (49'), picked up a road win, blanking Sheffield United 2-0.

At Watford:
Still-winless Watford and visiting Tottenham Hotspur played to a 0-0 deadlock.

Wild Finish At Aveiro

At Aveiro:

In the lone Friday match in Portugal's BWINLIGA, Yohanna Buba completed a hat trick by scoring the equalizer in the 90th minute, thus allowing Sport Clube Beira-Mar to gain a 1-1 home deadlock with Sporting Clube de Portugal. With the draw, the visitors from Lisbon moved into sole possession, for the time being, of the top spot in the BWINLIGA standings.

Slaughter In The Rhineland

At Mainz:

In Friday's only German Bundesliga match, Miroslav Klose scored twice (14', 21') to help lead visiting Werder Bremen to a 6-1 fronteir-style fistbeating of FSV Mainz 05.

Five Wednesday Games In The Netherlands

A quintet of games Wednesday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Groningen:
Erik Nevland scored both goals (23', 67') in FC Groningen's 2-0 home win over Excelsior.

At Amsterdam:
First-half goals from Grabi (30') and Wesley Sneijder (32') lifted Ajax to a 2-0 home win over still-winless ADO Den Haag.

At Nijmegen:
NEC Nijmegen and visiting Roda JC Kerkrade battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Eindhoven:
Jefferson Farfan knocked in a hat trick (PK-20', 28', 81') while Arouna Kone scored twice (4', 40') as PSV Eindhoven delivered a frontier-style 7-0 fistbeating to hapless visiting Sparta Rotterdam.

At Almelo:
Robert Schilder scored his first Eredivisie goal (22') to lift SC Heracle Almelo to a 1-1 home draw with RKC Waalwijk. Ruud Berger scored (9') for RKC, still looking for their first road win of the season.

Inter Back On Top Of Serie A Standings

Roundup of Wednesday action in Italy:

With their 4-1 pasting of Livorno, Inter Milan returned to the top of the Serie A standings. Details of that game and the rest of a crowded schedule can be found here.

Naval, Braga Draw

At Figueira da Foz:

In Monday's lone Portugese BWIN Liga match, Associacao Naval 1° de Maio battled guests Sporting Braga to a 1-1 stalemate as the hosts' Aparecido Nei scored the equalizer in the 90th minute.

Hibs Crush Dunferline 4-0

In Monday's lone Scottish Premier League match at Dunfermline on Monday, Christopher Killen scored twice (62', 90') to help visiting Hibernian give Dunfermline a good 'ol 4-0 beatdown.

Fire, Goats, Win Playoff Openers

Two more Major League Soccer conference semifinal series opened Sunday:

At Bridgeview, Illinois:
Justin Mapp scored the only goal (35'), lifting the Chicago Fire to a 1-0 win over the New England Revolution in game one of an Eastern Conference two-game, total-goals, semifinal series. The Fire can advance to the Eastern Confernece finals with a win or tie next Saturday night in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

At Carson, California:
Ante Razov (45') and Juan Francisco Palencia (69') scored to lead Chivas USA to a 2-1 Western Conference semifinal series-opening home win over the Houston Dyanamo. The Goats can advance to the Western Conference finals with a win or tie next weekend at Houston. Brian Ching scored the lone Houston goal in the 74th minute, but Chivas goalkeeper Brad Guzan made a huge save on Dwayne De Rosario's penalty kick in the 86th minute to seal the hosts' win.

Sunday Action In Portugal's BWIN Liga

Five games were played Sunday in Portugal's top soccer league:

At Coimbra:
Miguel Pedro (3') and Danilo (63') scored to lead Academia de Coimbra to a 2-0 home win over Deportivo Aves.

At Lisbon:
Visiting FC Porto and Sporting Clube de Portugal battled to a 1-1 stalemate. Yanick Djalo (43') scored for Sporting, and Ricardo Quaresma (47') equalized for Porto.

At Funchal, Madeira Islands:
Collins Mbesuma (57') and Ze Gomes (82') provided the scoring for Maritimo as the host club defeated Beira Mar 2-1.

At Setubal:
Uniao Leiria, on goals from Jorge Paulo Gomes (33') and Barosz Slusarski (52'), picked up a 2-1 comeback road win over Vitoria Setubal.

At Lisbon:
With three different goal scorers, SL Benfica handled visiting Estrela Amadoro 3-1.

Sunday Action In The Netherlands

Five games were played Sunday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Alkmaar:
With three different goal scorers, PSV Eindhoven defeated homestanding AZ Alkmaar 3-1 to move up to second place in the Eredivisie standings.

At Heerenveen:
Thanks to Afonso Alves' hat trick (14', 74', 79') SC Heerenveen doubled up FC Groningen 4-2 at home.

At Utrecht:
Ricky Kruys (24') and Cedric van der Gun (37') provided the scoring as FC Ultrecht picked up a 2-0 home win over winless ADO Den Haag.

At Rotterdam:
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (12', 38') and Kenneth Perez (PK-50',62') each scored twice as visiting Ajax Amsterdam walloped Feyenoord Rotterdam 4-0.

At Nijmegen:
A second-half stoppage time goal from Youssef El Akchaoui lifted NEC Nijmegen to a 1-0 home win over Vitesse Arnhem.

Rangers Win Wild One Against St. Mirren

At Paisley:

In Sunday's lone Scottish Premier League match, Nacho Novo knocked in the game winner in the 85th minute to propel Rangers to a 3-2 road win versus St. Mirren.

PSG and Auxerre Get Goose Eggs; Lyon Thumps Marseille

Two games Sunday in France's Ligue 1:

At Auxerre:
Visiting Paris Saint Germain and AJ Auxerre battled to a 0-0 draw.

At Marseille:
Juninho scored twice (20', 78') and Karim Benzima (48') and Kim Kallstrom (87') once apiece as Lyon opened up their lead atop the Ligue 1 standings to eight points after dominating Marseille 4-1.

PSG and Auxerre Get Goose Eggs; Lyon Thumps Marseille

Two games Sunday in France's Ligue 1:

At Auxerre:
Visiting Paris Saint Germain and AJ Auxerre battled to a 0-0 draw.

At Marseille:
Juninho scored twice (20', 78') and Karim Benzima (48') and Kim Kallstrom (87') once apiece as Lyon opened up their lead atop the Ligue 1 standings to eight points after dominating Marseille 4-1.

Busy Sunday in Italia Serie A

It was a busy Sunday in Italy's top soccer (calcio) league:

At Bergamo:
Cristian Doni scored twice (PKs 35' and 85') and Riccardo Zampagna (89') once as Atalanta came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat visiting Sampdoria 3-2. Fabio Quagliarella (4', 11') tallied twice for the visitors.

At Parma:
By scoring the only goal of the match (10'), Igor Budan provided all the scoring as Parma racked up their first league win of the season, 1-0 over Ascoli.

At Lecce:
Giuseppe Colucci scored twice (35', 51') and Gionatha Spinesi once(44') as Catania Calcio defeated visiting Lazio 3-1.

At Rome:
Francesco Totti's 66th-minute equalizer lifted AS Roma to a 1-1 home draw with Chievo Verona.

At Florence:
With three different goal scorers Fiorentina marched to an easy 3-0 home whitewashing of Reggina.

At Udine:
Udinese and visiting Inter Milan battled to a 0-0 stalemate. Inter remains unbeaten for the league season.

At Leghorn:
Visiting AC Siena and Livorno battled to a 0-0 deadlock. The visitors ended up with the same points they entered the match with because they were penalized one point this past week for missing a tax deadline. Ouch!

At Milan:
Visiting Palermo joined Inter Milan at the top of the Serie A standings, thanks to a 2-0 road victory over AC Milan. Mark Bresciano and Calvalho de Olivera Amauri provided the scoring for the victors.

Raul and Ruud Lead Real Madrid Past Barca

In Sunday action in Spain's La Liga:

At Madrid:
Real Madrid, thanks to goals from Raul (3') and Ruud van Nistelrooy (51') defeated visiting FC Barcelona 2-0.

At Huelva:
Getafe held off Recreativo Huelva for a 2-1 road win. The hosts' Francisco Javi Guererro missed a 90th-minute penalty kick that would have tied the game. Manu del Moral scored the game winner in the 71st minute.

At Barcelona:
Raul Tamudo scored on a successful penalty kick in the 90th minute ( to go with his earlier tally in the 45th minute) to lift homestanding Espanyol to a 2-2 draw with Racing Santander.

At Valencia:
David Villa's tally in the 16th minute was the only score in Valencia's 1-0 home triumph against Osasuna.

At Seville:
Frederic Kanoute scored twice (22', 27') to lift FC Sevilla to a 2-1 home win over Gimnastic de Tarragona.

At Bilbao:
Fernando Baiano's goal in the 6th minute held up as Celta Vigo picked up a 1-0 raod win at Athletic Bilbao's expense.

At Mallorca:
Visiting Real Sociedad and RCD Mallorca battled to a 0-0 deadlock. Mallorca's Toni Prats and Real Sociedad's Claudio Bravo emerged from the match with clean sheets.

Hamburg Wins; Nurnberg, Eintracht Frankfurt Draw

Two games Sunday in Germany's Bundesliga:

At Leverkusen:
Paul Guerrero engineered Hamburg SV's 2-1, come-from-behind, road win over Bayer Leverkusen by scoring in the 71st and 86th minutes.

At Frankfurt:
Eintracht Frankfurt and visiting FC Nurnberg maintained their unbeaten starts to the Bundesliga season by battling to a 2-2 draw.

Gunners Bash Royals, 4-0

Here's a rundown of Sunday's English Premier League action:

At Reading:
Thierry Henry scored twice (1', PK-70') and Alexander Hleb (39') and Robin Van Persie (50') each scored once as Arsenal put on a clinic for Reading, crushing the hosts 4-0.

At Manchester:
Thanks to goals from Paul Scholes (39') and Rio Ferdinand (66'), Manchester United picked up a 2-0 home win over Liverpool and returned to the top of the Premiership standings.

At Blackburn:
Ivan Campo provided all the scoring (62') in Bolton Wanderers' 1-0 road win over Blackburn Rovers. Jussi Jaakselainen saved two Blackburn penalty kicks (Benedict McCarthy, 87'; Jason Roberts, 88') to preserve the victory and shutout.

At Middlesbrough:
Aiyegbeni Yakubu scored the only goal (85') of Middlesbrough's 1-0 home win over Newcastle United.

At London:
Ahmed Mido, with his 45-minute tally, provided all the scoring in Tottenham Hotspur's 1-0 home win at the expense of struggling West Ham United.

DC United, FC Dallas Win Playoff Openers

In action Saturday on the opening day of the Major League Soccer playoffs:

At East Rutherford, New Jersey:

Christian Gomez scored the only goal (77') in DC United's 1-0 road win over the New York Red Bulls in the opening game of the two clubs' Eastern Conference two-game, total goals, semifinal series. DC needs only a draw next Sunday at home to win this series and advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

At Denver:
Abe Thompson scored the game winner (55') in FC Dallas' 2-1 road win against the Colorado Rapids in game one of the two clubs' two-game, total-goals, Western Conference semifinal series. A win or tie next Saturday at home would send Dallas into the Western Conference finals.

CD Nacional Blows Out Boavista

At Porto, Portugal:

In Saturday's lone Portugese Super Liga match, four different scorers paced visiting CD Nacional to a 4-1 pounding of Boavista FC.

Roda JC, NAC Breda, Twente Enschede Win

Three games Saturday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Kerkrade:
Dieter Van Tomhaut scored the game winner in the 90th minute as Roda JC Kerkrade picked up a 2-1 home win over winless Spart Rotterdam.

At Waalwijk:
Dustley Mulder scored the lone goal of the match in the 66th minute. Unfortunately for Dustley, who wore the uniform of homestanding RKC Waalwijk, he scored the goal for visiting NAC Breda by knocking it into his own net. NAC won the game 1-0.

At Enschede:
FC Twente Enschede, with four different goal scorers. took apart visiting Excelsior 4-1.

Saturday Scottish League Action

Four games were played Saturday in the Scottish Premier League:

At Aberdeen:
Barry Nicholson scored twice (47', 71') to help lead Aberdeen to a 2-1 home win over Dundee United.

At Glasgow:
Celtic rackup up a 2-1 home win at the expense of Motherwell. Maciej Zurawski scored the game winner in the 66th minute.

At Edinburgh:
Kilmarnock, with goals from Daniele Invincibile (28') and Gary Wales (35'), stunned host club Hearts 2-0.

At Inverness:
After Anthony Stokes scored twice ( 41', 51') for Falkirk, Inverness Caledonian Thistle bounced back with three goals, one from Craig Dargo (70') and two from John Rankin (82', 86'), as the Caley Jags stunned the visitors with a 3-2, come-from-behind victory.

Busy Saturday In Ligue 1

Eight games dotted Saturday's play in France's top soccer league:

At Lille:
Matheiu Bodmer, with his successful penalty kick in the 36th minutes, provided all the scoring in Lille's 1-0 home win over Lorient.

At Sedan:
Sedan, with goals from Jerome Lemoigne (64') and Marcus Mwambo (90'), overcame a two-goal deficit to gain a 2-2 home draw with Lens.

At Nancy:
Mickael Chretien's goal in the 54th minute was all the offense in AS Nancy Lorraine's 1-0 home win over Nantes.

At Montbeliard:
Alvaro Santos (4') and Valter Birsa (69') provided the scoring for homestanding FC Sochaux as they defeated Bordeaux 2-1.

At Monte Carlo:
With three different scorers, Toulouse defeated struggling 10-man AS Monaco 3-1 on the road.

At St. Etienne:
St. Etienne picked up a 2-0 home win over Le Mans. The visitors' defenseman Gregory Cerdan knocked one into his own net in the 4th minute, then, in the 68th, Frederic Piquionne finished the scoring---for his own team.

At Rennes:
Olivier Monterubbio tallied the only goal (PK-58') as Rennes defeated visiting Nice 1-0.

At Valenciennes:
Sebastien Roudet scored twice (32', 56') as Valenciennes FC defeated Troyes before the home fans 3-1.

Two Draws In Italy

Two games on Saturday's Italian Serie A agend:

At Messina:
Empoli FC twice came back from one-goal deficits to gain a 1-1 road draw with Messina. Antonio Busce scored the final goal in the 64th minute for the visitors.

At Cagliari:
Cagliari Calcio (still looking for their first league win this season) and visiting Torino battled to a 0-0 stalemate. The two goalkeepers, Cagliari's Antonio Chimenti and his Torino counterpart, Christian Abbiati ended with clean sheets.

Real Zaragoza And Deportivo La Coruna Win; Villarreal, Levante Draw

Three games in Spain's premier league on Saturday:

At Zaragoza:
Diego Milito scored both goals (13', 31') for Real Zaragoza as the host club held off Real Betis 2-1.

At Villarreal:
Teenage sub Jonathan Pereira's equalizer in the 66th minute enabled Villarreal to gain a 1-1 home draw with Levante.

At Lacoruna:
Javier Arizmendi provided all the scoring (66') in Deportivo La Coruna's 1-0 home win against Atletico Madrid.

Six-Pack On Saturday Bundesliga Schedule

Six games were played Saturday in the German Bundesliga:

At Aachen:
Thanks to goals from Vlad Munteanu (65') and Timo Rost (75'), Energie Cottbus came from behind to pick up a 2-1 road win over Alemania Aachen.

At Wolfsburg:
Visiting VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg battled to a 1-1 draw, with all the scoring in the first half, provided by Wolfsburg's Mike Hanke (26') and Stuttgart's Mario Gomez (31').

At Bielefeld:
Heiko Westermann scored the only goal (72') in Arminia Bielefeld's 1-0 home win over Mainz.

At Bremen:
You can now call them first-place Werder Bremen, after their 3-1 win over FC Bayern Munich. Diego (11') and Pierre Wome (34') scored for the winners.

At Berlin:
Marco Pantelic's 73rd-minute goal was the game winner as Hertha Berlin defeated visiting Borussia Mochengladbach 2-1.

At Gelsenkirchen:
With first-half goals from Zlatan Bajramovic (17') and Levan Kobiashvili (27'), FC Schalke 04 held off Hannover 96 for a 2-1 home win.

EPL Action, Saturday, October 21

Five games were played Saturday in England's Premier League:

At London:
Goals from Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack, two key summertime signings, led Chelsea to a 2-1 home win over Portsmouth.

At Birmingham:
Moritz Volz' equalizer at the end of the first half lifted Fulham to a 1-1 road draw with still-unbeaten Aston Villa.

At London:
Two struggling clubs, Charlton Athletic and visiting Watford, battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Liverpool:
Mikel Arteta and James Beattie (successful penalty kick) provided the offense in Everton's 2-0 home win versus Sheffield United.

At Wigan:
With four different goal scorers (including an own goal from Manchester City's Richard Dunne), Wigan Athletic scorched the visting Citizens 4-0.

Jose Pedro Doubles For Belenenses

At Lisbon:

In the lone Friday match in the BWINLIGA (Portugal's top soccer league), Jose Pedro popped in both goals as Belenenses racked up a 2-0 home win over Pacos Ferriera 2-0. Stats here.

Willem II Tops Heracles

At Tilburg, Netherlands:

In Friday's lone Dutch Eredivisie match, Willem II Tilburg, on goals from Zsombor Kerekes (PK-57') and Geert den Ouden (87'), shut out 10-man visiting Heracles Almelo 2-0. Details here.

Bochum, Dortmund, Fit To Be Tied

At Dortmund, Germany:

In the lone Friday match in Germany's Bundesliga, Ebi Smolarek's goal in the 35th minute lifted Borussia Dortmund to a 1-1 draw with VfL Bochum. Theofanis Gekas tallied for the vistors (30'). Details here.

Matchday #1 in UEFA Cup Group Stage Action

Yessir, boys and girls, here is a rundown in Thursday action in the group stage of the 2006-07 UEFA Cup competition:

GROUP A:

At Livorno, Italy:
Thanks to goals from Charlie Adam (27'), Kris Boyd (PK-30'), and Nacho Novo (35'), Rangers began group play with a 3-2 road win over AS Livorno Calcio. Details here.

At Tel-Aviv, Israel:
Maccabi Haifa FC , thanks to goals from Alain Masudi (13'), Gustavo Boccoli (56'), and Roberto Colautti (58'), topped visiting AJ Auxerre 3-1. Details here.

GROUP B:

At Istanbul, Turkey:
With goals from Hossam Ghaly (32') and Dimitar Berbatov (63'), Tottenham Hotspur started group play with a 2-0 road win over Besiktas. Details here.

At Brugge, Belgium:
Club Brugge SV held visiting Bayer Leverkusen to a 1-1 draw. Details here.

GROUP C:

At Alkmaar, Netherlands:
With three different goal scorers, AZ Alkmaar whitewashed visiting SC Braga 3-0. Details here.

At Liberec, Czech Republic:
Slovan Liberec battled Sevilla FC to a home 0-0 stalemate. Details here.

GROUP D:

At Pamplona, Spain:
CA Osasuna and 10-man visiting SC Heerenveen battled to a 0-0 draw. Details here.

At Odense, Denmark:
Thanks to goals from Daniele Dessena (41') and sub Igor Budan, Parma FC came from behind to defeat homestanding Odense BK 2-1. Details here.

GROUP E:

At Krakow, Poland:
David Bentley's 90th-minute goal completed Blackburn Rovers' 2-1 comeback road win against Wisla Krakow. Details here.

At Basel, Switzerland:
Thanks to Stein Heysegems' 76-minute equalizer, Feyenoord Rotterdam picked up a point with a 1-1 road draw against FC Basel 1893. Details here.

GROUP F:

At Vienna:
Thanks to Tim Matthys and his natural hat trick (33', 56', 69'), visiting SV Zulte Waregem ripped FK Austria Vienna 4-1. Details here.

At Prague, Czech Republic:
RCD Espanyol went into the Czech capital and blanked Sparta Prague 2-0. Luis Garcia (PK-17') and Albert Riera (85') provided the scoring. Details here.

GROUP G:

At Athens:
Panathinaikos got off on the right foot with a 2-0 home win over Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC. Details here.

At Bucharest:
Visiting Paris Saint Germain and Rapid Bucharest battled to a 0-0 deadlock. Details here.

GROUP H:

At Frankfurt, Germany:
Franco Brienza (50') and Cristian Zaccardo (88') scored to complete visiting Palermo's 2-1 comeback road win over Eintracht Frankfurt. Details here.

At Newcastle, England:
Antoine Sibierski popped in the only goal (79') in Newcastle United's 1-0 home win against Fenerbahce SK. Details here.

UEFA Champions League Group Stage, Matchday #3, Continued

Here is a wrapup of Wednesday's UEFA Champions League Group Stage action:


GROUP A:

At London:
Didier Drogba provided all the scoring with his 47th-minute goal, as Chelsea tightened its' hold on the top of the Group A standings with a 1-0 home win over FC Barcelona. Details here.

At Bremen, Germany:
With goals from Naldo (45'+1') and Diego (73'), Werder Bremen moved into a tie for second place (4 points) in Group A with a 2-0 home win over PFC Levski Sofia. Details here.

GROUP B:

At Milan:
Early goals from Julio Cruz (1', 9') propelled Inter Milan to a 2-1 home win over Spartak Moscow. Details here.

At Lisbon:
Bastian Schweinsteiger's goal in the 19th minute was the only tally in 10-man Bayern Munich's 1-0 road win over Sporting Club Potugal. Bayern leads Group B with a perfect nine points while Sporting sits in second place at four. Details here.

GROUP C:

At Bordeaux, France:
Peter Crouch scored the only goal (58') of Liverpool's 1-0 road win over Bordeaux. The Reds share first place in Group C with seven points. Details here.

At Istanbul, Turkey:
PSV Eindhoven overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit and defeated homestanding Galatasaray 2-1, thanks to goals from Jan Kromkamp (59') and Arouna Kone (72'). PSV shares the top of the Group C standings with Liverpool, having amassed seven points. Details here.

GROUP D:

At Valencia, Spain:
David Villa's double (31', 45') lifted Valencia to a 2-0 home win versus Shakhtar Donetsk, and placed them atop Group D at a perfect nine points. Details here.

At Athens:
Simone Perrotta popped in the only goal of the match in the 78th minute as AS Roma defeated Olympiacos on the road, 1-0. The Italian side sits in second place in Group D with six points. Details here.

2006-07 UEFA Champions League Group Stage, Matchday #3

Here's a rundown of Tuesday's play in the group stage of the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League:

GROUP E:

At Bucharest:
Real Madrid used four different goal scorers in an easy 4-1 road win against Steaua Bucharest to move into sole position of second place in Group E. Details here.

At Kiev, Ukraine:
Olympique Lyonnais, with three different goal scorers, blanked Dynamo Kiev 3-0 on the road in the Ukrainian capital. Lyon edged closer to qualifying for the knockout stage, leading Group E with a perfect nine points. Details here.

GROUP F:

At Glasgow, Scotland:
Two second-half goals (56', 66') by Kenny Miller helped Celtic crown visiting SL Benfica 3-0. The Bhoys are solidly in second place in Group F with six points. Details here.

At Manchester, England:
Manchester United, on goals from Paul Scholes (39'), John O'Shea (46'), and Kieran Richardson (82'), throttled visiting FC Copenhagen 3-0 to remain atop Group F with a perfect nine points. Details here.

GROUP G:

At Moscow:
Daniel Carvalho scored the only goal of the match in the 24th minute as CSKA Moscow knocked off Arsenal before the home fans 1-0. The Horses move to the top of the Group G standings with seven points while the Gunners fall to second with six. Details here.

At Porto, Portugal:
Lisandro Lopez scored twice (14', 81') to help lead FC Porto to a 4-1 hammering that turned visitng Hamburg SV into Hambuger (bad pun). Porto remains stuck in third place in Group G with four points. Details here.


GROUP H:

At Lens, France:
Lille scored all three of their goals in the second half of their 3-1 win over visiting AEK Athens. The win puts the Mastiffs in second place in Group H at five points. Details here.

At Brussels:
Kaka scored the lone goal (58') in AC Milan's 1-0 road win over RSC Anderlecht, putting Milan atop the Group H standings at seven points. Details here.

Cottagers Top Addicks 2-1

At London:

In the lone Monday match in England's Premiership, goals from Brian McBride (65') and sub Claus Jensen (67') powered Fulham to a 2-1 home win over hapless Charlton Athletic. Details here.

Closing Day Of Major League Soccer Regular Season

Action Sunday in Major League Soccer as the MLS Regular Season came to a close:

At Washington:
In a battle of two playoff-bound Eastern Conference clubs, the Chicago Fire racked up a 3-2 road win over DC United. Goals from Gonzalo Segares (21'), Nate Jaqua (24'), and Andy Herron (74') paced the visitors. Christian Gomez scored both DC United goals (34', 82'). Details here.

At Carson, California:
Jafet Soto knocked in the equalizer in the 89th minute to lift Real Salt Lake to a season-ending 1-1 road draw with playoff-bound Chivas USA. Details here.

Soccer Sunday In The Netherlands

In Sunday action in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Rotterdam:
Cedric van der Gun's tally in the 45th minute was all the scoring in FC Ultrecht's 1-0 road win against Excelsior, before a measly crowd of 2,835 fans at Rotterdam. Details here.

At Eindhoven:
Davy De Fauw scored in the 4th minute for Roda JC Kerkrade, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead. All PSV Eindhoven did in the second half was notch four goals (Jefferson Farfan in the 75th minute, Alex in the 77th, and Ismail Aissati and Roy Beerens in the 90th minute) to pound their guests 4-1. Details here.

At Waalwijk:
Feyenoord Rotterdam came back from a 2-0 deficit to gain a 2-2 road draw with RKC Waalwijk. Ali Boussaboun (38') and Theo Lucius (PK-45') scored the tying goals. Details here.

At Almelo:
Everton popped in the only goal in the match, a penalty kick in the 34th minute, to lift SC Heracles Almelo to a 1-0 home win over SC Heerenveen. Details here.

Le Mans, Nancy Draw; Lens and Marseille Likewise

Two games in France's Ligue 1 on Sunday:

At LeMans:
LeMans and visiting AS Nancy Lorraine battled to a 0-0 draw. Details here.

At Lens:
Aruna Dindane scored the tying goal, a successful penalty kick in the 80th minute, to enable Lens to gain a 1-1 home draw with Marseille. Details here.

Big Comeback For Hearts As They Gain Draw With Hibs

At Edinburgh:

Despite playing with ten men, visiting Hearts came back from a two-goal deficit to gain a 2-2 road draw with Hibernian in Sunday's only Scottish Premier League contest. Andius Velicka scored both goals (28', 72') for the visitors. Details here.

Dortmund Victorious; Nurmberg, Arminia Bielefeld Draw

Two games on the Sunday Bundesliga calendar:

At Cottbus:
Markus Brzenska scored twice (2', 57') and Alexander Frei notched the game winner (59') as Borussia Dortmund held off Energie Cottbus for a 3-2 road win. Details here.

At Nuremberg:
1. FC Nurmberg settled for a 1-1 home draw with Arminia Bielefeld. Details here.

Busy Sunday in Italia Serie A

Eight games were played Sunday in Italy's top soccer division:

At Ascoli:
Despite ending up with only ten men, visiting Livorno still racked up a 2-0 win over Ascoli. Tomas Danilevicius (23') and Antonio Filippini (63') provided the scoring. Details here.

At Parma:
Vincenzo Iaquinta scored twice (PK-11', 66') to lead Udinese to a 3-0 road win over Parma. Details here.

At Empoli:
Adrian Mutu (67') and Luca Toni (77') scored second-half goals as Fiorentina handed Empoli their first home loss of the season, 2-1. Details here.

At Reggio Calabria:
Nicola Amoruso's goal in the 47th minute was the only tally of Reggina's 1-0 home win over AS Roma. Details here.

At Milan:
Inter Milan moved to the top of the Serie A standings as Dejan Stankovic scored twice (29', 76') to lead the Nerozzurri to a 2-0 home win over Catania Calcio. Details here.

At Turin:
Thanks to Roberto Stellone's 48th-minute tally, Torino picked up their first win of the Serie A season, 1-0 at home against Chievo Verona. Details here.

At Palermo:
Atalanta, with three different goal scorers, knocked off Palermo on the road 3-2. Fernando Tissone scored the game winner in the 56th minute. Details here.

At Rome:
Lazio and visiting Cagliari battled to a 0-0 stalemate. Details here.

Mighty Busy Sunday In Spain

Eight games were played Sunday in Spain's La Liga:


At Vigo:
Celta Vigo held on for a 3-2 home win against Valencia. Details here.

At San Sebastian:
Alberto Diego Milto scored twice (PK-34', 59') as Real Zaragoza came from behind for a 3-1 road win over Real Sociedad. Details here.

At Tarragona:
Athletic Bilbao raced to a 3-0 lead, as Francisco Yeste (PK-11'. 50') scored twice, then held off Gimnastic de Tarragona for a 3-2 road win. Details here.

At Villarreal:
Villarreal had to settle for a 0-0 home deadlock with Espanyol. Details here.

At Barcelona:
Ronaldinho scored twice (PK-28', 39') as FC Barcelona got revenge on Sevilla, who defeated them for the UEFA Super Cup, by beating the guests 3-1. Details here.

At Valencia:
Juan Arango scored the only goal (22') of Mallorca's 1-0 road win over Levante. Stats here.

At Pamplona:
Felipe Melo's successful penalty kick in the 53rd minute lifted previously winless Racing Santander to their first win, a 1-0 road triumph over Osasuna. Details here.

At Seville:
Robert De Pinho's last gasp equalizer, a 90th-minute penalty kick, lifted homestanding Real Betis to a 1-1 draw with Deportivo La Coruna. Details here.

Trotters Come Back To Top Magpies

At Newcastle, England:

In Sunday's lone English Premiership match, El-Hadju Diouf scored twice (55' and 57') to pace Bolton Wanderers to a come-from-behind 2-1 road win over Newcastle United. Details here.

Red Bulls, Rapids Clinch Playoff Berths

Four games were on the Major League Soccer docket on Saturday:

At East Rutherford, New Jersey:

Amado Guevara scored a hat trick as the New York Red Bulls defeated the visiting Kansas City Wizards 3-2, thus overtaking the Wizards to clinch the fourth and final Eastern Conference playoff berth. Details here.

At Houston:

Jacob Peterson scored the equalizer in the 88th minute to give the Colorado Rapids a playoff-berth-clinching 3-3 road draw against the playoff-bound Houston Dynamo. The Colorado draw eliminated Real Salt Lake from playoff contention. Details here.

At Foxborough (or is it Foxboro), Massachusetts:

Khano Smith, in the 87th minute, scored his first goal of the season, and the only goal in the playoff-bound New England Revolution's 1-0 home win over the Columbus Crew. Details here.

At Carson, California:

Not playing like a team whose playoff hopes ended last week, the homestanding Los Angeles Galaxy put on an offensive barrage, with Landon Donovan scoring twice and Cobi Jones scoring once and assisting twice in the Galaxy's 5-2 season-ending win over Western Conference regular season winners FC Dallas. Details here.

Ajax, AZ, NEC, and Vitesse Come Up Winners

And now, a rundown of the four Saturday Dutch Eredivisie matches:

At Amsterdam:

Ryan Babel popped in two goals (51' and 74') and Urby Emanuelson added one in the 80th minute as Ajax Amsterdam won a hotly fought 3-2 victory over visiting FC Groningen. Details here.

At Breda:

Romano Denneboom scored both goals (17' and 21') in NEC Nijmegen's 2-0 road blanking of NAC Breda. Details here.

At Rotterdam:

AZ Alkmaar kept Sparta Rotterdam winless on the Eredivisie season by beating the hosts 2-0. Gretar Steinsson (55') and Danny Koevermans (79') provided the scoring. Details here.

At Arnhem:

Onur Kaya's goal in the 45th minute lifted Vitesse Arnhem to a 1-0 home win over Willem II Tilburg. Details here.

Busy Saturday In Ligue 1

A busy Saturday in France's top soccer division:

At Lyon:

Juninho's goal in the 89th minute enabled Lyon to pick up a 2-1 home win against St. Etienne. Details here.

At Paris:

Despite being reduced to ten men in the first half, Paris Saint Germain popped in three second-half goals to brush aside visiting Sedan 4-2. Details here.

At Bordeaux:

Bordeaux picked up a 1-0 home win over struggling AS Monaco, thanks to Edixon Perea's 70th-minute goal. Details here.

At Rennes:

John Utaka scored twice (38' and 80') to help lead Rennes to a 3-1 home win against Auxerre. Details here.

At Nantes:

Thanks to goals from Rabiu Afolabi (27') and Alvaro Santos (PK-49'), Sochaux sent homestanding Nantes to the bottom of the Ligue 1 standings 2-0. Details here.

At Toulouse:

Toulouse used three different goal scorers as they whitewashed visiting Valenciennes 3-0. Details here.

At Nice:

David Bellion scored twice ( 13' and 51') to lead Nice to a nice 3-0 home win over Lorient. Bakari Kone added one in the 77th minute. Details here.

At Troyes:

Troyes and visiting Lille played to a 1-1 deadlock. Details here.

Five Games On SPL Saturday Slate

Five games Saturday in the Scottish Premier League:

At Dundee:

Noel Hunt scored in the 5th minute for Dundee United. The rest was all visiting Celtic, as Shunsuke Nokamura scored thrice (44', 48' 58') and Jan Vennegoor of Hasselink added one (52') as the Bhoys handled The Terrors 4-1. Details here.

At Glasgow:

Graham Bayne scored the only goal (71') in Inverness Caledonian Thistle's stunning 1-0 road victory over Rangers. Details here.

At Falkirk:

Anthony Stokes scored the equalizer in the 81st minute, allowing homestanding Falkirk FC to gain a 1-1 home draw with St. Mirren. Details here.

At Kilmarnock:

Gary Wales scored the only goal (69') in Kilmarnock FC's 1-0 home win against Aberdeen. Details here.

At Motherwell:

Sub David Clarkson scored the game winner in the 84th minute as Motherwell defeated visiting Dunfermline 2-1. Details here.

AC Milan, Sampdoria Draw; Siena Tops Messina

Two games in Italy's Serie A:

At Genoa:

AC Milan wound up salvaging a 1-1 road draw with Sampdoria, thanks to Kahka Kaladze's 84th minute equalizer. Details here.

At Siena:

AC Siena picked up a 3-1 home win against Messina, thanks to goals from Abdoulay Konko (45'), Mario Frick (89'), and Francesco Cozza (90') as they came from a 1-0 deficit. Details here.

Getafe Stun Real Madrid

Two games on the Saturday La Liga schedule:

At Madrid:

Alexis Ruano scored the only goal (59th minute) in Getafe's 1-0 home stunner over previously unbeaten Real Madrid. Details here.

At Madrid:

Atletico Madrid, on goals from Fernando Torres (PK-72') and Sergio Aguero (78'), came from behind to defeat visiting Recreativo Huelva 2-1. Details here.

A Six-Pack In Germany

Highlighting Saturday's play in the German Bundesliga:

At Munich:

With four different goal scorers, FC Bayern Munich doubled up visiting Hertha Berlin 4-2. Details here.

At Stuttgart:

With goals from three different scorers, VfB Stuttgart won at home for the first time this season, at Bayer Leverkusen's expense, 3-0. Details here.

At Mochengladbach:

Spotting visiting VfL Wolfsburg an early 1-0 lead, Borussia Mochengladbach, thanks to three different goal scorers, came roaring back to win 3-1. Details here.

At Bochum:

Werder Bremen went into town and demolished VfL Bochum 6-0, with six different players scoring for the winners, five of the goals were scored in the final half-hour. Details here.

At Hamburg:

Visiting Schalke 04 kept Hamburg SV winless with a 2-1 road win. Marcelo Jose Bordon scored the game winner in the 53rd minute. Details here.

At Hannover:

Hannover 96 and visiting Eintracht Frankfurt battled to a 1-1 draw. Stats here.

Busy Saturday In The EPL

Yessiree, it's time for a wrapup of Saturday's English Premier League action:

At Wigan:

Manchester United came back from a 1-0 halftime deficit to defeat Wigan Athletic on the road 3-1. Details here.

At London:

Arsenal continued its' climb up the Premiership standings with an easy 3-0 home win against still-winless Watford. Details here.

At Birmingham:

Gareth Barry's equalizer in the 81st minute enable Aston Villa to gain a 1-1 home draw with Tottenham Hotspur. Details here.

At Liverpool:

Craig Bellamy notched the equalizer in the 64th minute as Liverpool salvaged a 1-1 home draw with Blackburn. Details here.

At Manchester:

Sheffield United picked up their first point away from home this Premiership season, thanks to a 0-0 draw at Manchester City. Details here.

At Middlesbrough:

Middlesbrough, thanks to goals from Yakubu (PK-27') and Mark Vikuda (71'), held off Everton for a 2-1 home win, handing the Toffees their first setback of the EPL season. Details here.

At Portsmouth:

Portsmouth FC, on goals from Nwankwo Kanu (24') and Andy Cole (82'), downed strugging West Ham United at home 2-0. Details here.

At Reading:

Ivar Ingimarsson scored the only goal of the match in the 45th minute. Unfortunately for Ivar, he deflected Frank Lampard's free kick into his own goal, thus enabling visiting Chelsea to defeat Reading 1-0. It was the Royals' first ever home defeat playing in a top-flight division or league. Details here.

No Dutch Treat For ADO

At The Hague:

In the lone Friday match in the Dutch Eredivisie, Twente Enschede, thanks to goals from Blaise N'Kuto (PK-58') and Kennedy Bakircioglu (74'), came from behind to defeat still-winless ADO Den Haag, 2-1, on the road. Details here.

Aachen-----Sittin' On Top Of The Bundesliga

At Mainz:

In the lone Bundesliga Friday match, promoted side Alemannia Aachen moved into the top spot in Germany's top soccer division with a 3-1 road win over FC Mainz 05. Details here.

Wednesday EURO 2008 Qualifying

Time now for a rundown of Wednesday action in EURO 2008 qualifying:

GROUP A:

At Brussels:

Belgium, on goals from Timmy Simons (PK-24'), Kevin Vandenbergh (47'), and Moussa Dembele (81'), easily handled visiting Azerbaijan 3-0. Details here.

At Almaty, Kazakhstan:

Finland, paced by goals from Jari Litmanen (27') and Sami Hyypia (65') picked up a 2-0 road win against Kazakhstan. Details here.

At Belgrade, Serbia:

Serbia picked up a 3-0 home victory over Armenia as they sit atop Group A. Details here.

At Chorzow, Poland:

Thanks to two first-half goals from Euzebiusz Smolarek (9' and 18'), Poland picked up a 2-1 win at home over Portugal. Details here.


GROUP B:

At Kiev, Ukraine:

Andriy Shevchenko converted a penalty kick in the 89th minute for the insurance goal as Ukraine defeated visiting Scotland 2-0. Details here.

At Tbilisi, Georgia:

Italty defeated 10-man Georgia on the road 3-1. Details here.

At Sochaux, France:

David Trezeguet came off the bench to score twice as homestanding France belted the Faroe Islands 5-0. Details here.


GROUP C:

At Zenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina:

Paced by four different goal scorers, visiting Greece clobbered Bosnia-Herzegovina 4-0. Details here.

At Valletta, Malta:

Malta knocked off visiting Hungary 2-1 for only their fourth official win, and their first since 1993 (a qualifyer for the 1994 World Cup in which they blanked Estonia 1-0). Details here.

At Frankfurt, Germany:

At what was designated a home game for Turkey, since they were barred from hosting this match back home because of trouble stemming from World Cup qualifying Switzerland, the Turks put a big time hurt on Moldova, as Hakan Sukor popped in four goals. Details here.


GROUP D:

At Dublin, Ireland:

Two minutes after Kevin Kilbane scored to give homestanding Republic of Ireland a 1-0 lead, Jan Koller, in the 64th minute, scored the equalizer, enabling the Czech Republic to end the game with a 1-1 draw. Details here.

At Bratislava, Slovakia:

Lukas Podolski scored twice to lead Germany to a 4-0 road hammering of Slovakia. Details here.

At Cardiff, Wales:

Wales racked up a 3-1 home win over Cyprus. The three points were the principality's first in European Championship qualifying. Details here.


GROUP E:

At Zagreb, Croatia:

Thanks to two miscues by England's goalkeeper Paul Robinson, Croatia picked up a 2-0 home win over The Three Lions. Details here.

At Moscow:

New head coach Guus Hiddink picked up his first competitive win as Russia's head coach as the host nation shut out Estonia 2-0. Details here.

At Andorra La Vella, Andorra:

Macedonia, on first-half goals from Goran Pandev, Nikolce Noveski, and Ilco Naumoski, handled homestanding Andorra 3-0. Details here.


GROUP F:

At Reykjavik, Iceland:

Christian Wilhelmsson scored the game-winner in the 59th minute, lifting Sweden to a 2-1 come-from-behind road win against Iceland. Details here.

At Vaduz, Liechtenstein:

Jon Dahl Tomasson scored twice (51' and 64') to lead Denmark to an easy 4-0 road win over Liechenstein. Details here.

At Belfast, Northern Ireland:

David Healy scored the only goal (35') in Northern Ireland's 1-0 home win over Latvia. Details here.


GROUP G:

At Minsk, Belarus:

Sergei Kornilenko scored twice to lead Belarus to a 4-2 home win versus Slovenia. Details here.

At Luxembourg City, Luxembourg:

Aleksandar Tunchev's first international goal (26') was the only goal in Bulgaria's 1-0 road win over Luxembourg. Details here.

At Amsterdam:

Robin van Persie scored in the 14th minute, as the Netherlands picked up a 2-1 home win against Albania. Details here.

Major League Soccer Action, Saturday, October 7

Here now, boys and girls, is a rundown of Saturday's Major League Soccer action:


At Washington:

Taylor Twellman scored the winning goal in the 47th minute, leading the New England Revolution to a 2-1 road win over DC United in a battle of playoff-bound teams. Details here.


At Kansas City:

Jose Burciaga, Jr. scored the winning goal in the 74th minute, leading the Kansas City Wizards to a 2-1 home win over Chivas USA, helping their Eastern Conference playoff chances. Details here.


At Columbus, Ohio:

Four different goal scorers led the Columbus Crew to a 4-1 home win over the playoff-bound Chicago Fire. Details here.


At Frisco, Texas:

FC Dallas, with goals from Carlos Ruiz (30') and Kenny Cooper (47'), eliminated the defending MLS champion Los Angeles Galaxy from the playoffs with a 2-1 home win, which clinched the Western Conference regular season title for FC Dallas. Details here.


At Salt Lake City:

Mehdi Ballouchy's goal in the 60th minute enabled Real Salt Lake to gain a 1-1 home draw with the playoff-bound Houston Dynamo. Details here.


At Denver:

Amado Guevara scored in the 60th minute, enabling the New York Red Bulls to gain a 1-1 road draw with the Colorado Rapids. Details here.