Emotional Road Win For Recreativo Over Real Madrid

Seven games were contested Wednesday in the Spanish Premira Liga:

At Madrid:

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

At Vigo:

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

At Santander:

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

At Madrid:

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

At Seville:

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

At Tarragona:

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

At Pamplona:

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

Valencia Wins, Real Zaragoza and Athletic Bilbao Draw

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

At Bilbao:

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

At Valencia:

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

Boavista and Braga: Fit To Be Tied

At Braga:

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

Cottagers Top Boro 2-1

At London:

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

Soap Opera For A-League's Kiwi Club

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

Easy Win For FC Porto

Four games Sunday in Portugal's BWINLIGA:

At Porto:

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

At Aveiro:

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

At Amadora:

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

At Figueira da Foz:

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

Soccer Sunday In The Netherlands

Five matches took place Sunday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Rotterdam:

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

At Enschede:

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

At Utrecht:

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

At Waalwijk:

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

At Alkmaar:

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

Rangers Salvage Old Firm Derby Draw With Celtic

At Glasgow:

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

Three Games Sunday In France

Three games Sunday in France's Ligue 1:

At Paris:

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

At Auxerre:

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

At Lens:

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

Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen Come Up Winners

Two games were played Sunday in Germany's Bundesliga:

At Dortmund:

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

At Bremen:

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

Busy Sunday in Serie A

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

At Ascoli:

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

At Milan:

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

At Leghorn:

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

At Parma:

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

At Reggio Calabria:

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

At Siena:

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

At Rome:

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

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

Six games played Sunday in the Spanish Premiera Division:

At Valencia:

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

At San Sebastian:

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

At Huelva:

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


At Villarreal:

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

At Barcelona:

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

At Madrid:

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

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

Three games Sunday in the English Premier League:

At London:

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

At Liverpool:

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

At Manchester:

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

Adriano Goal Wins FIFA World Club Title For Internacional

At Yokohama, Japan:

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


Reuters photo.

Home Wins For Benfica and Sporting Club Portugal

Two games played Saturday in Portugal's BWINLIGA:

At Lisbon:

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

At Lisbon:

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

Wins For ADO, Vitesse, and NAC Breda

Three games Saturday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At The Hague:

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

At Kerkrade:

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

At Rotterdam:

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

Busy Saturday In Scotland

Five games were played Saturday in the Scottish Premier League:

At Falkirk:

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

At St. Mirren:

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

At Edinburgh:

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

At Inverness:

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

At Motherwell:

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

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

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

At Nancy:

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

At Rennes:

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

At Le Mans:

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

At Sedan:

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

At Monte Carlo:

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

At St. Etienne:

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

At Nantes:

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

Bayern Belts Mainz

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

At Mainz:

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

At Aachen:

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

At Bielefeld:

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

At Nuremberg:

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

At Cottbus:

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

At Berlin:

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

Milan and Fiorentina Draw; Udinese Triple Cagliari

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

At Florence:

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

At Udine:

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

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

Three contests dotted Saturday's Spanish Premiera Division play:

At La Coruna:

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

At Mallorca:

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

At Zaragoza:

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

Gunners Erase Two-Goal Deficit To Tie Pompey

Six games were played Saturday in the English Premier League:

At London:

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

At Birmingham:

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

At London:

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

At Newcastle:

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

At Reading:

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

At Wigan:

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

Triumphant Trip To Funchal For Belenenses

At Funchal:

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

Easy Win For PSV

At Eindhoven:

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

Mochengladbach Blanked By Bochum

At Bochum:

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

Draws For UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup Knockout Stages

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

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUND OF 16:

FC Porto vs. Chelsea

Celtic vs. AC Milan

PSV Eindhoven vs. Arsenal

Lille vs. Manchester United

AS Roma vs. Lyon

Barcelona vs. Liverpool

Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich

Inter Milan vs. Valencia

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



UEFA CUP ROUNDS OF 32 AND 16:

Zulte Waregem vs. Newcastle United

Fenerbahce vs. AZ Alkmaar

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

Sporting Braga vs. Parma

Feyenoord Rotterdam vs. Tottenham Hotspur

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

Lens vs. Panathinaikos

Bayern Leverkusen vs. Blackburn Rovers

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

Hapoel Tel-Aviv vs. Rangers

Bordeaux vs. Osasuna

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

Livorno vs. Espanyol

CSKA Moscow vs. Maccabi Haifa

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

Werder Bremen vs. Ajax Amsterdam

Spartak Moscow vs. Celta Vigo

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

AEK Athens vs. Paris Saint-Germain

SL Benfica vs. Dinamo Bucharest

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

Steaua Bucharest vs. Sevilla

Shakhtar Donetsk vs. AS Nancy Lorraine

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

Lamar Hunt, 1932-2006

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

UEFA Cup Group Stage, Matchday # 5, Continued

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

GROUP A:

At Glasgow:

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

At Auxerre, France:

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

GROUP B:

At London:

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

At Leverkusen, Germany:

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

GROUP C:

At Braga, Portugal:

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

At Seville, Spain:

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

GROUP D:

At Parma, Italy:

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

At Heerenveen, Netherlands:

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

Blues, Gunners Wednesday Winners

Two matches were decided Wednesday in the English Premier League:

At London:

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

At Wigan:

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

UEFA Cup Group Stage, Matchday # 5

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

GROUP E:

At Blackburn, England:

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

At Rotterdam, Netherlands:

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

GROUP F:

At Barcelona:

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

At Gent, Belgium:

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

GROUP G:

At Paris:

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

At Tel-Aviv, Israel:

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

GROUP H:

At Palermo, Italy:

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

At Istanbul, Turkey:

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

Will Freddy Be Better Off With RSL?

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

DC United Bids Freddy Adeiu

Salt Lake City:

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

Porto Top CD Nacional

At Funchal:

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

West Ham Drops Hammer On Coach

At London:

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

Villa, Blades Battle To Draw At Bramall Lane

At Sheffield:

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

!VIVA CHIVAS! Goats Win Another Mexican Title

At Toluca, Mexico:

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

Sunday Quartet In Portugal

Four games were played Sunday in Portugal's BWINLIGA:

At Vila das Aves:

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

At Coimbra:

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

At Pacos de Ferreira:

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

At Figueira da Foz:

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

Four More Games In The Netherlands

Four games played Sunday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Amsterdam:

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

At Rotterdam:

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

At Arnhem:

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

At Tilburg:

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

Another Celtic Victory

At Dunfermline:

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

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

Two games Sunday in France's Ligue1:

At Lyon:

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

At Lille:

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

Schalke 04 and Alemania Aachen Come Up Sunday Winners

In Sunday German Bundesliga action:

At Gelsenkirchen:

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

At Wolfsburg:

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

Busy Sunday in Serie A

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

Busy Sunday In Spain's Top Division

Eight games were contested Sunday in the Spanish Premiera Liga.

Blues and Gunners Go Sister Kissing

At London:

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

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

Two games were played Saturday in the Portuguese BWINLIGA:

At Porto:

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

At Setubal:

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

Saturday Dutch Quartet

Four games were played Saturday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Groningen:

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

At Breda:

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

At Nijmegen:

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

At Almelo:

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

Rangers Blank Hibs, Plus Other Saturday SPL Action

Five Saturday matches were contested in the Scottish Premier League:

At Glasgow:

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

At Aberdeen:

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

At Dundee:

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

At Edinburgh:

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

At Kilmarnock:

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

Busy Saturday In Ligue 1

Eight games Saturday in France's Ligue 1:

At Toulouse:

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

At Nantes:

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

At Bordeaux:

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

At Nice:

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

At Lorient:

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

At Troyes:

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

At Marseille:

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

At Valenceinnes:

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

Another Saturday Bundesliga Six-Pack In Germany

Six matches were contested Saturday in Germany's Bundesliga:

At Munich:

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

At Hannover:

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

At Mochengladbach:

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

At Stuttgart:

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

At Frankfurt:

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

At Hamburg:

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

Reggina, Palermo Post Home Wins

Two games Saturday in Italy's Serie A:

At Reggio Calabria:

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

At Palermo:

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

Ronaldinho Leads Barca Over Real Sociedad; Sevilla Stuns Real Madrid

Two games Saturday in Spain's Premiera Liga:

At Barcelona:

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

At Seville:

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

Red Devils Top Citizens In Manchester Derby

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

At Manchester:

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

At Bolton:

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

At Liverpool:

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

At Blackburn:

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

At Middlesbrough:

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

At Portsmouth:

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

At London:

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

At Watford:

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

Home Win For The Blues From Restelo

At Lisbon:

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

Dutch Treat For Heerenveen

At Heerenveen:

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

Leverkusen Top Hertha 2-1

At Leverkusen:

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

Wednesday EPL Action

Wednesday action in the English Premier League:

At Newcastle:

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

At London:

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

UEFA Champions League Group Stage, Matchday # 6, Continued

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

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

GROUP E:

At Kiev, Ukraine:

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

At Lyon, France:

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

Final Standings:

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

GROUP F:

At Manchester, England:

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

At Copenhagen, Denmark:

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

Final Standings:

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

GROUP G:

At Porto, Potugal:

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

At Hamburg, Germany:

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

Final Standings:

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

GROUP H:

At Brussels:

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

At Milan:

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

Final Standings:

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

Addicks, Spurs, Grab Home Wins

Two games were played Tuesday in the English Premier League:

At London:

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

At London:

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

UEFA Champions League Group Stage, Matchday # 6

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

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

GROUP A:

At Barcelona:

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

At London:

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

Final Standings:

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

GROUP B:

At Lisbon:

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

At Munich:

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

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

GROUP C:

At Istanbul:

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

At Eindhoven, Netherlands:

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

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

GROUP D:

At Athens:

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

At Rome:

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

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

Marcelo Lipatin The Man For Maritimo

At Funchal:

Marcelo Lipatin provided all the scoring (67') as Maritimo racked up a 1-0 home victory over Vitoria Setubal.

Hornets, Citizens, Fit To Be Tied

At Manchester:

In the lone Monday English Premiership match, Manchester City and visiting Watford battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

Gauchos Beat UCLA For Men's National Title

At St. Louis:

Nick Perera had a goal and an assist to help lead the University of California at Santa Barbara to a 2-1 win over UCLA to win the men's national soccer championship

UNC Wins Another National Women's Soccer Title

At Cary, North Carolina:

Casey Nogueira had a goal and an assist in helping to lead North Carolina to a 2-1 victory over Notre Dame to win their 18th national women's soccer championship.

Scores From Portugal

Here's a rundown of scores from play in the Portuguese BWINLIGA:

FRIDAY:

Benfica shut out Sporting Club Portugal on the road 2-0.

SATURDAY:

Belenenses defeated homestanding Beira Mar 2-1 while FC Porto blanked visiting Boavista 2-0.

SUNDAY:

Deporto Aves won one at home over Naval 1° de Maio 2-0; Estrela Amadora blanked visiting CD Nacional 2-0; visting Pacos Ferreira and Uniao Leiria battled to a 0-0 stalemate; and Braga doubled up visiting Academica de Coimbra 4-2.

Scores From The Netherlands

A quick rundown of the weekend action in the Dutch Eredivisie:

FRIDAY:

RKC Waalwijk 2, Sparta Rotterdam 1

SATURDAY:

NEC Nijmegen 2, ADO Den Haag 0

Twente Enschede 0, NAC Breda 0

SC Heracles Almelo 1, Roda JC Kerkrade 1

PSV Eindhoven 1, Vitesse Arnhem 0

SUNDAY:

Ajax Amsterdam 6, Willem II Tilburg 0

AZ Alkmaar 5, Excelsior 0

FC Utrecht 3, FC Groningen 0

Feyenoord Rotterdam 4, SC Heerenveen 3

You can find details of the matches on the ESPN Soccernet website.

The Weekend In Scotland

Here's a link to a rundown of the Weekend contests in the Scottish Premier League

The Weekend In France

Here's a link to a rundown of the Weekend action in the French Ligue 1.

The Weekend In Germany

Here's a link to the weekend action in Germany's Bundesliga.

Recent Struggles For Palermo Continue

Here's a rundown of the Saturday and Sunday action in Italy's Serie A.

The Weekend In Spain

Here are links to Saturday and Sunday action in the Spanish Premiera Liga.

Saturday and Sunday Recap From England

I had problems this past Friday and into Saturday with Blogger, which, I am happy to report, is back up and running.

Here's a wrapup of Saturday's English Premier League action.

Here's a wrapup of Everton's 2-0 home win Sunday against West Ham United.

UEFA Cup Group Stage, Matchday # 4, Continued

Here is a rundown of Thursday's UEFA Cup group stage action:

GROUP E:

At Nancy, France:

AS Nancy Lorraine locked up a berth in the round of 32 with a 3-0 whitewashing of visiting Feyenoord Rotterdam. Three different players scored a goal each for ASNL (Sebastien Puygrenier [22'], Kim [42'], Monsef Zerka [PK-66']).

At Krakow, Poland:

Pawel Brozek's double (11', 83') powered Wisla Krakow to a 3-1 home win over FC Basel, keeping their advancement chances alive while eliminating the Swiss club from contention.


GROUP F:

At Amsterdam:

Thanks to goals from Walter Pandiani (36') and Ferran Corominas (78'), Espanyol picked up a 2-0 road win against Ajax Amsterdam to book a place in the round of 32.

At Vienna:

Tomas Repka scored the lone goal (11') of Sparta Prague's 1-0 road win over Vienna Austria, keeping their hopes of advancing alive while knocking The Violets (pointless in three matches) out of contention.

GROUP G:

At Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic:

Guests Paris Saint Germain and FK Mlada Boleslav battled to a 0-0 deadlock.

At Athens, Greece:

Panathinaikos advanced to the round of 32 by playing visiting Rapid Bucharest to a 0-0 home stalemate.

GROUP H:

At Vigo, Spain:

Fabian Canobbio notched the lone tally (77') as Celta Vigo downed visiting Fenerbahce 1-0.

At Frankfurt, Germany:

Visiting Newcastle United secured a place in the round of 32 by holding Eintrach Frankfurt to a 0-0 draw.

UEFA Cup Group Stage, Matchday # 4

Wednesday marked the continuation of group stage play in the 2006-07 UEFA Cup competition:

GROUP A:

At Livorno, Italy:

Roberto Colautti's equalizer, three minutes into second-half stoppage time lifted Maccabi Haifa to a 1-1 road draw with Livorno and allowing the visiting Green Apes to qualify for the knockout stage, beginning with the round of 32.

At Belgrade, Serbia:

AJ Auxerre spotted homestanding FK Partizan a 1-0 lead, then scored four unanswered goals (scored by four different players) to pop the Serb side 4-1.

GROUP B:

At Bucharest, Romania:

Claudiu Niculescu's double (37', 74') powered Dinamo Bucharest to a 2-1 home win over Bayer Leverkusen and a spot in the round of 32.

At Istanbul, Turkey:

Goals from Ibrahim Akin (32') and Ricardinho (PK-70') powered Besiktas to a 2-1 home victory over Club Brugge.

GROUP C:

At Zurich, Switzerland:

Daniel Alves scored twice (12', 53') to power FC Sevilla (which won the UEFA Cup this past May) to a 4-0 stomping of hosts Grasshoppers. Sevilla's heading to the knockout stage while the loss eliminated the Swiss side from European competition.

At Alkmaar, Netherlands:

Homestanding AZ Alkmaar booked their ticket for the round of 32 by tying visiting FC Slovan Liberec 2-2. Julian Jenner tied the score for AZ in the 89th minute.

GROUP D:

At Lens, France:

Daniele Paponi's game winner in the second minute of second-half stoppage time powered Parma to a 2-1 road win over Lens, eliminating the French club's hopes of advancing out of the group stage. The Italian side is heading to the round of 32.

At Pamplona, Spain:

Patxi Punal scored twice for Osasuna (29', 67') as the home side defeated Odense BK 2-1.

Afonso Alves Scores Hat Trick For Heerenveen

At Arnhem:

Afonso Alves notched the hat trick (56', 60', PK-77')enabling SC Heerenveen to erase a 1-0 halftime deficit and defeat Vitesse Arnhem on the road 3-1 in Wednesday's lone Dutch Eredivisie match.

Red Devils, Blues Win

Five games Wednesday in the English Premier League:

At Manchester:

Manchester United maintained their three-point advantage over Chelsa atop the EPL standings by blanking visiting Everton 3-0. Cirstiano Ronaldo (39'), Patrice Evra (63'), and John O'Shea (89') provided the scoring for the Red Devils.

At Bolton:

Michael Ballack's tally during first-half stoppage time was the lone score as Chelsea kept pace with Manchester United by blanking homestanding Bolton 1-0.

At London:

First-half goals from Brian McBride (6') and Tomasz Radzinski (19') enabled Fulham to defeat Arsenal for the first time in 40 years, 2-1 at home.

At Birmingham:

Darius Vassell (18'), Joey Barton (32'), and Sylvain Distin (75') provided the scoring for Manchester City as the Citizens picked up their first road win of the Premiership season, 3-1 versus Aston Villa.

At Liverpool:

Liverpool and visiting Portsmouth battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

Blades Sink Hornets 1-0

At Watford:

In Tuesday's only match in the English Premier League, Danny Webber haunted his former club with his 87th-minute header, powering Sheffield United to a 1-0 road win at Watford's expense.

Three Points For Braga

At Setubal:

In Monday's lone Portuguese BWINLiga matchup, Sproting Braga downed visiting Vitoria Setubal 2-1.

Kristine Lilly's Clutch Penalty Kick Gives US Another CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup Title

At Carson, California:

Kristine Lilly's successful penalty kick in the final minute of overtime lifted the United States to a third consecutive CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup championship, a 2-1 win in the title match over Canada.

Five Sunday Matches In Portugal

Five contests took place Sunday in the Portugese BWIN Liga:

At Coimbra:

Three different goal scorers powered Academica de Coimbra to a 3-1 home win over Beira Mar.

At Figueira da Foz:

With a late tally from Ronny de Araujo (87'), Sporting Club Portugal picked up a 1-0 road victory over Naval 1° de Maio.

At Funchal:

Thanks to Bruno's game winner (76'), CD Nacional de Madeira grabbed all three points with their 2-1 home triumph over Uniao Leiria.

At Pacos de Ferreira:

Edson Nobre (25') and Primo (57') provided the scoring for Pacos Ferreira as the homestanding Beavers defeated Deportivo Aves 2-0.

At Lisbon:

Helder Postiga registered the lone tally (41') for FC Porto as the league leaders blanked Belenenses on the road 1-0.

Five Sunday Matches In The Netherlands

Five games were played Sunday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Nijmegen:

Three goals in the final ten seconds powered NEC Nijmegan to an impressive 4-1 beating of visiting Feyenoord Rotterdam. Five different NEC players each scored a goal (including one who scored an own goal for Feyenoord).

At Rotterdam:

With goals from Yuri Rose (35'), Sjaak Polak (PK-58'), and Haris Medunjanin (83'), struggling Sparta Rotterdam belted visiting Ajax Amsterdam 3-0.

At Kerkrade:

Roda JC Kerkrade bounced back from a one-goal halftime deficit to defeat NAC Breda at home 3-2. Andres Oper (53'), Davy De Fauw (63'), and Adil Ramzi (81') scored for The Pride of the South Koempels.

At Groningen:

ADO Den Hagg, helped by Richard Knopper's double (27', 70'), picked up a road victory, 5-2, over FC Groningen.

At Heerenveen:

Shota Arveladze (27'), Danny Koevermans (81'), and Maarten Martens (85') provided the scoring punch as AZ Alkmaar came from behind to win on the road 3-1 over SC Heerenveen.

Rangers, Dundee United Win, Bhoys Come Back To Tie Hibs

Three Sunday matches in the Scottish Premier League:

At Glasgow:

Charlie Adam (23'), Kris Boyd (28'), and Dado Prso (58') provided the scoring as Rangers whitewashed visiting Kilmarnock 3-0.

At Dundee:

Dundee United, thanks to Noel Hunt's tally (64') blanked visiting St. Mirren 1-0.

At Edinburgh:

Celtic, with goals from Evander Sno (70') and Aiden McGeady (74'), fought back from a 2-0 deficit to deadlock their match with visiting Hibernian at 2-2.

Lyon Wins Again

Four games were played Sunday in France's Ligue 1:

At Lyon:

Florent Malouda's goal (25') was all the scoring in Lyon's 1-0 home win over AJ Auxerre.

At Le Mans:

Lens and homestanding Le Mans battled to a 1-1 draw.

At Valenciennes:

Steve Savidan's goal in the opening minute help up as Valenciennes knocked off visiting AS Nancy Lorraine 1-0.

At Nantes:

Frederic Da Rocha knocked in the tying goal (75') for Nantes as they wound up with a 1-1 home deadlock against struggling Paris Saint Germain.

Home Wins For Leverkusen and Stuttgart

A pair of Sunday contests in Germany's Bundesliga:

At Leverkusen:

Goals courtesy of Sergej Barbarez (19'), Simon Rolfes (66'), and Andriy Voronin (80') lifted Bayer Leverkusen to a 3-1 home win over Energie Cottbus.

At Stuttgart:

Cacau notched the lone goal (6') as VfB Stuttgart climbed up to third place in the Bundesliga standings by blanking visiting--and struggling---Borussia Mochengladbach 1-0.

A Spanish Eight-Pack

Eight games were contested Sunday in Spain's Premiera Liga:

At Vigo:

Fernando Baiano's equalizer (53') enabled Celta Vigo to gain a 1-1 home draw with Real Zaragoza.

At Santander:

Racing Santander ended visiting Recreativo Huelva's three game winning streak with a 4-3 home victory. Nikola Zigic scored twice (14', 64') for Racing.

At Madrid:

Visiting Levante and Getafe battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Seville:

Walter Gerardo Pandiani scored the dramatic game-tying goal (90') to lift visiting Espanyol to a 1-1 road deadlock with Real Betis.

At Tarragona:

Juan Arango's game winner at 88 minutes lifted Mallorca to a 3-2 road victory at the expense of struggling Gimnastic de Tarragona.

At Pamplona:

Roberto Soldado's double (5', 60') helped spark Osasuna to a 4-1 pasting of visiting Deportivo La Coruna.

At Bilbao:

Thanks to Luis Fabiano's two scores (4', 90') visiting FC Sevilla picked up a 3-1 win over Athletic Bilbao.

At Valencia:

Raul provided all the scoring (52') in Real Madrid's 1-0 road triumph over Valencia.

An Italian Eight-Pack

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

At Bergamo:

Torino picked up their second win of the season, beating Atalanta 2-1 on the road. Alessandro Rosina scored the game winner in the 88th minute.

At Reggio Calabria:

Second-half goals from Rolando Bianchi (63') and Julio Leon (77') enabled Reggina to bounce back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to gain a 2-2 home draw with Livorno.

At Catania:

Thanks to goals from Gionathan Spinesi (PK-67') and Fabio Caserta (84'), Catania Calcio blanked ten-man visiting Parma 2-0.

At Genoa:

Francesco Totti twice tallied (13', 74') to help lead AS Roma to a 4-2 road triumph over Sampdoria.

At Empoli:

Ighli Vannucchi's goal (9') lifted Empoli to a 1-0 win over visiting Cagliari Calcio.

At Siena:

Fiorentina and AC Siena battled to a 1-1 deadlock.

At Rome:

Three differnet goal scorers propelled Lazio to a 3-1 home win over Ascoli.

At Palermo:

Visiting Inter Milan stretched their league lead to four points following their 2-1 road win over Palermo. Zlatan Ibrahimovic(7') and Patrick Viera(61') tallied for The Nerozzurri.

Blues, Red Devils Battle To 1-1 Draw; Magpies, Spurs Win

Three games were played Sunday in England's Premiership:

At Manchester:

Ricardo Carvalho's header in the 69th minute lifted Chelsea to a 1-1 road deadlock with Manchester United in the battle of the EPL's top two teams. Louis Saha scored for the Red Devils in the 29th minute.

At Newcastle:

Antoine Sibierski scored the lone goal (69') in Newcastle United's 1-0 home victory against Portsmouth.

At London:

Late first-half goals from Jermain DeFoe (43') and Dimitar Berbatov (44'), combined with Aaron Lennon's late tally (90'), propelled Tottenham Hotspur to a 3-1 comback win over visiting Wigan Athletic.

Kostas Katsouranis Delivers For Benfica

At Lisbon:

In Saturday's lone BWIN Liga match, Kostas Katsouranis delivered the winning goal in the 66th minute as SL Benfica defeated visiting Maritimo 2-1.

PSV, Willem II Tilburg, Excelsior Win Big At Home

Three Saturday matches were played Saturday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Eindhoven:

Jefferson Farfan's double (39', 78') was part of an offensive barrage that saw PSV Eindhoven deliver a frontier-styled 5-0 fistbeating on FC Utrecht.

At Tilburg:

Kevin Bobson tallied twice (5', 30') to help pace Willem II Tilburg to a 3-1 home victory over RKC Wallwijk.

At Rotterdam:

Homestanding Excelsior spotted SC Heracles Almelo a 1-0 lead, then unloaded six unanswered goals as they demolished the guests 6-1. Jorda Simr scored twice (31', 54') for the Roodzwarten.

Aberdeen, Motherwell Win; Hearts, Caley Draw

Three games populated the Saturday slate in the Scottish Premier League:

At Dunfermline:

Thanks to Darren Mackie's second straight double (83', 85'), Aberdeen pounded hosts Dunfermline 3-0.

At Inverness:

Heart of Midlothian and homestanding Inverness Caledonian Thistle scrapped to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Motherwell:

Two successful Richie Foran penalty kicks (45', 49') along with Scott McDonald's 75th-minute tally--the Bank of Scotland Premier League's 5,000--powered Motherwell to a 4-1 home blasting of Falkirk.

How 'Bout A French Six-Pack?

Six games were contested Saturday in France's Ligue 1:

At Troyes:

Marseille came back to gain a 1-1 road draw with Troyes, thanks to Troifilou Maoulida's equalizer in the 61st minute.

At Nice:

In a battle of struggling clubs, Gregory Pujol's goal in the 86th minute lifted Sedan to a 2-2 road deadlock with Nice.

At Bordeaux:

Bordeaux picked up a 1-0 home win at the expense of St. Etienne, thanks to Alejandro Cesar Alonzo's goal in the 70th minute.

At Toulouse:

With Bryan Bergougnoux scoring the game's lone goal in the 66th minute, Toulouse went on to win 1-0 at home versus Rennes.

At Lille:

Lille salvaged a 1-1 home draw with AS Monaco as Mathieu Bodmer provided the 77th-minute equalizer for the Mastiffs.

At Lorient:

Anthony Le Tallec's first-half double (23', 26') helped power visiting Sochaux to a 3-1 win over Lorient.

Saturday Six Pack In Germany

A half-dozen contests took place Saturday in the German Bundesliga:

At Frankfurt:

Ebi Smolarek's 78th-minute equalizer lifted Borussia Dortmund to a 1-1 road deadlock with Eintracht Frankfurt.

At Wolfsburg:

VfL Wolfsburg gained a 1-1 draw with visiting FC Nurnberg as Juan Carlos Menseguez deadlocked the match in the 74th minute.

At Hamburg:

Bayern Munich, with second-half goals from Roy Makaay (56') and Claudio Pizarro (78') , came from behind to defeat homestanding Hamburg 2-1.

At Bremen:

Miroslav Klose scored twice (29', 45') to help lead Werden Bremen to a 3-0 pasting of guests Arminia Bielefeld.

At Hannover:

Vahid Hashermian scored the only tally (75') in Hannover 96's 1-0 home win over Mainz.

At Berlin:

Powered by goals courtesy of Marko Pantelic (41') and Ashkan Dejagah (62'), Hertha Berlin collected all three points by beating Alemania Aachen at home 2-1.

Home Wins For Milan, Chievo

Two games took place Saturday in Italy's Serie A:

At Verona:

Victor Obinna scored both goals (31, PK-72') as Chievo Verona went into the win column for the first time this league season, blanking visiting Udinese 2-0.

At Milan:

Paolo Maldini was the hero for AC Milan in their 1-0 home victory against Messina as he scored the game's lone tally in the 13th minute.

Ronaldinho Scores Twice In Barca Win; Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad Draw

Two games Saturday in Spain's top soccer division:

At Barcelona:

A double from Ronaldinho (PK-35', 88') helped guide Barcelona to a 4-0 fistbeating of visiting Villarreal.

At Madrid:

Ion Ansotegi's 77th-minute own goal cost Real Sociedad a shot at their first league win of the season as it lifted Atletico Madrid gained a 1-1 draw with the visitors.

Trotters Stun Gunners

Six contests took place Saturday in England's Premiership:

At Bolton:

Nicolas Anelka scored twice to lead Bolton to a 3-1 home upset over Arsenal.

At Birmingham:

Middlesbrough and homestanding Aston Villa battled to a 1-1 draw.

At London:

Struggling Charlton Athletic gained a 1-1 home stalemate with Everton, thanks to Andy Reid's 68th-minute equalizer.

At London:

Kevin Doyle's successful 17th-minute penalty kick was the only goal in Reading's 1-0 road win over 10-man Fulham.

At Liverpool:

Steven Gerrard's 20-yard strike in the 67th minute lifted Liverpool to a 1-0 home win over Manchester City, stretching the Reds' home unbeaten league streak to 23 games.

At London:

Hayden Mullins scored the lone goal (36') of West Ham United's 1-0 home win over Sheffield United.

Boavista, Estrala Amadora, Fit To Be Tied

At Porto:

Thanks to Andre Ricardo Sousa's 61st-minute equalizer, Boavista gained a 1-1 home deadlock with Estrela Amadora in the lone Friday Portuguese BWIN Liga match.

Dutch Treat For Twente Enschede

At Enschede:

Twente Enschede, on goals from Kennedy Bakircioglu (34') and Blaise N'Kufo (89') downed visiting Vitesse Arnhem 2-0 in Friday's lone Dutch Eredivisie match.

Schalke 04 Tops Bochum 2-1

At Gelsenkirchen:

The lone Friday Bundesliga match saw FC Schalke 04 top visiting VfL Bochum 2-1.