UEFA Cup Matchday Number Three

Here is a wrapup of the Thursday action in the group stage of the 2006-07 UEFA Cup competition:

GROUP A:

At Auxerre, France:

Nacho Novo (62') and Kris Boyd (84') were on target as Rangers FC twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at AJ Auxerre, a result that keeps them top of Group A with seven points.

At Tel-Aviv, Israel:

Maccabi Haifa FC have moved into a strong position in Group A after Xavier Anderson's first-half goal (21') earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over visiting FK Partizan.

GROUP B:

At Leverkusen, Germany:

Dimitar Berbatov made a match-winning return to former club Bayer 04 Leverkusen, scoring the only goal ( 36') as Tottenham Hotspur FC secured their passage to the UEFA Cup Round of 32 by blanking the Factory Squad 1-0.

At Bruges, Belgium:

FC Dinamo 1948 Bucuresti are in a strong position to qualify for the knockout rounds of the UEFA Cup after earning a 1-1 away deadlock versus Club Brugge KV. Claudiu Niculescu scored for the visitors in the 33rd minute, but Sven Vermant made a successful penalty kick in the 62nd minute to even the score for Brugge.

GROUP C:

At Liberec, Czech Republic:

FC Slovan Liberec climbed back into contention in UEFA Cup Group C thanks to an emphatic 4-1 home victory over Grasshopper-Club. Four different players each scored a goal for the winners as they stomped on the visitors.

At Seville, Spain:

UEFA Cup holders Sevilla FC claimed a comfortable 2-0 home win against SC Braga to overtake their Portuguese opponents in Group C and continue their unbeaten start as Luis Fabiano (40') and Ernesto Chevantón (76') struck at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán.

GROUP D:

At Parma, Italy:

Parma FC booked their place in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 after edging out visiting SC Heerenveen 2-1 in an entertaining Group D game. Igor Budan's double (24', 73') settled the contest and ensured the Italian side's progress following victories in their first two matches.

At Odense, Denmark:

A late equaliser from Issam Jemaa (87') denied Odense BK what would have been a vital win and put RC Lens in a strong position in UEFA Cup Group D, the substitute converting Vitorino Hilton's pass with four minutes to go to frustrate the Danish side, thus seeing the match end in a 1-1 stalemate.

GROUP E:

At Basel, Switzerland:

FC Basel 1893 striker Mladen Petrić saved a stoppage-time penalty to ensure a point for the home side after AS Nancy-Lorraine had twice led in this thrilling UEFA Cup Group E encounter in Switzerland, which ended as a 2-2 deadlock. Mile Sterjovski scored the equalizer for FCB in the 56th minute.

At Rotterdam, Netherlands:

Blackburn Rovers FC secured their place in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 as a disciplined and determined defensive display earned a 0-0 draw at Feyenoord.

GROUP F:

At Prague, Czech Republic:

AFC Ajax edged closer to the last 32 of the UEFA Cup after securing a 0-0 draw at AC Sparta Praha despite having to play much of the match with ten men.

At Barcelona:

Luis García ( 9', PK-27', 73') helped himself to a hat-trick as RCD Espanyol all but secured their place in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 with a comprehensive 6-2 home victory against this season's surprise package, SV Zulte Waregem.

GROUP G:

At Bucharest:

AFC Rapid Bucuresti and FK Mladá Boleslav are still searching for their first wins in Group G after playing out a 1-1 draw in Romania. Jan Rajnoch headed the Czech side into the lead just before the break (42') , but Marius Constantin equalised early in the second half (52').

At Paris:

Two Salim Toema goals in the first six minutes (2', 6') laid the foundations for Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC to record a memorable 4-2 victory at Paris Saint-Germain FC which puts the French side's UEFA Cup campaign in serious danger of coming to a premature end.

GROUP H:

At Newcastle:

Newcastle United FC made sure of their place in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup as Steven Taylor's first goal for the club (86') earned their third successive win, 2-1 over visiting Celta Vigo, and put them firmly in charge of Group H.

At Istanbul:

Fenerbahçe SK opened their UEFA Cup Group H account with a 3-0 home win against US Città di Palermo earned by goals from Stephen Appiah (20') , Lugano (62'), and Tuncay Sanlı.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Soccer Or Association Football!

Matchday # 5 In UEFA Champions League Group Stage Action, Continued

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

Note: **Advanced to Champions League knockout stage; *Advanced to knockout stage of UEFA Cup

GROUP A:

At Sofia, Bulgaria:

FC Barcelona, on goals from Ludovic Giuly (5') and Andres Indiesta (65'), picked up a badly needed 2-0 road win over Levski Sofia. The win keeps Barca's hopes alive for advancement into the knockout stage, while The Blues are out of European contention.

At Bremen, Germany:

Thanks to Per Mertesacker's 27th-minute tally, Werder Bremen placed themselves on the brink of advancement in the Champions League with a 1-0 home win over Chelsea, who nevertheless, advanced to the round of 16.

Standings:
**Chelsea, 10 points; Werder Bremen, 10; FC Barcelona, 8; Levski Sofia, 0

GROUP B:

At Moscow:

Radoslav Kovac scored in the 72nd minute to lift Spartak Moscow to a 2-2 home draw with knockout stage-bound Bayern Munich. Though elimated from Champions League contention, The Meat still has hope of advancing to the UEFA Cup knockout stage, which begins with the round of 32.

At Milan:

Hernan Crespo, by scoring the lone goal of the match (36'), sent Inter Milan to the knockout stage with a 1-0 home win, and left Sporting Club Portugal with hopes of moving on to the UEFA Cup knockout stage.

Standings:
**Bayern Munich, 11 points; **Inter Milan, 9; Sporting Club Portugal, 5; Spartak Moscow, 2

GROUP C:

At Bordeaux, France:

Alejandro Cesar Alonso (22'), Lilian Leslandes (47'), and Julien Faubert (50') provided the scoring for Bordeaux, as the hosts locked up third place in Group C and a UEFA Cup knockout stage berth with a 3-1 win over ten-man Galatasaray.

At Liverpool, England:

In a battle of the two Group C clubs that have already clinched knockout stage berths, Liverpool locked up the top spot with a 2-0 home win over PSV Eindhoven. Steven Gerrard (65') and Peter Crouch (89') provided the scoring.

Standings:
**Liverpool, 13 points; **PSV Eindhoven, 10; *Bordeaux, 4; Galatasaray, 1

GROUP D:

At Valencia, Spain:

Thanks to goals from Manuel Angel Angulo (45') and Fernando Morientes (46'), Valencia locked up the top spot in Group D with a 2-0 home win over Olympiacos, eliminating the Legend from Champions League contention.

At Donetsk, Ukraine:

Shakhtar Donetsk kept their Champions League knockout stage hopes alive by defeating visiting AS Roma 1-0, thanks to Ciprian Marica's goal in the 61st minute.

Standings:
**Valencia, 13 points; AS Roma, 7; Shakhtar Donetsk, 5; Olympiacos, 2

Matchday # 5 In UEFA Champions League Group Stage Action

Action continued in the group stage of the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League on Tuesday:

Note: **Advanced to Champions League knockout stage; *Advanced to UEFA Cup third round.

STAGE E:

At Bucharest, Romania:

Nicolae Dica scored the equalizer in the 69th minute to lift Steaua Bucharest to a 1-1 home draw with Dynamo Kiev and a berth in the third round of the UEFA Cup.

At Madrid:

Ruud van Nistelrooy's 83rd-minute leveler enable Real Madrid to gain a 2-2 home deadlock with Lyon. Nevertheless, both teams have advanced to the knockout stage, with the French club assuring themselves of finishing first in Group E.

Standings:
**Lyon, 13 points (three for a win, one for a draw) ; **Real Madrid, 10; *Steaua Bucharest, 4; Dynamo Kiev, 1

GROUP F:

At Glasgow, Scotland:

Shunsuke Nakamura's successful free kick in the 81st minute lifted Celtic to a stunning 1-0 home victory over Manchester United to clinch a berth in the knockout stage.

At Lisbon, Portugal:

Fabrizio Miccoli's double (16', 37') lifted SL Benfica to a 3-1 home win over FC Copenhagen, eliminating the Danish club from Champions League contention, while keeping their hopes of advancing to the knockout stage alive.

Standings:
**Celtic, 9 points; Manchester United, 9; SL Benfica, 7; FC Copenhagen, 4

GROUP G:

At Moscow:

Goals from Ricardo Quaresma (2') and Lucho Gonzalez (61') lifted FC Porto to a key 2-0 road victory over CSKA Moscow, knocking the Horses from first place to third in the Group G standings, while lifting themselves to a first-place tie with Arsenal.

At London:

Arsenal needed three second-half goals to come back from a 1-0 halftime deficit to defeat visiting Hamburg 3-1 and move into a first-place tie in Group G.

Standings:
Arsenal, 10 points; FC Porto, 10; CSKA Moscow, 8; Hamburg, 0

GROUP H:

At Lens, France:

Mbo Mpenza scored his equalizer in the 48th minute to lift Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht to a 2-2 road draw against Lille, hurting the Mastiffs' hopes of advancing to the knockout stage, which is now out of reach for the Belgian club.

At Athens:

Julio Cesar's 32nd-minute tally lifted AEK Athens to a 1-0 home win over AC Milan. The victory moved the Greek side to second place in the Group H standings, while Rossoneri still advanced to the knockout stage.

Standings:
**AC Milan, 10 points; AEK Athens, 7; Lille, 6; RSC Anderlecht, 3

Jamie Aquino Powers Estrela Amadora Past Belenenses

At Amadora:

Jaime Aquino provided the only goal (31') in Estrela Amadora's 1-0 home victory over Belenenses in the only Monday Portuguese BWIN Liga match.

Four Games Sunday In Portugal

Four matches were conducted Sunday in the Portugese BWIN Liga:

At Vila das Aves:

Artur Futre tallied twice (42', 61') to help lead Deportivo Aves to a 3-1 home win against CD Nacional de Madeira.

At Pacos de Ferreira:

Saulo Rodrigues popped in the equalizer in the 69th, lifting visiting Naval 1° to a 1-1 draw with Pacos Ferreira.

At Funchal:

Rodrigo Tello scored the only goal (63') in Sporting Club Portugal's 1-0 road win at the expense of Martimo.

At Leiria:

Boavista and homestanding Uniao Leiria battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

Four Games Sunday In The Netherlands

Four games took place on Sunday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At The Hague:

Visiting Vitesse Arnhem had struggling ADO Den Haag on the run, leading the hosts 3-0, before a pitch invasion forced the match to be abandoned after 66 minutes.

At Amsterdam:

Ajax Amsterdam and visiting Twente Enschede battled to a 1-1 draw. Wesley Sneijder scored the tying goal for Ajax in the 48th minute.

At Groningen:

Erik Levland scored twice (39', 56') to help lead FC Groningen to an easy 4-1 home win over Willem II Tilburg.

At Utrecht:

Goals from Ricky Kruys (26') and Gregoor van Dijk (PK-70') powered FC Utrecht to a 2-0 home win over Roda JC Kerkrade.

Rangers Break Hearts

At Edinburgh:

In Sunday's lone Scottish Premier League match, Nacho Novo provided all the scoring as Rangers defeated hosts Heart of Midlothian 1-0 with his 78th-minute tally.

Auxerre, Marseille, Come Up Winners

Two games played Sunday in France's Ligue 1:

At Auxerre:

AJ Auxerre downed visiting Toulouse 1-0, as Luigi Pieroni scored the game's only goal in the 48th minute.

At Marseille:

Mickael Pagis knocked in the only goal of the match (61') as Marseille picked up a 1-0 home win over Valenciennes.

Hannover Beats Mochengladbach; Bielefeld, Wolfsburg Exchange Goose Eggs

Here's a review of the Sunday action in Germany's Bundesliga:

At Bielefeld:

Arminia Bielefeld and visiting VfL Wolfsburg extended their unbeaten streaks to eight and six games, respectively, after their 0-0 draw.

At Mochengladbach:

Hanno Balitsch scored the lone goal of the match (50') as Hannover 96 picked up a 1-0 road win over Borussia Mochengladbach.

Busy Sunday in Italia Serie A

Eight games took place Sunday in Italy's Serie A:

At Ascoli:

Sasa Bjelanovic's 84th-minute equalizer lifted Ascoli to a 1-1 home draw with Fiorentina.

At Verona:

Simone Loria's goal in the 75th minute lifted visiting Atalanta to a 2-2 deadlock with Chievo Verona after having trailed 2-0 through the first 70 minutes of the match.

At Milan:

Hernan Crespo scored the only goal of the match (4') as Inter Milan took over outright sole possession of first place in the Serie A standings after their 1-0 home win over Reggina.

At Livorno:

Three different goal scorers powered Livorno to a 3-0 home whitewashing of Parma.

At Messina:

Stefano Mauri's double (10', 82') helped powered visiting Lazio to an easy 4-1 victory over Messina.

At Rome:

It was obvious that homestanding AS Roma sent a message to the rest of Italy about their title ambitions. Christian Panucci (12', 48') and Simone Perrotta (24', 40') eached scored twice as the Magic cuffed, stuffed, and undressed nine-man Catania Calcio 7-0

At Udine:

With Vincenzo Iaquinta scoring twice (PK-44', 79'), Udinese belted visiting AC Siena 3-0.

At Turin:

Alessandro Rosina's 80th-minute successful penalty kick guided Torino to a 1-0 home win over Sampdoria.

Busy Sunday In Spain's La Liga

Eight games populated Spain's La Liga schedule:

At Barcelona:

Walter Pandiani scored the game winner in the 90th minute as Espanyol won one at home, defeating Athletic Bilbao. Raul Tamudo scored twice (54', 61')for the victors.

At Valencia:

Two second-half goals from Nuno Maniche (69', 75') busted open a tight game as Atletico Madrid ended up bashing hosts Levante 3-0.

At San Sebastian:

In a battle of two struggling clubs, visiting Real Betis and bottom-dwelling Real Sociedad played to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Zaragoza:

Pablo Aimar (50'), Oscar Gonzalez (55'), and Gerald Pique (70') scored for Real Zaragoza in their 3-0 home beatdown of struggling Gimnastic de Tarragona.

At Huelva:

Recreativo Huelva, thanks to goals from Javi Guerrero (45') and Ikechukwu Uche (76') sent visiting--and slumping---Osasuna into the relegation zone with a 2-0 victory.

At Villarreal:

Roberto Abbondanzieri's own goal in the 51st minute allowed Villarreal to pick up a 1-0 home win over Getafe.

At Mallorca:

Eidur Gudjohnsen tallied twice (42', 58') to help lead Barcelona to an easy 4-1 road pasting of RCD Mallorca.

At La Coruna:

Anderson Nene's 73rd-minute goal led visiting Celta Vigo to a 1-0 win over Deportivo La Caruna.

Spurs and Rovers Deadlock As Do Villans and Wigan

Two games were played Sunday in the English Premier League:

At Wigan:

Visiting Aston Villa and Wigan Athletic battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Blackburn:

Jermain Defoe's successful penalty kick in the 62nd minute lifted Tottenham Hotspur to a 1-1 road deadlock with Blackburn Rovers.

Porto and Braga Win

Two games were played Saturday in Portugal's BWIN Liga:

At Porto:

Helder Postiga (49') and Pepe (83') provided the goals in FC Porto's 2-0 home victory over Academica de Coimbra.

At Braga:

Ze Carlos (7'), Marcel (41'), and Paulo Jorge (81') provided the goals for Sporting Braga in their 3-1 home victory over SL Benfica.

PSV Blasts One Rotterdam Club, The Two Other Rotterdam Clubs (and Heerenveen) Pick Up Wins

Four games were played Saturday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Eindhoven:

PSV Eindhoven easily took care of visiting Excelsior as four players scored a goal apiece for the league leaders.

At Rotterdam:

Thanks to Nicky Hofs' two goals (29', 81'), Feyenoord Rotterdam won a tight match at home versus AZ Alkmaar 3-2.

At Nijmegen:

Sparta Rotterdam picked up their first win of the season by winning on the road against NEC Nijmegen 2-1. Jeffrey Vlug (34') and Yuri Rose (58') scored for the winners.

At Waalwijk:

In the only Saturday match not involving a club from Rotterdam, Lasse Nilsson (13') and Afonso Alves (20') provided the goals as SC Heerenveen blanked hosts RKC Waalwijk 2-0.

Dons, Bhoys, Hibs, Pors, Killie, Pick Up Wins

A look at the five Saturday matches in the Scottish Premier League:

At Aberdeen:

With two goals from sub Darren Mackie (77', 85'), Aberdeen moved into second place in the SPL standings with a 2-0 home win over St Mirren.

At Glasgow:

With three different goal scorers, Celtic whitewashed visitng Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3-0.

At Motherwell:

Hibernian pulverized homestanding Motherwell 6-1. Ivan Sproule scored twice (29', 40') for Hibs.

At Dunfermline:

Greg Shields tied it up in the 76th minute and Gary Mason won it in the 89th as cellar-dwelling Dunfermline Athletic came from behind to knock off visiting Dundee United 2-1.

At Kilmarnock:

After trailing 1-0 at halftime, Kilmarnock came from behind to defeat Falkirk 2-1. Garry Hay tied it for the hosts in the 59th, then the guests' Stephen O'Donnell scored an own goal in the 70th.

It's A French Eight-Pack

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

At Sedan:

Here's something that has been a microcosm of why Sedan is at the bottom of the Ligue 1 standings: Substitute Nadjim Abdou scored the only goal of their home match with league leaders Lyon in the 75th minute--for the wrong team. This 1-0 result permitted the five-time defending champs to stretch their league lead to 12 points.

At Sochax:

Visiting Lille and Sochaux battled to a 0-0 draw.

At Paris:

Bordeaux, on goals from Wendel (28') and Lilian Laslandes (87'), blanked Paris Saint Germain on the road 2-0.

At Nancy:

Sebastien Puygrenier provided all the scoring with his 76th-minute goal to lift homestanding AS Nancy Lorraine to a 1-0 win over Troyes.

At Rennes:

10-man Rennes salvaged a point with a 1-1 home draw with Le Mans. Sylvain Marveaux provided the equalizer in the 89th minute.

At Lens:

Adama Coulibaly (1') and Seydou Keita (83') provided the scoring as Lens racked up a 2-0 home victory over Nantes.

At Monte Carlo:

Jeremy Menez provided the game-tying tally in the 50th minute, lifting AS Monaco to a 2-2 home draw with Lorient.

At St. Etienne:

St. Etienne, thanks to first-half goals from Frederic Piquionne (20') and Pascal Feindouno (27'), defeated visiting Nice 2-1.

Another Saturday Bundesliga Six-Pack

Here's a recap of the Saturday action in Germany's Bundesliga:

At Cottbus:

With four different players each scoring once, FC Schalke 04 took over first place in the Bundesliga standings with their 4-2 road win over Energie Cottbus.

At Munich:

With goals from Roy Makaay (27') and Claudio Pizarro (36'), Bayern Munich knocked VfB Stuttgart out of the top of the Bundesliga standings with a 2-1 home comeback victory.

At Aachen:

Miroslav Klose tied the match in the 79th minute, thus allowing Werder Bremen to salvage a 2-2 road deadlock with Alemania Aachen.

At Mainz:

A battle of two of the bottom three clubs in the Bundesliga standings proved goalless as visiting Hamburg and Mainz battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Nuremberg:

Ivan Saenko won the game for Nurnberg as his 85th-minute goal lifted the hosts to a 3-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen.

At Dortmund:

Goals from Andreas Schmidt (10') and Gilberto (15') held up as Hertha Berlin racked up a 2-1 road win over Borussia Dortmund.

Cagliari Wins; Empoli, Milan Draw

Two games played in Italy's Serie A on Saturday:

At Empoli:

AC Milan, which has had its struggles this season, and homestanding Empoli played to a 0-0 deadlock.

At Cagliari:

Simone Pepe's 90th-minute strike lifted Cagliari Calcio to a 1-0 home win over Palermo, who had entered Saturday action atop the Serie A standings.

Real Madrid and Sevilla Win

A pair of Saturday Spanish La Liga contests:

At Madrid:

Real Madrid paid tribute to recently-deceased legend Ferenc Puskas with a 3-1 home win over Racing Santander. Sergio Ramos (5'), Jose Antonio Reyes (58'), and Mahamadou Diarra (71') provided the scoring for Los Bloncos.

At Seville:

FC Sevilla climbed back atop the Premiera Liga standings with a convincing 3-0 home whitewashing of Valencia. Julien Escude (19'), Luis Fabiano (55'), and Frederic Kanoute (71') provided the goals for The Sevillistas.

Wayne Rooney Powers Red Devils Comeback

Eight games Saturday in the English Premier League:

At Sheffield:

Wayne Rooney scored twice (30', 75') to lead Manchester United to a 2-1, come-from-behind, road victory over Sheffield United.

At London:

After coming off the bench, Thierry Henry smashed in the equalizer in the 70th minute to lift Arsenal to a 1-1 home draw with Newcastle United.

At London:

A goal scored on Geremi's 22nd-minute free kick was all the scoring in Chelsea's 1-0 home win over struggling West Ham United.

At Liverpool:

Mikel Arteta's goal in the 60th minute was all the scoring as Everton defeated visiting Bolton 1-0.

At Manchester:

Bernardo Corradi's double (12', 32') helped paced Manchester City to a 3-1 tripling of visiting Fulham.

At Middlesbrough:

Visiting Liverpool and Middlesbrough battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Portsmouth:

Portsmouth picked up all three points with their 2-1 home win over Watford, thanks to Lomana LuaLua's game winning penalty kick in the 89th minute.

At Reading:

With goals from Seol Ki-Hyeon (18') and Kevin Doyle (72'), Reading racked up their second straight home win, a 2-0 blanking of Charlton Athletic, spoiling Les Reed's debut as the Addicks' new head coach.

Vitoria Setubal, Beira Mar Fit To Be Tied

At Aveiro:

In Friday's single Portuguese Bwin Liga game, Silvestre Valera's 84th-minute equalizer lifter Vitoria Setubal to a 1-1 road stalemate with Beira Mar.

Dutch Treat For SC Heracles Almelo

At Almelo:

In the one Friday match in the Dutch Eredivisie, Everton (14') and Stefan Tanghe (89') provided the scoring for SC Heracles Almelo in their 2-0 home win over NAC Breda.

Bochum Climbs Out Of Relegation Zone With Comeback Win

At Bochum:

In the one Friday German Bundesliga contest, VfL Bochum fought back from a two-goal deficit to defeat visiting Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3 to climb out of the relegation zone.

Jason Kries Selected By Toronto FC In MLS Expansion Draft (Then Traded Back To RSL)

MLS News:

All-time leading Major League Soccer goal scorer Jason Kreis was selected from Real Salt Lake Friday in the MLS expansion draft by Toronto FC, only to be traded back to RSL in exchange for a player allocation.

Legenday Hungarian and Real Madrid Player Ferenc Puskas Passes Away At 79

Budapest, Hungary:

Ferenc Puskas, who captain the great Hungarian team of the 1950s (including the team that lost to West Germany in the 1954 World Cup title game) and who later played on three European Cup championship teams with Real Madrid, passed away at age 79 on Friday.

Wednesday Action In EURO 2008

Here is a rundown of Wednesday action in qualifying for the 2008 European Championships:

GROUP A:

At Helsinki, Finland:

Finland, thanks to Mika Nurmela's 10th-minute goal, defeated visiting Armenia 1-0 to sit atop the Group A standings.

At Coimbra, Portugal:

Simao Simbrosa scored in each half as homestanding Portugal whitewashed Kazakhstan 3-0.

At Brussels:

Poland moved into second place in Group A qualifying after their 1-0 road win against Belgium, Radoslaw Matusiak scoring in the 18th minute.


GROUP D:

At Dublin:

Robbie Keane knocked in a hat trick as Ireland punched out struggling and visiting San Marino 5-0.

At Nicosia, Cyprus:

Yiannis Okkas scored the tying goal in the 43rd minute to lift Cyprus to a 1-1 draw with visiting Germany.


GROUP E:

At Tel-Aviv, Israel:

Eduardo da Silva registered a hat trick to lift Croatia to a 4-3 road win over Israel and move to the top of the Group E standings.

At Skopje, Macedonia:

Goals from Vladimir Bystrov (18') and Andrei Arshavin (32') lifted visiting Russia to a 2-0 win over Macedonia.

Addicks Can Coach

London:

English Premiership cellar-dwelling Charlton Athletic announced Monday that embattled Iain Dowie is no longer their head coach.

Hearts + Falkirk = Stalemate

At Falkirk:

In the only Monday Scottish Premier League match, Russel Latapy's 84th-minute tally lifted Falkirk to a 1-1 home draw with Hearts.

PSV Back On Top Of Eredivisie Table After Toppling Ajax

Five games were played Sunday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Amsterdam:

Timmy Simons scored the only goal (63') in PSV Eindhoven's 1-0 road win over Ajax Amsterdam, thus enabling the guests to move to the top of the Eredivisie standings.

At Arnhem:

Vitesse Arnhem doubled up visiting FC Utrecht 4-2, with four different goal scorers scoring one goal each.

At Rotterdam:

Sparta Rotterdam defeated visiting ADO Den Haag, 2-1, in a battle of struggling clubs toiling in the relegation zone. Danny Schenkel scored the game winner in second-half stoppage time.

At Tilburg:

Danny Buys (33', 67') and Joonas Holkka (54', 61') each scored twice as Feyenoord Rotterdam picked up a 5-3 road win at Willem II Tilburg's expense.

At Enschede:

Blaise N'Kuto (PK-16', 71'), Kennedy Bakircioglu (45', 50'), and Sergio Zijler (89', 90') each scored twice as Twente Enschede destroyed visiting FC Groningen 7-1.

Celtic Shows St. Mirren Just Who Is Boss---Again, Thanks To Thomas Gravesen Hat Trick

At St. Mirren:

In Sunday's lone Scottish Premier League contest, Thomas Gravesen delivered a hat trick (2', 21', 69') as Celtic defeated hosts St. Mirren 3-0 to stretch their League lead to 15 points.

Monaco, Lille Win

Two Sunday matches in France's Ligue 1:

At Troyes:

Despite ending the game with ten men, visiting AS Monaco climbed out of the relegation zone in style, giving Troyes a good old fashioned 4-0 fanny kicking , using four different goal scorers.

At Lille:

Matthieu Bodner provided all the scoring as his tally in the 45th minute lifted Lille to a 1-0 home win over Marseille.

Stuttgart Foils Hannover; Aachen and Nurnberg Draw

Two games were contested Sunday in Germany's Bundesliga:

At Hannover:

Despite trailing 1-0 at halftime, VfB Stuttgart, on second-half tallies from Thomas Hitzisperger (49') and Jeronimo Mario Barreto Claudemir da Silva (54'), defeated hosts Hannover 96 2-1 to move to the top of the Bundesliga standings.

At Aachen:

Thanks to Reiner Plassheinrich's 90th-minute equalizer, Alemania Aachen gained a 1-1 home stalemate with FC Nurnberg.

Busy Sunday in Italia Serie A

Eight contests took place Sunday in Italy's top soccer division:

At Ascoli:

Ascoli remained winless as Antonio Busce scored the only goal (7') of visiting Empoli's 1-0 triumph.

At Palermo:

Palermo had no trouble with Torino as they whitewashed the visitors 3-0. The Eagles got goals from Eugenio Corini (43'), David Di Michele (69') and Amauri (79').

At Catania:

Giorgio Corona scored the winning goal in the 90th minute as Catania Calcio came from behind to defeat visiting Livorno.

At Genoa:

Fabio Quagliarella scored a double ( 28', 36') to help lead Sampdoria to a 3-0 home pasting of Chievo Verona.

At Rome:

Lazio smashed visiting Udinese 5-0 as Stefano Mauri scored twice (41', 74') for the Young Eagles.

At Siena:

Reggina, thanks to Rolando Bianchi's succesful penalty kick in the 71st minute, defeated hosts AC Siena 1-0 to wipe out their 15-point match-fixing scandal-induced penalty, though they remain at the bottom of the Serie A standings.

At Messina:

Daniele Conti scored the equalizer in the 90th minute to lift visiting Cagliari Calcio to a 2-2 draw with Messina.

At Parma:

Julio Cruz delivered the 90th minute equalizer to lift Inter Milan to a 2-1 road win over Parma, enabling the guests to stay tied with Palermo atop the Serie A table.

Ruud Rude Guest For Osasuna

Eight games highlited Sunday's action in the Spanish Premiera Division:

At Pamplona:

What a game Ruud van Nistelrooy had. He scored a quadruple (12', 27', 44', 84') as Real Madrid burried hosts Osasuna 4-1.

At Barcelona:
Ronaldinho scored twice (31', 86') to pace FC Barcelona to a 3-1 comback win over visiting Real Zaragoza.

At Vigo:

Recreativo Huelva scored twice in the first half, then held off Celta Vigo for a 2-1 road victory.

At Seville:

Jesus Capi scored the game-winner in the 90th minute as homestanding Real Betis defeated Levante 2-1.

At Madrid:

Nacho Perez provided all the scoring (60') in Getafe's 1-0 home win over Mallorca.

At San Sebastian:

Luis Garcia's 54th-minute equalizer enabled visiting Espanyol to gain a 1-1 draw with still-winless Real Sociedad.

At Tarragona:

Visiting Deportivo La Coruna and Gimnastic de Tarragona battled to a 0-0 deadlock.

At Santander:

FC Sevilla was held to a 0-0 road draw by Racing Santander. This knocked The Sevillistas out of the top of the La Liga standings.

Gunners Blow Out Reds; Royals Top Spurs

Two games Sunday in the English Premier League:

At London:

Mathieu Flamini (41'), Kolo Toure (56'), and William Gallas (80') provided the scoring as Arsenal dominated visiting Liverpool 3-0.

At Reading:

Goals from Nicky Shorey (38'), Steve Sidwell (45'), and Kevin Doyle (19') ended Reading's five-match losing streaks as the hosts defeated Tottenham Hotspur 3-1.

A Championship Moment

Houston Dynamo captain Wade Barrett lifts the MLS Cup championship trophy after his team defeated the New England Revolution in the penalty kick shootout 4-3 (the game was deadlocked 1-1 after 120 minutes). (Associated Press photo by Matt Slocum) 

HOUSTON WINS MLS CUP TITLE

At Frisco Texas:

The Houston Dynamo captured the Major League Soccer championship by winning the penalty-kick shootout against the New England Revolution 4-3, after the two teams battled to a 1-1 deadlock after 120 minutes. The game was scoreless after regulation time, with both goals coming in the second overtime period. New England's Taylor Twellman scored in the 113th minute, only to see Houston's Brian Ching tie it up one minute later. In the fifth and final regulation round of the shootout, Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad easily saved the Revolution's Jay Heaps' shot to propel the former San Jose Earthquakes (winners in 2001 and 2003) to their third MLS title. This was New England's third MLS Cup appearance without winning the title. They lost to the Los Angeles Galaxy in both 2002 and 2005.

Easy Win For AZ Alkmaar

Three contests took place Saturday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Alkmaar:

Shota Arveladze scored twice (81', 88') to help lead AZ Alkmaar to a 5-0 frontier-styled fistbeating of visiting SC Heracles Almelo.

At Kerkrade:

Ricky van den Bergh's goal in the 57th minute lifted RKC Wijkwaak to a 1-1 road draw with Roda JC Kerkrade.

At Rotterdam:

With each team scoring once in the 90th minute, Excelsior and visiting NEC Nijmegen battled to a 1-1 draw.

Rangers, Dundee United, Hibs, Aberdeen Win

Four games were played Saturday in the Scottish Premier League:

At Glasgow:

Rangers returned to their winning ways (and moved to second place in the SPL standings) as Kris Boyd and Steven Smith scored in The Light Blues' 2-0 home win over Dunfermline.

At Aberdeen:

Jamie Smith (56') and Lee Miller (86') scored to lift homestanding Aberdeen to a 2-1 victory over Motherwell.

At Dundee:

Dundee United, powered by Noel Hunt's 71st-minute goal, defeated visiting Kilmarnock.

At Edinburgh:

Hibernian, thanks to goals from Steven Fletcher (65') and Christopher Killen (PK-83'), blanked visiting Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2-0.

Busy Saturday In Ligue 1

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

At Bordeaux:

Bordeaux and visiting AJ Auxerre battled to a 0-0 deadlock.

At Nantes:

Vincent Hognon tied the game two minutes into second-half stoppage time, lifting St. Etienne 2-2 road draw with Nantes. This after Nourdin Boukhari had scored the go-ahead goal in the 87th minute for the hosts.

At Le Mans:

Paris Saint Germain and homestanding Le Mans battled to a 1-1 draw.

At Nice:

Visiting Sochaux and Nice battle to a 0-0 deadlock.

At Lens:

The match between visiting Rennes and Lens ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

At Toulouse:

With Johan Elmander's double (50', 72'), Toulouse went on to win at home, 3-1 over Sedan.

At Lorient:

Ulrich Le Pen (67') and Hamed Namouchi (88') provided the scoring in Lorient's 2-0 home win over AS Nancy-Lorraine.

Thrilling Comeback Win For Bayern Munich

Six games were played Saturday in the German Bundesliga:

At Leverkusen:

After trailing 2-1 after 80 minutes, Bayern Munich, on goals from Martin Demichelis (83') and Claudio Pizzaro (86') defeated Bayer Leverkusen on the road 3-2.

At Gelsenkirchen:

With Halil Altintop scoring twice (22', 67'), Schalke 04 blasted visiting Mainz 4-0.

At Frankfurt:

Three different goal scorers (Artur Wichniarek, Sibusiso Zuma, and Marcel Ndjeng) powered Arminia Bielefeld to a 3-0 road win over Eintracht Frankfurt, thus stretching their unbeaten streak to seven games.

At Wolfsburg:

VfL Wolfsburg stretched their unbeaten string to six games with a 0-0 home deadlock with Energie Cottbus.

At Hamburg:

Oliver Neuville's 84th-minute equalizer lifted visiting Borussia Mochengladbach to a 1-1 draw with Hamburg SV.

At Berlin:

Andreas Neuendorf scored the tying goal in the 80th minute, enabling Hertha Berlin to gain a 3-3 home stalemate against VfL Bochum after trailing 3-1. Zvjezdan Misimovic scored twice for the visitors.

Fiorentina, AS Roma, Come Up Saturday Winners

Two games took place on the Saturday Italian Serie A schedule:

At Florence:

Giampaolo Pazzini scored twice--in the 90th minute--to lift Fiorentina to a 3-1 home win over Atalanta.

At Milan:

Francesco Totti scored twice (7', 83') to lift visiting AS Roma to a 2-1 win over AC Milan.

Atletic Madrid Victorious; Athletic Bilbao and Valencia Draw

Two games were played Saturday in Spain's Premier Division:

At Madrid:

Jose Ze Castro (37'), Fernando Torres (PK-45'), and Sergio Aguero (64'), scored to power Atletico Madrid to a 3-1, come-from-behind, home win over Villarreal.

At Valencia:

Fernando Liorente headed in the tying goal in the 90th minute to lift Athletic Bilbao to a 1-1 road deadlock with Valencia.

Didier Drogba Hat Trick Lifts Chelsea

Here's a look back at Saturday's English Premier League action:

At London:

Chelsea, powered by Didier Drogba's hat trick (27', 35', 69'), belted visiting Watford 4-0.

At Blackburn:

Louis Saha scored the only goal (64') of Manchester United's 1-0 road win over Blackburn Rovers.

At Liverpool:

Chris Sutton scored his first goal for Aston Villa in the 41st minute as the visitors blanked Everton 1-0.

At Manchester:

Newcastle United and homestanding Manchester City battled to a 0-0 deadlock. The Magpies' Steve Harper and the Citizens' Nicky Weaver wound up with clean sheets.

At Middlesbrough:

Massimo Maccarone scored the long goal (74') in Middlesbrough's 1-0 home victory over struggling West Ham United.

At Portsmouth:

Andy Cole's 74-minute equalizer lifted Portsmouth to a 1-1 home stalemate with Fulham.

At Sheffield:

Sheffield United came back from down two goals to gain a home 2-2 draw with Bolton Wanderers. Rob Hulse (70') and Colin Kazim-Richards (73') scored for the Blades.

At Wigan:

Wigan Athletic, on goals from Lee McCulloch (13') , Henri Camara (41') , and Matt Jackson (78'), defeated visiting Charlton Athletic 3-2.

Heerenveen and NAC Breda: Fit To Be Tied

At Breda:

In Friday's single Dutch Eredivisie match, Edwin DeGraaf's 81st-minute equalizer enabled NAC Breda to gain a 1-1 home deadlock with SC Heerenveen.

Lyon Returns To Winning Ways

At Lyon:

In the lone Friday French Ligue 1 game, Lyon returned to their winning form as they defeated visiting Valenciennes 2-1. Steve Savidan (76') actually put the visitors in front, but Cris tied it up in the 85th minute, then Sebastien Squillaci knocked in the game-winner in the 86th.

Dortmund Stuns Werder Bremen On The Road

At Bremen:

In the lone Friday German Bundesliga contest, Alexander Frei (7'), Paulo Cesar Tinga (53'), and Marc-Andre Kruska (PK-85') paced Borussia Dortmund to a 3-1 road win over league-leading Werder Bremen.

Hannover Stuns Bayern Munich---At Munich

Five games dotted the Wednesday Bundesliga schedule in Germany:

At Munich:

Szabolcs Huszti's 43rd-minute goal was the game's only score as struggling Hannover 96 stunned Bayern Munich on the road 1-0 to pull themselves out of the Bundesliga relegation zone.

At Bielefeld:

Radim Kucera's header in the 76th minute lifted Arminia Bielefeld to a 2-2 home draw with Hertha Berlin.

At Bochum:

10-man Bayer Leverkusen, with three different goal scorers, racked up a 3-1 road win over VfL Bochum.

At Mochengladbach:

Schalke 04 climbed to third place in the Bundesliga standings after their 2-0 road shutout over Borussia Mochengladbach.

At Cottbus:

Naohiro Takahara scored the only goal (22') in visiting Eintracht Frankfurt's 1-0 win over Energie Cottbus.

Stuttgart, Werder Bremen, Wolfsburg Win: Dortmund and Aachen Draw

A wrapup of the Tuesday action in Germany's Bundesliga:

At Stuttgart:

Mario Gomez (80') and Thomas Hitzisperger (85') scored second-half goals as rising VfB Stuttgart blanked visiting and struggling Hamburg 2-0.

At Nuremberg:

Torsten Frings (32') and Diego (79') propelled first-place Werder Bremen to a 2-1 road win over FC Nurnberg.

At Mainz:

Mike Hanke (PK-4') and Christopher Lamprecht (84') powered VfL Wolfsburg to their third straight win, a 2-1 road win over Mainz.

At Dortmund:

Borussia Dortmund and visiting Alemania Aachen battled to a 0-0 stalemate. Dortmund's Roman Weidenfeller and his Aachen counterpart Kristian Nicht came away with clean sheets.

FC Dallas Fires Coach

From Dallas:

FC Dallas canned head coach Colin Clarke on Tuesday after the regular-season Western Conference champions were knocked off in the first round of the MLS playoffs by Colorado.

Inverness and Aberdeen: Fit To Be Tied

At Inverness:

In a rare Monday Scottish Premier League face-off, Steve Lovell's equalizer in the 90th minute lifted Aberdeen to a 1-1 road draw with Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Graham Bayne had scored in the 78th minute for the Caley Thistle.

Sporting, FC Porto, Chalk Easy Wins

Two games on the Monday Portuguese BWINLiga schedule:

At Lisbon:

Three different goal talliers propelled Sporting Club Portugal to a 3-0 pasting of visiting Sporting Braga, who didn't feel like bragging.

At Setubal:

FC Porto used three different goal scorers as they manhandled Vitoria Setubal on the road, 3-0.

Revs, Dynamo, To Play For MLS Cup

The two conference finals in the Major League Soccer playoffs were played Sunday:

At Washington:

With Taylor Twellman scoring the only goal of the match in the 4th minute, the visiting New England Revolution shut down the DC United offense and blanked the hosts 1-0 on their way to the Eastern Conference championship and a spot in next Sunday's MLS Cup title match at Frisco, Texas.

At Houston:

Paul Dalglish scored twice (10', 20') and Ricardo Clark added one (17') as the homestanding Houston Dynamo won the Western Conference title with a 3-1 win over the Colorado Rapids. The Dynamo will face New England in the MLS Cup championship game next Sunday at 12:30 PM Pacific Time in Frisco, Texas.

Academica, CD Nacional, Maritimo, Benfica, Post Wins

Four games Sunday in Portugal's BWIN Liga:

At Coimbra:

Hosts Academica de Coimbra picked up a 2-0 home win over Estrela Amadora.

At Funchal:

Rodrigo Silva scored twice (17', 42') to help lead homestanding CD Nacional de Madeira to a 5-1 fistbeating of Pacos Ferreira.

At Figueira da Foz:

Kanu scored the only goal (71') in visiting Maritimo's 1-0 victory over Naval 1° de Maio.

At Lisbon:

Three different goal scorers helped SL Benfica win one at home over Beira Mar, 3-0.

Five Games On Eredivisie Sunday Slate

Five games Sunday in the Netherlands' top soccer division:

At Ultrecht:

FC Ultrecht and visiting Twente Enschede battled to a 0-0 tie.

At Almelo:

Ajax Amsterdam, with Kenneth Perez scoring twice (39', PK-81'), belted hosts SC Heracles Almelo 3-0.

At Rotterdam:

Theo Lucius scored the game winner in the 70th minute as Feyenoord Rotterdam edged visiting Vitesse Arnhem 2-1.

At Heerenveen:

SC Heerenveen picked up a 2-0 home win at the expense of hapless Sparta Rotterdam. Lasse Nielson (29') and Afonso Alves (54') scored for The Pride of Friesland.

At Waalwijk:

AZ Alkmaar, powered by goals from Moussa Dembele (6') and Danny Koevermans (31'), handled hosts RKC Waalwijk 2-0.

Nancy, Lens, Pick Up Wins

Two games Sunday in France's Ligue 1:

At Nancy:

Moncaf Zerka's 55th-minute penalty kick lifted AS Nancy Lorraine to a 2-1 home win over Bordeaux.

At Paris:

Daniel Cousin scored twice (50', 67') to help lead Lens to a 3-1 road win over Paris Saint Germain.

Dundee United Stun Rangers

At Dundee:

In Sunday's lone match in the Scottish Premier League, Dundee United shocked visiting Rangers with a 2-1, come-from-behind win. Craig Levein was successful in his first match as The Terror's new manager. Garry Kenneth (77') and Lee Mair (82') scored for the winners.

Frankfurt Wins; Schalke, Bayern Play To Stalemate

Two games Sunday in Germany's Bundesliga:

At Frankfurt:

Nakohiro Takahara provided the only goal (78') in Eintracht Frankfurt's 1-0 home win over Borussia Mochengladbach.

At Gelsenkirchen:

Bayern Munich came from two goals back to gain a 2-2 road deadlock with FC Schalke 04. Andreas Ottl (45') and Roy Makaay (52') scored for the visitors.

A Sunday Italian Eight-Pack

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

At Bergamo:

Nicola Ventola (50') and Andrea Soncin (90') provided all the scoring as Atalanta racked up a 2-0 home win at AC Milan's expense.

At Leghorn:

Ibrahima Bakayoko notch the only goal (73') in Livorno's 1-0 win over visiting Udinese.

At Verona:

Chievo Verona remained winless on the season after a 0-0 home stalemate with Cagliari.

At Palermo:

Goals from Eugenio Corini (35') and Cristian Zaccardo (70') powered Palermo to a 2-0 home blanking of Sampdoria.

At Empoli:

Thanks to Igli Vanucchi's 88th-minute equalizer, Empoli gained a 1-1 home draw with Lazio.

At Turin:

Torino FC settled for a 1-1 home deadlock with 10-man Messina. Roberto Stellone scored the equalizer (61') for The Bull.

At Milan:

Inter Milan blanked visiting Ascoli 2-0 to stay at the top of the Serie A standings.

At Rome:

Rodrigo Taddei scored two second-half goals (49', 66') to help lead AS Roma to a 3-1 home win over Fiorentina.

Seven Games On Sunday In Spain

Seven games were played Sunday in Spain's Premiera Liga:

At Bilbao:

Athletic Bilbao settled for a 0-0 home deadlock with Racing Santander.

At Villarreal:

Homestanding Villarreal came back twice from behind to defeat Real Betis 3-2. Pacal Cygan scored the equalizer in the 57th minute, and Ruben Cani tallied the game winner in the 58th.

At Seville:

Thanks to goals from Frederic Kanoute (PK-50') and Adriano (88'), FC Sevilla defeated visiting Osasuna 2-0 to climb to the top of the Spanish Premier League standings.

At Madrid:

With goals from Anderson Nene (36') and Jorge Larena (82'), Celta Vigo handed Real Madrid their first home loss of the season, 2-1.

At Zaragoza:

With three different goal scorers, Real Zaragoza pinned a 3-1 defeat on visiting Getafe.

At Barcelona:

Espanyol and visiting Valencia battled to a 1-1 stalemate.

At Huelva:

Mario scored the game winner in the 90th minute as hosts Recreativo Huelva came from behind and defeated struggling Gimnastic de Tarragona 2-1.

Spurs, Villans, Hammers Win Sunday Games

Here now is a recap of Sunday's English Premiership action:

At London:

Marlon Harewood banged home the winning (and only) goal in the 89th minute of West Ham United's shocking 1-0 home win over Arsenal.

At Birmingham:

Aston Villa, with goals from Gareth Barry (PK-41') and Juan Pablo Angel (50'), picked up a 2-0 home win against Blackburn.

At London:

Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to knock off guests Chelsa 2-1. Michael Dawson (25') and Aaron Lennon (52') provided the scoring for the Spurs.

Panthers (Boavista) Top Deportivo Aves

At Porto:

Andre Ricardo Sousa (74') and Roland Linz (90') scored the equalizing and winning goals respectively to lead Boavista to a 2-1 home win over Deportivo Aves in the lone Saturday match in the Portuguese BWIN Liga.

PSV, Groningen Pick Up Wins; ADO Den Haag, Excelsior Draw

Three games were played Saturday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At The Hague:

Ronildo Tininho's game-tying successful penalty kick in the 84th minute lifted ADO Den Haag to a 2-2 home draw with Excelsior of Rotterdam, as the hosts came back twice from one-goal deficits. Andwele Story scored both of Excelsior's goals (41', 60').

At Eindhoven:

Jefferson Farfan scored twice (27', 85') to help lead PSV Eindhoven to an easy 3-0 home win over NAC Breda.

At Groningen:

FC Groningen came from behind to defeat visiting Roda JC Kerdrade 2-1. Erik Nevland (71') and Luis Suarez (90') scored for the winners.

Rennes Hands Lyon First Loss

Eight games populated Saturday's schedule in France's Ligue 1:

At Rennes:

Stephane Moia scored the only goal of the match (13') at Rennes handed Lyon their first defeat of the current Ligue 1 season 1-0.

At Sedan:

Gregory Pujol's equalizer (62') enabled Sedan to gain a 1-1 draw with visiting Nantes.

At Auxerre:

Thanks to Ismael Bangoura's hat trick (15', PK-81', 90'), LeMans bounced back from a 2-1 deficit to post a 3-2 road win against AJ Auxerre.

At Montebeliard:

Homestanding Sochaux, on the strength of Guirane N'Daw's goal in the 67th minute, defeated visiting Troyes 1-0.

At Marseille:

Andre-Pierre Gignac powered visiting Lorient to a 1-0 win over Marseille with his 48th-minute tally.

At St. Etienne:

Bafetimbi Gomis scored twice (23', 87') to help lead St. Ettiene to a 3-0 home whitewashing of Toulouse.

At Monte Carlo:

Goalkeeper Flavio Roma's save of an Ederson penalty kick in the 86th minute preserved AS Monaco's 0-0 home draw with Nice.

At Valenciennes:

Lille used three different goal scorers to hand Valenciennes their first home defeat of the season, 3-0.

Bhoys Keep On Rolling

Four games were played Saturday in the Scottish Premier League:

At Glasgow:

League leading Celtic came back from a 1-0 deficit with two late second half goals (Jiri Jarosik [86'] and Craig Gordon [OG-90']) to defeat visiting Hearts 2-1, and stretch their league lead to 13 points.

At Dunfermline:

Anthony Stokes notched his second straight hat trick (1', 59', 80'), leading visiting Falkirk to a 3-0 whitewashing of Dunferline.

At Edinburgh:

Steven Naismith's 65th-minute equalizer propelled visiting Kilmarnock to a 2-2 deadlock with Hibernian.

At Motherwell:

Hosts Motherwell and St Mirren battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

A Saturday Six-Pack In Germany

Six games were played Saturday in Germany's Bundesliga:

At Aachen:

Marco Streller scored twice (46', 63') to help lead VfB Stuttgart to a 4-1 road win over Alemania Aachen and move into temporary possession of second place in the Bundesliga standings.

At Wolfsburg:

Mike Hanke scored the only goal (19') as VfL Wolfsburg pinned a 1-0 defeat on struggling visiting Hamburg, who were coming off being elimated from European competition.

At Leverkusen:

FSV Mainz 05 and homestanding Bayer Leverkusen battled to a 1-1 draw.

At Bremen:

Ivan Klasnic's goal in the 76th minute enabled Werder Bremen to gain a 1-1 home draw with Energie Cottbus. Francis Kioyo tallied in the 49th minute for the visitors.

At Dortmund:

Alexander Frei's successful 90th minute penalty kick allowed Borussia Dortmund to salvage a 1-1 home deadlock with Arminia Bielefeld. Artur Wichniarek scored first (68') for the Die Arminen.

At Berlin:

Thanks to goals from Marko Pantelic (29', 65') homestanding Hertha Berlin handed 1. FC Nurnberg their first loss of the season, 2-1.

Catania Wins; Siena and Parma Draw

Two Saturday matches in Italy's Serie A:

At Siena:

After being down 2-0 after 70 minutes, AC Siena ralled with two late goals from Erjon Bogdani (77', 90') to gain a 2-2 home draw with Parma.

At Reggio Calabria:

Giorgio Corona scored the only goal in the 68th minute of the match, propelling visiting Catania Calcio to a 1-0 win over Reggio.

Three Games On The Saturday Spanish Premiera Liga Sked

Three games dotted the Saturday schedule in Spain's top soccer division:

At Valencia:

On goals from Albert Meyong Ze (40') and Laurent Courtais (87'), Levante kept visiting Real Sociedad winless, 2-0.

At Mallorca:

Visiting Atletico Madrid and Mallorca battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At La Coruna:

Deportivo La Coruna, thanks to Juan Rodriguez and his 73rd-minute equalizer, gained a 1-1 home deadlock with FC Barcelona. Ronaldinho scored in the 40th minute on a successful penalty kick for Barca.

Happy Anniversary Gift For Sir Alex

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

At Manchester:

Manchester United celebrated Six Alex Ferguson's 20th anniversary as head coach/manager by blanking visiting Portsmouth 3-0.

At Bolton:

Wigan Athletic won one on the road, at Bolton Wanderers' expense, 1-0, thanks to Lee McCulloch's goal in the 79th minute.

At London:

Darren Bent's 28th-minute tally provided all the scoring as Charlton Athletic

defeated visting Manchester City 1-0.At London:

Everton still has not beaten Fulham on the road since 1966, as the homestanding Cottagers topped the Toffees 1-0, on Claus Jensen's 66-minute goal.

At Liverpool:

On the strength of Dick Kuyt's double (14', 73'), Liverpool blanked visiting Reading 2-0.

At Newcastle:

Danny Webber headed in the only goal (68') of the match in Sheffield United's 1-0 road win over Newcastle United.

At Watford:

With goals from Jonathan Woodgate (OG-6') and Ashley Young (60'), Watford picked up its' first Premiership win of the season, 2-0 at home over Middlesbrough.

2006-07 UEFA Cup Group Stage, Matchday # 2

Yessir, friends and neighbors, here is a rundown of Thursday's action in the 2006-07 UEFA Cup:

GROUP A:

At Belgrade, Serbia:

Goalkeeper Marco Amelia scored the equalizer in the 88th minute to lift AS Livorno Calcio to a 1-1 road draw with FK Partizan.

At Glasgow, Scotland:

Nacho Novo (5') and Charlie Adam (PK-89') provided the scoring as Rangers defeated visiting Maccabi Haifi 2-0.

GROUP B:

At London:

Dimitar Berbatov scored twice (17', 73') and Robbie Keane added another (63') as Tottenham Hotspur picked up a 3-1 home win over Club Brugge.

At Bucharest:

Nine-man FC Dinamo Bucharest knocked off visiting Besiktas 3-1. Adrian Cristea (21') and Claudiu Niculescu (PK-87') provided the scoring for the Red Dogs.

GROUP C:

At Zurich, Switzerland:

Moussa Dembele scored twice (78', 90+5') to help AZ Alkmaar post an impressive 5-2 road beating on Grasshoppers.

At Braga, Porugal:

Sporting Club Braga, with four different tally scorers, belted visiting FC Slovan Liberec 4-0.

GROUP D:

At Heerenveen, Netherlands:

Radivoje Lekic scored both goals (45', 60') as Odense OB blanked hosts SC Heerenveen 2-0.

At Lens, France:

RC Lens, with three different goal scorers, defeated visiting Osasuna 3-1.

GROUP E:

At Blackburn, England:

With three different goal scorers, Blackburn Rovers whitewashed FC Basel 3-0 at home.

At Nancy, France:

Pascal Berenguer provided both goals (11', 58') for AS Nancy-Lorraine in their 2-1 home win over Wisla Krakow.

GROUP F:

At Gent, Belgium:

Three different goal scorers propelled SV Zulte Waregem to a 3-1 home victory over Sparta Prague.

At Amsterdam:

Klaas-Jan Hantelaar scored twice (35', 68') and sub Edgar Manucharyan added one of his own (65') as Ajax Amsterdam easily dominated FK Austria Vienna at home 3-0.

GROUP G:

At Tel-Aviv, Israel:

Hapoel Tel-Aviv and visiting Rapid Bucharest battled to a 2-2 deadlock as each team used two different goal scorers.

At Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic:

Dimitrios Salpingidis provided the only goal (64') as visiting Panathinaikos blanked FK Mlada Boleslav 1-0.

GROUP H:

At Palermo, Italy:

Albert Luque's 37-minute goal was all the scoring as visiting Newcastle United defeated Palermo 1-0.

At Vigo, Spain:

Two first-half goals provided all the scoring as visiting Eintracht Frankfurt and Celta Vigo settled for a 1-1 draw. Jesus Perera tallied in the 11th minute for Celta, while Alexander Huber tied it in the 17th for Frankfurt.

Matchday # 4 In UEFA Champions League Play, Continued

And now, boys and girls, here is a rundown of Wednesday's action in group stage play in the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League:

GROUP E:

At Madrid:

Banita Nicolita scored the only goal in the 70th minute. Unfortunately for visiting Steaua Bucharest, for whom Banita played for, it was an own goal, allowing Real Madrid to win the match 1-0, allowing the Spanish side to clinch a berth in the knockout stage, eliminating Steaua from Champions League contention.

At Lyon, France:

Karim Benzina's goal in the 14th minute lifted Lyon to a 1-0 home win over Dynamo Kiev, propelling the five-time defending French Ligue 1 champs into the knockout stage.

GROUP F:

At Lisbon:

SL Benfica, on goals from Nuno Gomes (22') and Andrei Karyaka (76'), shocked visiting Celtic 3-0. The Bhoys even contributed to their own defeat with Gary Caldwell's own goal in the 10th minute. The win kept Benfica's flickering Champions League knockout-stage hopes alive as they climb within two points of second-place Celtic in Group F.

At Copenhagen:

Marcus Allback's 73rd-minute goal propelled FC Copenhagen to a surprizing 1-0 home win over Manchester United to keep their Champions League advancement hopes alive.

GROUP G:

At London:

CSKA Moscow remained atop the Group G standings after their 0-0 road deadlock with Arsenal, which sits one point behind, now tied for second with FC Porto.

At Hamburg:

With goals from Lucho Gonzalez (44'), Lisandro Lopez (61'), and sub Bruno Morales (87'), FC Porto not only kept themselves very much alive in Champions League contention, but placed themselves only one point off the top spot with their 3-0 road blanking of Hamburg, knocking HSV not only out of CL contention, but out of UEFA Cup contention as well.

GROUP H:

At Athens:

Nikolas Liberopoulos scored the only goal (74') in AEK Athens' 1-0 home win over Lille, placing the Greek side just one point behing the Mastiffs for second place in Group H.

At Milan:

Kaka knocked in a natural hat trick (PK-6', 22', 56') to help lead AC Milan to an easy 4-1 home manhandling of RSC Anderlecht, putting Milan within one point of qualifying for the knockout stage.