Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Copa Libertadores: Flamengo, Boca, Internacional, Cerro Porteno Advance To Quarterfinals

The round of 16 in the Copa Libertadores continued on Wednesday with four games.

At Rio de Janeiro:

After Gabriel Barboso scored twice (PK-9', 18') to enable Flamengo to blank visiting Club Sport Emelec 2-0 in regulation in game two to square their series at 2-2 on aggregate, and with overtime dispersed with, Giorgian De Arrascaeta, Bruno Henrique, Rene Rodrigues Martins, and Rafinha, each converted a spot kick as the Brazilian club won the penalty-kick shootout 4-2.

At Buenos Aires:

Ramon Avila (57') and Eduardo Salvio (90'+5) each scored once as Boca Juniors blanked visiting Athletico Paranaense 2-0 in game two and won their series 3-0 on aggregate.

At Porto Alegre, Brazil:

Rodrigo Moledo (16') and Jose Paolo Guerrero (90'+4) each scored a goal as Internacional blanked visiting Club Nacional 2-0 in game two and won their series with the Uruguayan club 3-0 on aggregate.

At Asuncion, Paraguay:

Oscar Ruiz scored the game-and-series winner in the 63rd minute as Cerro Porteno defeated visiting San Lorenzo 2-1 in game two and won their series by that same score on aggregate.

CONCACAF League

The preliminary round of the CONCACAF League continued on Wednesday with two games.

At Paramaribo, Suriname:

SV Robinhood and visiting Capoise of Haiti battled to a series-opening 0-0 stalemate.

At Belmopan, Belize:

Manfred Ugalde scored twice (13', 44') as Deportivo Saprissa outlasted Belmopan Bandits 3-1 on the road in their series opener.

Mattress Makers Too Much For MLS All-Stars In Orlando

At Orlando, Florida:

In Wednesday's Major League Soccer All-Star Game, Marcos Llorente (43'), Joao Felix (85'), and Diego Costa (90'+3) each scored once as Atletico Madrid dominated the MLS All-Stars 3-0.

Europa League: Molde Advance To Third Qualifying Round

At Belgrade, Serbia:

After a scoreless opening contest, Molde FK, with goals from Ohi Omoijuanfo (4'), Magnus Eikrem (38'), and Erling Knudtzon (78'), defeated Cukaricki 3-1 on the road in game two in Wednesday's lone contest in the Europa League's second qualifying round and won their series by that score on aggregate.

UEFA Champions League Qualifying: Red Star, Trond Kids, Maribor, Lions, Qarabag Advance To Third Qualifying Round

The second round of UEFA Champions League qualifying concluded on Wednesday with five games, all in the League Path.

At Trondheim, Norway:

Pal Helland (PK-73') and Alexander Soderlund (85') each scored once in the final half-hour as Rosenborg blanked visiting FC BATE Borisov 2-0 in game two, overturning their series-opening road defeat in Belarus as the Trond Kids won the two-match set 3-2 on aggregate.

At Copenhagen, Denmark:

Carlos Zeca scored the only goal of the match in the 52nd minute as FC Copenhagen defeated The New Saints 1-0 at home in game two and ousted the Welsh club 3-0 on aggregate.

At Baku, Azerbaijan:

Jaime Romero scored twice (12', 87') as Qarabag dominated visiting Dundalk 3-0 in game two and knocked out the Irish club 4-1 on aggregate.

At Helsinki, Finland:

Dusan Jovancic scored in the 56th minute as Red Star Belgrade, despite dropping a 2-1 game-two road decision, ousted HJK Helsinki 3-2 on aggregate.

At Solna, Sweden:

After AIK Solna gained a 2-1 game-two regulation home decision against NK Maribor to knot the series at 3-3 on aggregate, thus forcing overtime, Alexandru Cretu scored the series winner for the Slovenia club in the 117th minute as Maribor, with the total aggregate score at 4-4, advanced on away goals after each club scored once in the additional 30 minutes.


Tuesday, July 30, 2019

CONCACAF League: Real Esteli Holds Off Santa Lucia In Series Opener As Preliminary Round Commences

At Managua, Nicaragua:

In Tuesday's opening contest of the CONCACAF League's preliminary round, Lucio Barroca scored twice (9', 59') as Real Esteli outlasted visiting Santa Lucia 2-1 in the opening contest of their two-game series. 

Copa Libertadores

The second half of Copa Libertadores round-of-16 action opened on Tuesday with three games.

At Belo Horizonte, Brazil:

After a second 0-0 stalemate in the regulation portion of game two, and with overtime dispensed with, Diego Nicolas de la Cruz, Gonzalo Montiel, Lucas Martinez, and Rafael Borre converted their spot kicks as visiting River Plate won the penalty-kick shootout, 4-2 over Cruzeiro.1

At Sao Paulo, Brazil:

Raphael Veiga (PK-57'), Miguel Borja (74'), Gustavo Scarpa (84'), and Dudu (90'+4) each scored once as Palmeiras demolished visiting Godoy Cruz 4-0 in game two and finished off the Argentinian club 6-2 on aggregate.

At Asuncion, Paraguay:

Jhojan Esmiades Julio Palacios scored in the 20th minute to help LDU Quito gain a 1-1 game-two road draw with Club Olimpia as the Ecuadorian club won their series 4-2 on aggregate.

Europa League Qualifying: A-A, Suduva, F91 Dudelange, Slovan Advance To Third Qualifying Round

The second half of round two of Europa League qualifying opened on Tuesday with four games, all in the Champions Path.

At Marijampole, Lithuania:

Mihret Topcagic scored twice (39', 55') as FK Suduva destroyed visiting Tre Penne 5-0 in game two and completed their two-match frontier-styled fist beating of the club from San Marino 10-0 on aggregate.

At Gibraltar:

Ugochukwu Louis Ogana scored twice (45'+1, 58') as Ararat-Armenia blanked Lincoln Red Imps 2-0 on the road in game two and won their series 4-1 on aggregate.

At Pristina, Kosovo:

Vernon de Marco Morlacchi (19') and David Holman (54') each scored once as Slovan Bratislava blanked Peronikeli 2-0 on the road in game two and won their series 4-1 on aggregate.

At Luxembourg City, Luxembourg:

Ricardo Delgado's goal in the 78th minute enabled F91 Dudelange to gain a 1-1 game-two draw with visiting Shkendija and win their series with the Macedonian club 3-2 on aggregate.

UEFA Champions League Qualifying: Bhoys, Dinamo Zagreb, APOEL, Olympiacos, Basel Advance To Third Qualifying Round

The second half of the second round of UEFA Champions League qualifying commenced on Tuesday with seven games.

Champions Path:

At Netanya, Israel:

Juan Culio (PK-19') and Mario Rondon (42') each scored once as CFR Cluj gained a 2-2 road draw in game two with Maccabi Tel Aviv and won their series 3-2 on aggregate.

At Ta' Qali, Malta:

Tokmac Nguen's goal in the 60th minute enabled Ferencvaros to gain a 1-1 game-two road draw with Valletta and win their series with the Maltese club 4-2 on aggregate.

At Zagreb, Croatia:

Mislav Orsic (77'), Bruno Petkovic (88'), and Dani Olmo (90'+4) each produced a goal as Dinamo Zagreb dominated visiting Saburtalo 3-0 in game two and ousted the Georgian club 5-0 on aggregate.

At Tallinn, Estonia:

Aleksandr Kulinits (OG-10') and Marian Shved (90'+3) each scored once as Celtic blanked Nomme Kalju 2-0 on the road in game two and finished off their hosts 7-0 on aggregate.

At Nicosia, Cyprus:

Andrija Pavlovic's hat trick (13', 25', 66') netted all the scoring as APOEL FC dominated visiting Sutjeska 3-0 in game two and won their series 4-0 on aggregate.

League Path:

At Piraeus, Greece:

Guilherme scored twice (51', 73') as Olympiacos, after some 140 minutes of scoreless soccer (including a scoreless opening contest), erupted for four second-half goals as The Legend demolished visiting FC Viktoria Plzen 4-0 in game two and eliminated the Czech club by that same score on aggregate.

At Basel, Switzerland:

Eray Cumart (8') and Ricky van Wolfswinkel (68') each scored once as FC Basel upended visiting PSV Eindhoven 2-1 in game two and, with the aggregate score at 4-4, knocked out the Dutch club on road goals.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

MLS: Revs, Crew, Sounders, Impact, Reds, Quakes, Timbers Garner Saturday Victories; Three Games End In Scoreless Stalemates

Ten games were contested on Saturday in Major League Soccer as the league entered its' All-Star break.

At Foxborough, Massachusetts:

Gustavo Bou (3'), Cristian Penilla (47'), Carles Gil (60'), Diego Fagundez (75') each scored once as the New England Revolution dominated Orlando City 4-1 on the road.

At Harrison, New Jersey:

Pedro Santos scored twice (46', 84') as the Columbus Crew upended the New York Red Bulls 3-2 on the road.

At Bridgeview, Illinois:

DC United and the homestanding Chicago Fire battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Frisco, Texas:

FC Dallas and visiting Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 deadlock.

At Houston:

Jordan Morris scored the only goal of the Seattle Sounders' 1-0 road victory over the Houston Dynamo in the 59th minute.

At St. Paul, Minnesota:

Minnesota United and the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps battled to a 0-0 draw.

At Montreal:

Lassi Lappalainen (4', 46') and Orji Okwonkwo (36', 66') each scored twice (each scoring once in each half in the process) as the Montreal Impact demolished the visiting Philadelphia Union 4-0.

At Toronto:

Jozy Altidore scored the winning goal in the 50th minute as Toronto FC held off visiting FC Cincinnati 2-1.

At San Jose, California:

Vako scored the winning goal in the 34th minute as the San Jose Earthquakes racked up their eighth victory in their last 11 starts, 3-1 over the visiting Colorado Rapids.

At Portland, Oregon:

Cristhian Paredes scored twice (37', 81') while Steve Clark made six saves to preserve the shutout as the Portland Timbers demolished the visiting (and ten-man) Los Angeles Galaxy 4-0.



MLS STANDINGS:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1.   Philadelphia (GP: 24; GD: +5; PTS: 39)
2.   Atlanta United FC (GP: 23; GD: +9; PTS: 36)
3.   DC United (GP: 24; GD: +5; PTS: 36)
4.   New York City FC (GP: 20; GD: +12; PTS: 35)
5.   New York Red Bulls (GP: 23; GD: +5; PTS: 34)
6.   Montreal (GP: 24; GD: -7; PTS; 33)
7.   New England (GP: 23; GD: -5; PTS: 33)
8.   Toronto FC (GP: 23; GD: 0; PTS: 32)
9.   Orlando City SC (GP: 23; GD: -3; PTS: 26)
10. Columbus (GP: 24; GD: -12; PTS: 24)
11. Chicago (GP: 24; GD: -1; PTS: 24)
12. FC Cincinnati (GP: 23; GD: -31; PTS: 17)

NOTES:  With Atlanta United and DC United level on points with 36, the Five Stripes have won more games than DC (11-9); with Montreal and New England level on points with 33, the Impact have won more games than the Revolution (10-9); with Columbus and Chicago level on points with 24, the Crew have won more games than the Fire (7-5).



WESTERN CONFERENCE:

1.   Los Angeles Football Club (GP: 22; GD: +36; PTS: 49)
2.   Seattle (GP: 22; GD: +5; PTS: 38)
3.   Los Angeles Galaxy (GP: 22; GD: -1; PTS: 37)
4.   San Jose (GP: 22; GD: +6; PTS: 37)
5.   Minnesota United FC (GP: 22; GD: +8; PTS: 35)
6.   FC Dallas (GP: 23; GD: +5; PTS: 33)
7.   Portland (GP: 21; GD: +3; PTS: 31)
8.   Real Salt Lake (GP: 22; GD: 0; PTS: 31)
9.   Houston (GP: 22; GD: -3; PTS: 30)
10. Kansas City (GP: 22; GD: -6; PTS: 25)
11. Vancouver (GP: 24; GD: -18; PTS: 21)
12. Colorado GP: 22; GD: -12; PTS: 20)

NOTES:  With the Los Angeles Galaxy and San Jose level on points with 37, the Galaxy have won more games than the Earthquakes (12-11); with Portland and Real Salt Lake level on points (31) and wins (9), the Timbers have the superior goal differential (+3, compared with RSL's 0).


Friday, July 26, 2019

Red Bulls Buffalo Rapid Vienna To Open Austrian Bundesliga Season

At Vienna, Austria:

Takumi Minamino (35') and Masaya Okugawa (82') each scored once on Friday as FC Red Bull Salzburg blanked Rapid Vienna 2-0 on the road in the Austrian Bundesliga regular-season opener for both clubs.

MLS: CitiZens, LAFC Post Home Victories

Two games were contested in Major League Soccer on Friday.

At New York:

Anton Tinnerholm (41'), Heber (54'), and Alexander Ring (77') each scored once as New York City defeated visiting Sporting Kansas City 3-1.

At Los Angeles:

Adama Diomande (33'), Diego Rossi (38'), Carlos Vela (PK-42'), and Eduard Atuesta (45') each scored a goal during a 12-minute span in the first half as the Los Angeles Football Club hung on for a 4-3 home win over Atlanta United.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Copa Libertadores: Gremio Blanks Libertad In Round-of-16 Series Opener

At Porto Alegre, Brazil:

Diego Tardelli (71') and David Braz (84') each scored once on Thursday as Gremio blanked visiting Club Libertad 2-0 in the opening game of a two-match series as the opening knockout round of the Copa Libertadores reached its' midway point.

Europa League Qualifying: Wolves, Rangers, Parakeets, Legia, Torino, Shamrock Rovers Grab Series Openers

The second round of Europa League qualifying reached its' midway point on Thursday with 40 games.

Champions Path:

At Gliwice, Poland:

Jorge Felix Munoz Garcia scored twice (82', 85') as Piast Gliwice came from behind to upend visiting Riga 2-1 in their series opener.

At Tirana, Albania:

Robert Tambe scored the game's lone goal in the 24th minute as FC Sheriff upended Partizani Tirane 1-0 on the road in their series opener.

At Reykjavik, Iceland:

Anacet Abel's stoppage-time equalizer (90'+2) lifted Ludogorets Razgrad to a series-opening 1-1 road draw with Valur.

Lasse Petry scored for the hosts in the 11th minute.



Main Path:

At Norrkoping, Sweden:

Simon Thern (1') and Sead Haksabanovic (80') each scored once as IFK Norrkoping blanked visiting FK Liepaja 2-0 in their series opener.

At Beersheba, Israel:

Ramzi Safuri (PK-10') and Eden Shamir (63') each scored a goal as Hapoel Be'er Sheva blanked visiting Kairat 2-0 in the opening match of their series.

At Tula, Russia:

Dario Frederico's goal in the opening minute of first-half stoppage time carried Neftci Baku to a series-opening 1-0 road victory over Arsenal Tula.

At Barcelona:

Facundo Ferreya (49', 57') and Borja Iglesias Quintas (60', 68') each scored twice in a 20-minute stretch of the second half as Espyanol demolished visiting Stjarnan 4-0.

At Dunajska Streda, Slovakia:

George Manoussos scored the game winner in the 43rd minute as Atromitos defeated DAC Dunajska Streda 2-1 on the road in match one.

At Haugesund, Norway:

Kevin Krygard (51') and Niklas Sandberg (64') each scored once as Haugesund blanked visiting Sturm Graz 2-0 in their series opener.

At Larnaca, Cyprus:

Aspostolos Giannou (67'), Raul (70'), and Hector Hevel (75') each tallied once as AEK Larnaca dominated visiting Levski Sofia 3-0 in their series-opening match.

At Warsaw, Poland:

Mateusz Wieteska scored the game's lone goal in the ninth minute as Legia Warsaw defeated visiting KuPS 1-0 in their series opener.

At Utrecht, Netherlands:

Gyrano Kerk's goal at 61 minutes enabled FC Utrecht to salvage a series-opening 1-1 home draw with Zrinjski Mostar.

Miljan Govedarica scored in the 34th minute for the Bosnian club.

At Gyumri, Armenia:

Artur Miranyan scored twice (6', 30') as Pyunik held off visiting Jablonec 2-1 in the opening match of their two-game series.

At Gdansk, Poland:

Patryk Lipski scored the game winner in the 63rd minute as Lechia defeated visiting Brondby IF 2-1 the opening match of their two-game series.

At Felcsut, Hungary:

Stopira scored the game's lone goal in the fifth minute as Fehervar defeated visiting FC Vaduz 1-0 in game one.

At Qabala, Azerbaijan:

Levani Kutalia (41') and Arfang Daffe (87') each scored once as Dinamo Tbilisi blanked Gabala 2-0 on the road in their series opener.

At Malatya, Turkey:

Ante Vukusic (13') and Stefan Savic (74') each scored a goal as Olimpija Ljubljana gained a series-opening 2-2 road draw with Yeni Malatyaspor.

Arturo Mina Meza (20') and Adis Jahovic (PK-66') each scored once for the Turkish club.


At Tallinn, Estonia:

Dejan Joveljic scored the winning goal in the 64th minute as Eintracht Frankfurt knocked off FC Flora 2-1 in the opening game of their series.

At Domzale, Slovenia:

Rasmus Bengtsson (42') and Marcus Antonsson (52') each scored once to carry Malmo FF to a series-opening 2-2 road draw with NK Domzale.

Shamar Nicholson (37') and Adam Gnezda Cerin (48') each scored once for the Slovenian club.

At Molde, Norway:

Serbia's Cukaricki held hosts Molde FK to a series-opening 0-0 deadlock.

At Tbilisi, Georgia:

Sam Cosgrove's successfully executed penalty kick produced the equalizer in the 68th minute as Aberdeen gained a 1-1 game one road draw with Chikhura Sachkhere.

Giorgi Koripadze converted a spot kick in the 41st minute for the hosts.

At Ghent, Belgium:

Yuya Kubo (33', 45') and Roman Yaremchuk (PK-42', 50') each scored twice as KAA Gent doubled up visiting Viitorul 6-3 in game one.

At Podgorica, Montenegro:

Artem Gromov scored twice (15', 19') as Zorya Luhansk downed Buducnost Podgorica 3-1 on the road in game one.

At Sofia, Bulgaria:

Evando Da Silva scored the only goal of the contest in the 53rd minute as CSKA Sofia defeated visiting Osijek 1-0 in game one of their two-match series.

At Alessandria, Italy:

Andrea Belotti (PK-20'), Cristian Ansaldi (42'), and Simone Zaza (90'+3) each scored once as Torino opened their series with a 3-0 domination of visiting Debreceni VSC.

At Lucerne, Switzerland:

Christian Schneuwly's goal at the death (90'+3) carried FC Lucerne to a series-opening 1-0 victory over visiting KI of the Faroe Islands.

At Glasgow, Scotland:

Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (20') and Sheyi Ojo (54') each scored once as Rangers blanked visiting Progres Niederkorn 2-0 in their series-opening contest.

At Ventspils, Latvia:

Kaspars Svarups (41'), Helio Baptista (50'), Ingars Stuglis (83'), and Tosin Aiyegun (87') each scored once as Ventspils demolished visiting Gzira United 4-0 in their series-opening match.

At Strasbourg, France:

Ludovic Ajorque (PK-45'), Adrien Thomasson (47'), and Jonas Martin (61') each scored once as Strasbourg defeated visiting Maccabi Haifa 3-1 in their series-opening contest.

At Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic:

Nikolai Komlichenko's equalizer (45'+2) enabled FK  Mlada Boleslav to gain a series-opening 1-1 home draw with Ordabasy.

Mirzad Mehanovic scored in the 21st minute for the Kazakh club.

At Dublin, Ireland:

Roberto Lopes scored the winning goal in the 58th minutes as Shamrock Rovers outlasted visiting Apollon Limassol 2-1 in game one of their series.

At Alkmaar, Netherlands:

AZ Alkmaar and guests BK Hacken opened their series with a 0-0 draw.

At Yerevan, Armenia:

Florin Tanase (60'), Julian Cristea (68'), and Florinel Coman (82') each scored once as Steaua Bucharest dominated Alashkert 3-0 on the road in their series opener.

At Plovdiv, Bulgaria:

Dimitar Iliev scored twice (PK-39', 61') as Lokomotiv Plovdiv blanked visiting Spartak Trnava 2-0 in their series-opening match.

At Wolverhampton, England:

Diogo Jota (37') and Ruben Vinagre (90'+3) each scored once as Wolverhampton Wanderers blanked visiting Crusaders 2-0 in their series opener.

At Thessaloniki, Greece:

Aris and visiting AEK Limassol opened their series by scoring nary a goal in a 0-0 stalemate.

At Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg:

Joseph Amoah scored the winning goal at the death (90'+4) as Vitoria SC knocked off Jeunesse Esch 1-0 on the road in their series-opening contest.

At Gyro, Hungary:

Budapest Honved FC and visiting Universitatea Craiova battled to a series-opening 0-0 stalemate.

At Salihorsk, Belarus:

Elis Bakaj (5') and Pavel Rybak (55') produced the goals as Shakhtyor Soligorsk blanked visiting Esbjerg 2-0 in their opening match.

At Rhyl, Wales:

Aleksandar Scekic scored the only goal of Partizan Belgrade's 1-0 series-opening win over Connah's Quay Nomads in the 62nd minute.



Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Canadian Championship: Impact, Fury, Cavalry Advance To Semifinals

The third qualifying round of the Canadian Championship tournament concluded on Wednesday with three games.

At Ottawa:

Onua Obasi (45'+1) and Christiano Francois (66') each scored once as the Ottawa Fury gained a 2-2 game-two home draw with the HFX Wanderers and won their series with the CPL club 5-4 on aggregate.

At Montreal:

Ignacio Piatti converted a penalty kick in the 55th minute for the series-winning goal as the Montreal Impact defeated visiting York9 FC 1-0 and took out the CPL club from suburban Toronto 3-2 on aggregate.

At Vancouver, British Columbia:

Jordan Brown (7') and Dominick Zator (72') each scored once as Cavalry FC knocked off the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 on the road in game two and eliminated the MLS club by that same score on aggregate.  It was the first victory by a Canadian Premier League club over an MLS club.



Matchups for the semifinal round, with both series set to open on Wednesday August 7; the return matches will be played on Wednesday August 14; the game-one hosts are listed first:

Ottawa Fury (USL Championship) vs. Toronto FC (MLS; defending champions)

Montreal Impact (MLS) vs. Cavalry FC (CPL)

Leagues Cup: America, Tigres Advance To Semifinals

Two games were playedd on Wednesday to close out the quarterfinal round of the Leagues Cup.

At Houston:

Following a 1-1 regulation draw, and with overtime dispensed with, Nicolas Castillo, Victor Aguilera, Andres Uribe, Andres Ibarguen, Nicolas Benedetti, and Giovanni dos Santos each converted a spot kick as visiting Club America knocked off the Houston Dynamo 6-5 in a penalty-kick shootout that lasted seven rounds.

At Sandy, Utah:

Edaurdo Vargas scored the only goal of the match in the 57th minute as Tigres defeated Real Salt Lake 1-0 on the road.



Matchups for the semifinal round, with both games set to be played on August 20:

At Carson, California:

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Cruz Azul

At Houston:

Club America vs. Tigres UANL


Copa Libertadores

Four games were contested on Wednesday as the Round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores continues.

At Guayaquil, Ecuador:

Wilmer Godoy (10') and Romario Caicedo (79') each scored once as Club Sport Emelec blanked visiting Flamengo 2-0 in the opening contest of their two-game series.

At Curitiba, Brazil:

Alexis Mac Allister's goal in the 83rd minute lifted Boca Juniors to a series-opening 1-0 road victory over Athletico Paranaense.

At Montevideo, Uruguay:

Jose Paolo Guerrero scored the only goal of the match in the 90th minute as Internacional defeated Club Nacional 1-0 on the road in their series opener.

At Buenos Aires:

San Lorenzo and visiting Cerro Porteno battled to a series-opening 0-0 stalemate.

Europa League Qualifying

At Bratislava, Slovakia:

In the lone Wednesday contest from the second round of Europa League qualifying, Andraz Sporar converted a penalty kick in the 61st minute for the winning goal as Slovan Bratislava defeated visiting Feronikeli 2-1 in the opening game of a Champions Path two-match series.

UEFA Champions League Qualifying

Seven games---all in the Champions Path---were  contested on Wednesday as the second round of UEFA Champions League qualifying reached its' midway point.

All kickoff times are Pacific.

At Cluj-Napoca, Romania:

Abdel Omrani scored the only goal of CFR Cluj's series-opening 1-0 home victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 22nd minute.

At Barysaw, Belarus:

Maksim Skavysh scored the winning goal in the 51st minute as FC BATE Borisov held off visiting Rosenborg 2-1 in the opening match of their two-game series.

At Budapest, Hungary:

Davide Lanzafame scored twice (PK-38, 59') as Ferencvaros took the measure of visiting Valletta 3-1 in game one.

At Dundalk, Ireland:

Patrick Hoban's goal at 78 minutes enabled Dundalk to gain a series-opening 1-1 home draw with Qarabag.

Mahir Emreli scored for the Azerbaijani club in the fourth minute.

At Glasgow, Scotland:

Ryan Christie scored twice (PK-44', 65') as Celtic destroyed visiting Nomme Kalju 5-0 in their series-opening contest.

At Belgrade, Serbia:

Richmond Boakye (27') and Milan Pavkov (90') each scored once as Red Star Belgrade blanked visiting HJK Helsinki 2-0 in game one.

At Maribor, Slovenia:

Sasa Ivkovic scored the game winner at 38 minutes as NK Maribor defeated visiting visiting AIK Solna 2-1 in their series-opening match.

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Austin FC Gets Their Man

To be their first head coach.

The team from the capital city of the Lone Star State is set to start play in 2021.

Leagues Cup: Cruz Azul, Galaxy Advance To Semifinals

The quarterfinal round of the inaugural edition of the Leagues Cup, involving clubs from Major League Soccer and Mexico's Liga MX, opened on Tuesday with two games.

At Bridgeview, Illinois:

Roberto Alvarado (43') and Elias Hernandez (90') each scored once as Cruz Azul dowsed the Chicago Fire 2-0 on the road.

At Carson, California:

After a 2-2 regulation draw, and with overtime dispensed with, Servando Carrasco, Emmanuel Boateng, and Giancarlo Gonzalez converted their spot saves as the Los Angeles Galaxy defeated visiting Club Tijuana 3-2 in the penalty-kick shootout.

The Galaxy's Matt Lampson saved three spot kicks during the shootout.