Draw Puts FC Moscow Back On Top

Five games were played Saturday in the Russian Premier League:

At Kazan:

Sergei Semak's goal at 24 minutes enabled FC Moscow to gain a 1-1 road draw with FC Rubin Kazan and reclaim first place in the Russian Premiership standings. Alexander Ryazantsev's goal in the 17th minute had put the hosts ahead.

At Saint Petersburg:

Alejandro Dominguez (19'), Pavel Pogrebniak (53'), and Igor Denisov (74') powered Zenit Saint Petersburg to a 3-0 home whitewashing of Dinamo Moscow.

At Moscow:

Lokomotiv Moscow, thanks to Diniyar Bilyaletdinov's tally (28'), bested visiting FC Khimki 1-0.

At Vladivostok:

At perhaps the easternmost city that has a club in a top-flight European league, Georgi Bazaev scored the only goal (37') of Luch-Energiya Vladivostok's 1-0 home triumph over FC Amkar Perm'.

At Samara:

Iso Kanienda was the difference as his 82nd-minute score lifted FC Rostov-Na-Donu to a 1-0 road win over PFC Samara Kryliya Sovetov.

FC Porto and Belenenses Saturday Winners

Two games were contested Saturday in Portugal's Super Liga:

At Coimbra:

Bruno Alves (42') and Adriano (70') provided the scoring for FC Porto as the Dragons defeated homestanding Academica de Coimbra 2-1.

At Lisbon:

Jose Luis Carces scored twice (14', 34') to help lead fourth-place Belenenses to a 3-0 home fistbeating of Estrela Amadora.

ADO RELEGATED; PSV Back On Top

Three games were played on Saturday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At The Hague:

ADO Den Haag were officially eliminated from the battle for Dutch Eredivisie survival by assuring themselves of finishing in the bottom of the league standings, and will play next season in the second division. The hosts were blanked 2-0 by Roda JC Kerkrade. Davy De Fauw (48') and Marcel Meeuwis (PK-60') scored for the guests.

At Eindhoven:

Jefferson Farfan's first-half double (19', 20') lifted PSV Eindhoven to a 2-0 home victory over Twente Enschede and back to first place in the Eredivisie standings.

At Rotterdam:

Tom Janssen's second-half hat trick (54', 58', 90') lifted RKC Waalwijk to a 3-0 road pasting of Excelsior. The win climbed the guests to within one point of escaping the relegation-playoff zone and helped seal ADO Den Haag's relegation from the top flight.

Toulouse Up To Second Place; Six Scoreless Draws

Saturday found six games contested in France's Ligue 1:

At Toulouse:

Achille Emana (7') and Fode Mansare (30') provided the scoring for Toulouse as the hosts climbed up to second place in the Ligue 1 standings with their 2-0 home blanking of AJ Auxerre.

At Lille:

Lille, thanks to goals from Nicolas Fauvergue (49') and Kevin Mirallas (66'), blanked visiting Sochaux 2-0.

At Bordeuax:

Paris Saint Germaine and homecoming Bordeaux played to a 0-0 draw.

At Nantes:

Visiting Lens (who now dropped to third place) and cellar-dwelling FC Nantes Atlantique battled to a 0-0 deadlock.

At Le Mans:

Visting Rennes and Stimpy---I mean---Le Mans battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Troyes:

Homestanding Troyes blew a chance to escape the relegation zone when they were held to a 0-0 deadlock by AS Nancy Lorraine.

At Lorient:

Visiting Monaco and Lorient engaged in a contest that ended stalemated at 0-0.

At Valenciennes:

Marseille blew a chance to climb up to fourth place by settling for a 0-0 road deadlock with Valenciennes.

Royal Blues Blast Mainz; VfB Stuttgart In Second

Saturday saw six games played in the German Bundesliga:

At Mainz:

League-leading FC Schalke 04, thanks to goals courtesy of Kevin Kuranyi (10'), Gerald Asamoah (34'), and Lincoln (71') overpowered relegation-threatened Mainz on the road, 3-0.

At Stuttgart:

VfB Stuttgart, for the time being, took over second place following their 2-1 home win over Hannover 96. Roberto Hilbert put the hosts up with his 2nd-minute tally. The visitors' Dariusz Zuraw's own goal (74') proved to be, for them, the game loser.

At Nuremberg:

FC Nurnberg climbed up to fifth place with their 1-0 home win over Alemania Aachen. Chhunly Pagenburg provided the game's lone score (11').

At Bielefeld:

Ioannis Amanatidis' double (10', PK-47') helped lift Eintracht Frankfurt to a 4-2 road doubling of relegation zone residents Arminia Bielefeld 4-2.

At Cottbus:

With their 3-2 home win over VfL Wolfsburg, Energie Cottbus climbed up to seventh place in the Bundesliga standings. Sergiu Radu (20'), Vlad Munteanu (56'), and Francis Kioyo (57') scored for the hosts.

At Bochum:

Hertha Berlin made Karsten Heine's debut as their new head coach a successful one as they defeated hosts VfL Bochum 3-1. Christian Gimenez (57'), Gilberto (65'), and Chinedu Ede (90') scored for the visitors.

Empoli and Cagliari Draw; Udinese Double Chievo

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

At Cagliari:

Sixth place Empoli blew at shot at overtaking AC Milan into fifth place by winding up being held to a 0-0 stalemate by hosts Cagliari Calcio.

At Udine:

Vincenzio Iaquinta (34') and Antonio Di Natale (74') lifted Udinese to a 2-1 home comeback win over struggling Chievo Verona.

Galaticos Blow Shot At Taking Over League Lead; Real Sociedad Still Hopeful For Survival

Two games populated Saturday's Spanish Premiera Division play:

At Santander:

Two successful second-half penalty kicks from Ezequiel Garay (73', 90') lifted Racing Santander to a 2-1, come-from-behind-home win over Real Madrid, denying the visitors a chance to take over the lead in the La Liga standings.

At Seville:

Javier Garrido's goal at 33 minutes provided all the scoring for Real Sociedad as the guests picked up their first road win of the league season, 1-0 at the expense of Real Betis.

It's A Trip To The New Wembley For Manchester United

At Birmingham:

Wayne Rooney's double (7', 66') helped spark Manchester United to a 4-1 thrashing of Watford in Semifinal round action in the FA Cup on Saturday. The Red Devils will play the winner of Sunday's encounter between Chelsea and Blackburn in the final which will be played on May 19 at the new Wembley Stadium in London.

Gunner Top Trotters; Blades Back Out Of Drop Zone

Six Saturday games took place in the English Premier League:

At London:

Goals from Tomas Rosicky (31') and Cesc Fabregas (46') enabled Arsenal to come back from a one-goal deficit to clip visiting Bolton 2-1 and remain in fourth place in the Premiership standings.

At Sheffield United:

Sheffield United, thanks to goals from Michael Tonge (39'), Phil Jagielka (68'), and Jonathan Stead (78'), climbed out of the relegation zone with their 3-0 home whitewashing of relegation-threatened West Ham United.

At Manchester:

Third-place Liverpool and homestanding Manchester City played to a deadlocked 0-0 yawner.

At Reading:

Stephen Hunt provided the lone goal (15') of Reading's 1-0 home win over struggling Fulham.

At Portsmouth:

Benjani Mwaruwari (7') and Matthew Taylor (59') provided the goals for Portsmouth as the hosts bested Newcastle United 2-1.

At Middlesbrough:

Aston Villa spotted Middlesbrough an early 1-0 lead before Craig Gardner (45'), Luke Moore (70'), and Stiliyan Petrov (77') tallied to lead the visiting Villans to a 3-1 win over Boro.

Saturn Moscow and Kuban Krasnodar: Fit To Be Tied

At Krasnodar:

In Friday's lone Russian Premier League match, Igor Lebedenko's 90th-minute equalizer lifted Saturn Moscow to a 2-2 road draw with Kuban Krasnodar.

Lions Blast Maritimo To Take Over Second Place

At Lisbon:

In Friday's only match in Portugal's top division, four different scorers each tallied once as Sporting Club Portugal blasted visiting Maritimo 4-0 to take over second place in the Portuguese BWIN Liga standings (and move within one point of frontrunning FC Porto).

Sons Of The Gods Take Over Top Of Dutch Standings; Utrecht and Sparta Draw

Two games were played Friday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Amsterdam:

Goals from Kenneth Perez (PK-18') and Ryan Babel (64') lifted Ajax Amsterdam to a 2-0 home win over NAC Breda. The victory lifted Ajax from third place to the top of the Eredivisie standings.

At Rotterdam:

Leroy George's equalizer (68') enabled FC Utrecht to gain a 1-1 road draw with Sparta Rotterdam.

Hamburg Up To Seventh--NotsoGladbach Nearer To Second Division

At Mochengladbach:

In the lone Friday German Bundesliga match, Jose Paolo Guerrero, just seconds after coming into the game as a substitute, and in the 90th minute, scored the goal that lifted Hamburg to seventh place in the Bundesliga standings as the visitors defeated basement-occupying (and closer to relegation-clinching) Borussia Mochengladbach 1-0.

FC Dallas Defeat Galaxy In Los Angeles For First Time Since 2000

At Carson, California:

In the lone Thursday night Major League Soccer, first half goals from Carlos Ruiz (PK-35') and Kenny Cooper (43') sparked FC Dallas to a 2-1 road win over the Los Angeles Galaxy. It it the Dallas MLS club's first win against the Galaxy in the Los Angles area since September 6, 2000.

Three Spanish Clubs---And Werder Bremen---Reach UEFA Cup Semifinals

Quarterfinal round action concluded Thursday in UEFA Cup play as the respective two-game series reached game two:

At London:

Combined with their 2-1 home win from last week, defending UEFA Cup holders FC Sevilla settled for a 2-2 road draw with Tottenham Hotspur in game two, enough to give them the series on aggregate, 4 goals to 3. Steed Malbranque's own goal (3') and Frederic Kanoute's tally (8') provided Sevilla with their game two scores. Jermaine DeFoe (66') and Aaron Lennon (67') provided the scoring in a desperate comback attempt by Spurs.

At Bremen, Germany:

After last week's scoreless opener in Alkmaar, Netherlands, Werder Bremen returned home for game two and dominated AZ Alkmaar 4-1 to take the series on aggregate by the same score.Miroslav Klose tallied twice (36', 62') for the winners.

At Lisbon:

Espanyol's 3-2 home win last week at Barcelona provided what turned out to be all the scoring in this series as the return trip to Portugal for game two with SL Benfica ended statemated at 0-0, thus the Parakeets advanced 3-2 on aggregate. Espanyol's next opponent will be Werder Bremen.

At Pamplona, Spain:

Juanlu Gomez provided the only goal (62') of Osasuna's 1-0 game-two victory over Bayer Leverkusen, thus allowing the Spanish club to finish off their German rivals on aggregate, 4-0. La Liga rival Sevilla FC is next on the UEFA Cup agenda for Osasuna.

AC Milan and Liverpool Clinch Semifinal Spots

Wednesday marked the conclusion of quarterfinal round play in the UEFA Champions League:

At Munich:

After their 2-2 home draw last week, AC Milan, with goals from Clarence Seedorf (27') and Filippo Inzaghi (pictured here; 31') defeated Beyern Munich 2-0 on the road to win the two-game series 4-2 on aggregate. Next up for the Rossoneri is a two-game semifinal series with Manchester United, starting in two weeks at Old Trafford.
Photo © Getty Images




At Liverpool, England:

Peter Crouch (pictured here, surrounded and congratulated by teammates) scored the game's only goal as Liverpool compounded their earlier 3-0 road win with a 1-0 home win to finish off PSV Eindhoven on aggregate, 4-0. The Reds will now face English Premiership rivals Chelsea in a two-game semifinal set, to begin week after next, at Stamford Bridge in London. Photo © Getty Images

Cottagers Can Coach Chris Coleman

At London:

Slumping English Premiership Club Fulham on Tuesday fired head coach Chris Coleman and named as his interim replacement Northern Ireland coach Lawrie Sanchez for the rest of the season.

Manchester United and Chelsea Punch Tickets For Semifinals

Quarterfinal round action in the UEFA Champions League continued Tuesday as two series reached their conclusions:

At Manchester, England:

In a big-time reversal of fortune after their 2-1 defeat last week in Rome, Manchester United, in front of their home fans, dismembered AS Roma 7-1 to win their two-game series 8-3 on aggregate. Michael Carrick (11', 60') and Cristiano Ronaldo (44', 49'), pictured on the left with fellow goal scorer Alan Smith (17'), each scored twice for the Red Devils. Wayne Rooney (19') and Patrice Evra (81') also scored for Man U. Photo © Getty Images

At Valencia, Spain:

After their 1-1 home draw last week, Chelsea bounced back to win the series finale with Valencia 2-1 and the series 3-2 on aggregate. After Fernando Morientes put Valencia ahead in the game at 32, the Blues roared back at Andriy Shevchenko tied it up at 52 minutes. It was left to Michael Essien with the game and series winner at 90 minutes. That's Michael celebrating with John Obi Mikel. Photo © Getty Images

Late Penalty Kick Salvages Road Draw For Benfica

At Aveiro:

In Monday's lone Super Liga match in Portugal, Simao Sabrosa's successful penalty kick at 90 minutes lifted second-place SL Benfica to a 2-2 road draw against relegation-threatened Beira Mar.

Addicks Settle For Draw With Royals; Bolton and Everton Gain No Ground On Arsenal; Hornets Double Pompey

Six games were played Monday in the English Premier League:

At Reading:

Charlton Athletic climbed up to one point above the relegation zone after their 0-0 home stalemate with Reading.

At Newcastle:

Visiting (and fourth-place) Arsenal were held to a 0-0 road deadlock by Newcastle United. The draw, though, did end the Gunners' three-game Premiership losing streak.

At Bolton:

Two clubs that look like they may be set for European competition next season battled to a 1-1 draw. Fifth-place hosts Bolton and sixth-place Everton remain two and five points, respectively, out of the EPL's final Champions League qualifying berth. Kevin Davies put the Trotters in front at 18 minutes, then the visiting Toffees' James Vaughan equalized at 33 minutes.

At Watford:

Hameur Bouazza's double (PK-28', 73') helped lead basement-occupying Watford to a surprising 4-2 doubling of Portsmouth for only their fourth league win of the season, perhaps damaging Pompey's hopes of qualifying for European competition.

At London:

Tallies through the courtesy of Joey Barton (21'), DaMarcus Beasley (36'), and Darius Vassell (59') powered Manchester City to a 3-1 home victory over struggling Fulham. The loss leaves the Cottagers only four points above the relegation zone.

At Birmingham:

Gabriel Agbonlahor's equalizer at 50 minutes enabled Aston Villa to gain a 1-1 home draw with Wigan. The Latics, whose Emile Heskey had put them ahead at 21 minutes, now sit three points above the drop zone.

Scoreless Start To Dynamo Defense

At Houston:

In the lone Sunday Major League Soccer match, the defending champion Houston Dynamo were held to a 0-0 draw by the visiting Los Angeles Galaxy.

Spartak Now Atop Russian Table

Five games were played on Sunday in the Russian Premier League:

At Moscow:

Late goals from Egor Titov (76') and Alexander Prudnikov (86') enabled Spartak Moscow to come back from a one-goal deficit to defeat visiting Luch-Energiya Vladivostok 2-1 to take over first place in the league standings.

At Khimki:

Milos Krasic's goal at 63 minutes enabled defending champion CSKA Moscow to salvage a 1-1 road draw with FC Khimki.

At Nalchik:

Vitali Sumeiko scored the only goal (51') in Spartak Nalchik's 1-0 home triumph over FK Rubin Kazan.

At Perm:

Zenit Saint Petersburg gained a 1-1 road stalemate with FK Amkar Perm thanks to Konstatin Zurianov's equalizer (66').

At Rostov:

Late goals through the courtesy of Denis Kiselev (73', 79') enabled FC Tom' Tomsk to get a share of the spoils via their 2-2 road deadlock with FC Rostov.

Rangers Tighten Hold On Second Place, Keep Slim Hopes Of Winning Title Alive

At St. Mirren:

In Sunday's lone Scottish Premier League match, Nacho Novo's 4th-minute goal held up for Rangers as the guests defeated St. Mirren 1-0 to all but clinch no worse than second place in the SPL standings, and keep their slim hopes of catching archrival Celtic for the title alive. The Saints, on the other hand, are now four points ahead of Dunfermline in their fight to avoid relegation.

Toulouse Up To Third Place After Beating Sedan; Marseille Maul Mastiffs

Two Sunday games were contested in France's Ligue 1:

At Sedan:

Late second-half goals from Paulo Cesar (78') and Albin Ebondo (85') lifted Toulouse to a 2-0 home win over Sedan that placed the visitors in third place in the Ligue 1 standings (and a Champions League qualifying berth).

At Marseille:

Olympique de Marseille climbed up to fifth place in Ligue 1 with their 4-1 belting of sagging and visiting Lille. Mamadou Niang (PK-9', 90') and Renato Civelli (38', 63') each scored twice for the hosts.

Bochum Stun Leverkusen; Werder Bremen Back In Second

Two German Bundesliga games were played on Easter Sunday:

At Leverkusen:

Following up on their dismal 3-0 home UEFA Cup defeat against Osasuna, Bayer Leverkusen suffered another home fistbeating as VfL Bochum manhandled the Lions 4-1 to climb three points above the relegation zone. Theofanis Gekas scored twice (22', 89') for the guests.

At Bremen:

Werder Bremen reclaimed second place in the Bundesliga standings (two points behind Schalke 04) as Markus Rosenberg's score at 75 minutes lifted them to a 1-0 home win over FC Nurnberg.

Real Madrid Two Points From Top; Sevilla Held To Scoreless Home Stalemate By Racing Santander

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

At Madrid:

Goals from Robinho (23') and Raul Gonzalez (80') lifted Real Madrid to a 2-0 home win over Osasuna and to within two points of first-place Barcelona.

At Seville:

FC Sevilla blew a chance to take over the lead in the La Liga standings by being held to a 0-0 draw at home by Racing Santander.

At Villarreal:

Fabriano Eller's goal at 32 minutes was the only score of Atletico Madrid's 1-0 road win over Villarreal. The winner lifted the guests up to sixth place in the La Liga standings, three points out of a Champions League qualifying berth.

At Huelva:

Laurentiu Rosu's double (85', 88') helped lift Recreativo Huelva to a 4-2 home doubling of relegation-threatened Celta Vigo.

At La Coruna:

Iago Iglesias' tally at 58 minutes provided all the scoring as Deportivo La Coruna pushed cellar-dwelling Gimnastic de Tarragona closer to the second division with their 1-0 home win.

At Mallorca:

RCD Mallorca got goals courtesy of Jose Carlos Nunes (64') and Oscar Trejo (90') in their 2-0 home win over Getafe.

At Barcelona:

Espanyol ended a four-game winless streak as they defeated relegation-threatened Real Sociedad at home 1-0. Ferran Coro scored the game's lone goal at 58 minutes.

At Valencia:

Robert De Pinho's equalizer lifted Real Betis to a 1-1 road deadlock with Levante.

Ajax Bid For Top Spot Foiled By RKC; AZ Pop NAC; Feyenoord Hammered By Groningen

Five games were played on Sunday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Waalwijk:

Ruud Berger's equalizer (71') lifted relegation-threatened RKC Waalwijk to a 2-2 home draw with Ajax Amsterdam, which not only spoiled the guests' hopes of catching slumping PSV atop the Eredivisie standings, but also saw them drop to third place behind AZ Alkmaar.

At Breda:

Danny Koevermans scored twice (27', 79') as AZ Alkmaar moved into second place, two points in back of PSV Eindhoven, with their 4-1 road fistbeating of NAC Breda.

At Rotterdam:

Two second-half goals each from Goran Lovre (50', 64') and Koen Van Der Laak (58', 69') busted open a scoreless and stalemated contest as FC Groningen crushed Feyenoord Rotterdam on the road 4-0.

At Utrecht:

UEFA Cup hopefuls FC Utrecht moved up to ninth place in the Eredivisie table following their 3-0 home whitewashing of Willem II Tilburg. Tom Caluwe (14'), Hans Somers (29'), Tim Cornelisse (66') provided the goals for the hosts.

At Enschede:

Karim El Ahmadi's goal at 22 minutes enabled Champions League hopefuls FC Twente Enschede to salvage a 1-1 home stalemate with relegation-threatened SC Heracles Almelo. Igor Gluscevic put Heracles ahead with his tally at eight minutes. The deadlock damaged FC Twente's hopes of winning the league title while it did not help the guests' hopes of escaping the relegation-playoff zone.

Herculez and The Bombadier Lead Rapids Past DC In Debut At New Digs; Goats Spoil TFC Debut

Five games were played on Saturday as Major League Soccer launched its' 12th season:

At Commerce City, Colorado:

In their first match at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, the Colorado Rapids picked up their first-ever opening day victory, a 2-1 home triumph over DC United. The Rapids' Herculez Gomez scored the first goal at the new facility (19'), with Roberto (Bombadier) Brown adding one at 35 minutes. Luciano Emilio adverted the shutout with his 80th-minute tally.

At Columbus, Ohio:

The regular season opener for the New York Red Bulls (with captain Claudio Reyna playing his first MLS match) and Columbus Crew wound up stalemated at 0-0.

At Salt Lake City:

The season opener for FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake (with ex-DC United star Freddy Adu) wound up deadlocked at 2-2 as Carlos Ruiz is credited for scoring the equalizer for the visitors during second-half stoppage time.

At Bridgeview, Illinos:

Logan Pause's goal at 4 minutes held up as the Chicago Fire opened their regular season with a 1-0 home win over the New England Revolution.

At Carson, California:

Chivas USA ruined the debut of new expansion club Toronto FC, winning at home 2-0 . Ante Rezov (35') and Sacha Kljestan (87') provided the scoring for the Goats.

FC Moscow On Top Of Russian Table

Three games were contested Saturday in the Russian Premier League:

At Moscow:

Petr Bystrov's penalty kick at 33 minutes lifted FC Moscow to a 1-0 home win over Kuban Krasnador. The win put The Citizens at the top of the league standings for the time being.

At Moscow:

Second-half tallies from Dmitri Kombarov (48') and Igor Semshov (67') enabled Dinamo Moscow to erase a one-goal halftime deficit and defeat Lokomotiv Moscow 2-1 in a local derby.

At Moscow:

Dmitri Kirichenko's equalizer (90') enabled Saturn Moscow to gain a 1-1 home deadlock with PFC Samara Kryliya Sovetov.

Saturday Six-Pack In Portugal

Six games were played on Saturday in the Portuguese Super Liga:

At Braga:

Luis Nani's goal at 51 minutes provided all the scoring as Sporting Club Portugal defeated Sporting Braga 1-0 on the road.

At Vila das Aves:

Though still relegation-threatened, Deportivo Aves did climb out of the league basement with their 1-0 home win over Boavista. Almani Moreira scored the game's lone tally at 59 minutes.

At Leiria:

Belenenses took over fourth place in the Bwin Liga standings following their 1-0 road win over Uniao Leiria. Eduardo Dady scored the game's only goal at 67 minutes.

At Amadora:

Academica de Coimbra and hosts Estrela Amadora battled to a 3-3 draw. Academica's Pinto Joeano scored twice (55', 64'). The hosts' Jaime Aquino equalized at 67 minutes with his successful penalty kick.

At Funchal:

Joao Pimenta's equalizer (81') enabled visiting Naval to gain a 1-1 draw with Maritimo.

At Pacos de Ferreira:

Geraldo's double (74', 85') propelled Pacos Ferreira to a 2-1 home win over CD Nacional de Madeira.

PSV Beaten By NEC; Road JC Triumphant; Almost Time To Stick The Proverbial Fork Into ADO

Three Saturday games were contested in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Nijmegen:

Brett Holman's double (22', 24') lifted NEC Nijmegen to a 2-1 home win over stumbling league-leading PSV Eindhoven.

At Kerkrade:

UEFA Cup hopefuls Roda JC Kerkrade got goals from Pa-Modou Kah (48') and Andres Oper (89') to blank visiting Excelsior 2-0.

At Heerenveen:

ADO Den Haag, which has assured themselves of finising no higher than the relegation-playoff zone, did do some damage to SC Heerenveen's hopes of reaching a playoff berth for a Champions League qualifying spot by holding the hosts to a 1-1 draw. Afonso Aves put Heerenveen in front at 24 minutes, only to see ADO's Santi Holk equalized at 42 minutes.

Bhoys Back On Winning Track; Tangerines Stun Dons; Dunfermline Keep Survival Hopes Alive

Saturday saw five games in the Scottish Premier League:

At Glasgow:

Derek Riordan's goal at 52 minutes lifted Celtic to a 1-0 home win over Motherwell. Should archrival Rangers lose on Sunday, the Bhoys will wrap up the SPL title.

At Aberdeen:

Greg Cameron's double (17', 51') helped lift Dundee United to a 4-2 upset over hosts Aberdeen, hurting the Dons hopes of overtaking Rangers for second place (and a Champions League qualifying berth).

At Dunfermline:

Dunfermline moved to within four points of safety with their 1-0 home win over Hibernian. Philip McGuire scored the game's lone goal at 84 minutes.

At Inverness:

Visiting Falkirk and Inverness Caledonian Thistle battled to a 1-1 stalemate. Carl Finnigan put the Bairns in front at 80 minutes, beford Caley Thisle's John Rankin knotted it up at 86'.

At Edinburgh:

Michal Pospisil's tally at 78 minutes lifted Hearts to a 1-0 home win over Kilmarnock, crippling the guests' hopes of European play, while moving the Jambos to within three points of third place.

Lyon Held To Scoreless Draw With Valenciennes; Rennes Shock Lens

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

At Valenciennes:

Valenciennes held league-leading Lyon to a 0-0 home deadlock.

At Rennes:

John Utaka's goal at 30 minutes was the only score of a match that saw Rennes knock off second-place Lens at home 1-0.

At Paris:

Pegguy Luyindula (56') Amara Diane (81') enabled Paris Saint Germain to come from a one-goal halftime deficit to defeat visiting Le Mans 2-1 and move three points of the relegation zone.

At Nancy:

Rafik Saifi's succussful penalty kick at 69 minutes lifted Lorient into tenth place in the Ligue 1 standings, defeating sagging AS Nancy Lorraine 1-0 on the road.

At Auxerre:

Bordeaux and homestanding AJ Auxerre battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Montbeliard:

Sochaux moved into third place following their 1-1 home draw with Nice. David Bellion put the guests in front at 68 minutes, only to see the hosts' Beli-Moumouni Dagano tie it up at 71 minutes.

At Monte Carlo:

AS Monaco and relegation threatened Troyes battled to a 0-0 deadlock.

At St. Etienne:

Fifth-place St. Etienne racked up a 2-1 home triumph at the expense of basement-residing FC Nantes Atlantique. Vincent Hognon (27') and Bafetimbi Gomis (34') provided the scoring for Les Verts.

Stuttgart Top HSV To Move To Second; Bayern One Point Off CL Berth; Schalke Back On Winning Track

Seven games were contested on Saturday in the Bundesliga in Germany:

At Hamburg:

Four different goal scorers helped propel VfB Stuttgart into second place in the Bundesliga standings as the guests doubled up Hamburg 4-2.

At Hannover:

Bayern Munich, powered by goals through the courtesy of Martin Demichelis (53') and Bastian Schweinsteiger (71'), erased a 1-0 halftime deficit and defeated hosts Hannover 96 2-1. The win place Bayern one point out of a Champions League qualifying berth and kept them six points out of first place with six games remaining.

At Gelsenkirchen:

After a scoreless first half, league-leading Schalke 04 got some offensive firepower from Gerald Asamoah (57') and Kevin Kuranyi (71') and defeated basement-residing Borussia Mochen--not too--gladbach 2-0.

At Aachen:

Alexander Frei's double (54', 58') helped lead Borussia Dortmund to a 4-1 road win over Alemania Aachen, enabling the guests to climb out of the relegation zone.

At Berlin:

Hertha Berlin salvaged a 1-1 home stalemate versus Arminia Bielefeld, thanks to Patrick Ebert's equalizer at 71 minutes.

At Frankfurt:

Goals from Sergiu Radu (58') and Vlad Munteanu (90') helped Energie Cottbus climb up to eighth place in the standings with their 3-1 road win over struggling Eintracht Frankfurt.

At Wolfsburg:

Marcelinho's double in the final ten minutes (80', 87') propelled seventh-place VfL Wolfsburg to a 3-2 come-from-behind home victory that sent visiting Mainz back into the relegation zone.

Inter Held to Scoreless Draw By Reggina; AC Milan In Fifth, One Point Out Of CL Berth

Ten games were played Saturday in Italy's Serie A:

At Reggio di Calabria:

Homestanding Regina stayed out of the relegation zone by holding runaway league-leading Inter Milan to a 0-0 home deadlock.

At Milan:

AC Milan, thanks to goals from Ronaldo (12'), Alberto Gilardino (44'), and Giuseppe Favalli (78'), downed Empoli 3-1 to overtake the guests and move into fifth place in the Serie A standings, one point behind Palermo and a Champions League qualifying berth.

At Leece:

Second-place AS Roma, with goals from Francesco Tavano (37') and Mirko Vucinic (84'), the latter the hero of their Champions League series-opening home win over Manchester United, blanked sliding Catania 2-0 in a game played behind closed doors at a neutral site.

At Rome:

Guglielmo Stendardo provided the only goal (45') in third-place Lazlo's 1-0 home win over relegation-threatened Messina.

At Palermo:

Thanks in part to Davide Suazo's double (PK-37', 86'), Cagliari's hopes of staying in Serie A received a big boost with their 3-1 road win over Palermo, whose lead over AC Milan for Italy's final Champions League berth shrank to one point.

At Bergamo:

Cristiano Doni's successful penalty kick at 54 minutes was all the scoring as Atalanta bested visiting Chievo Verona 1-0.

At Siena:

Goals courtesy of Massimo Maccarone (76') and Paolo Negro (81') enabled AC Siena to come back from a two-goal deficit to gain a home draw with Udinese at 2-2.

At Parma:

Giuseppe Rossi was the hero as his tally at 90 minutes enabled Parma to gain a much needed 1-0 home win over Livorno and climb to one point away from safety.

At Florence:

One goal from each of four different scorers ignited an offensive barrage that saw Fiorentina pistolwhip hapless, visiting, basement-occupying Ascoli 4-0.

At Genoa:

Emiliano Bonazzoli's 17th-minute tally held up as Sampdoria defeated visiting Torino 1-0.

Zaragoza Knock Off Barca To Climb To 4th Place----With Help From Athltic Bilbao, Who In Turn Climb Out Of Drop Zone

Two Games Saturday in Spain's Premiera Division:

At Zaragoza:

One Albert Diego Milito scored the game's only goal at 57 minutes as Real Zaragoza took over fourth place (and a Champions League qualifying berth) with their 1-0 home win over Barcelona.

At Bilbao:

Igor Gabilondo goal (28') provided all the scoring as Athletic Bilbao climbed out of the relegation zone with their 1-0 home shocker over Valencia which knocked the guests out of fourth place.

Blues Blank Spurs While Red Devils Lose To Pompey; Hammers Stun Gunners at Emirates

Eight games were played Saturday in the English Premier League:

At London:

Ricardo Carvalho scored the game's only goal (52') as Chelsea moved to within three points of league-leading Manchester United, thanks to their 1-0 home win over Tottenham Hotspur in a local derby.

At Portsmouth:

Rio Ferdinand's own goal at 89 minutes sealed Manchester United's fate at Portsmouth held on for a 2-1 home win as the Red Devils' lead over Chelsea atop the EPL standings was cut in half to three points.

At London:

Bobby Zamora's score (45') was the difference as West Ham United climbed to within two points of safety with their 1-0 road win over Arsenal, as the Gunners suffered their first league home defeat of the season.

At Reading:

Dirk Kuyt's game winner (86') enabled Liverpool to tighten their hold on third place as the Reds picked up a 2-1 road win over Reading.

At Sheffield:

Steven Taylor scored the winning goal at 80 minutes as Newcastle United defeated Sheffield United 2-1 on the road. The loss kept the Blades in the relegation zone, which they had fallen into following Charlton Athletic's draw with Manchester City the previous day.

At Blackburn:

Gabriel Agbonlahor's goal at 73 minutes lifted Aston Villa to a 2-1 road win over Blackburn.

At Wigan:

Andranik Teymourian's double (68', 73') lifted Bolton to fifth place, within two points of slumping Arsenal (and a Champions League qualifying berth) as the Trotters defeated homestanding Wigan Athletic (who now find themselves only two points above the drop zone) 3-1.

At Middlesbrough:

Mark Viduka's double (5', 75') helped Middlesbrough manhandle bottom club (and increasingly likely League Championship club) Watford at home 4-1.

Dragons Roast Vitoria Setubal

At Porto:

In Friday's lone Portuguese Super Liga match, Adriano's double (15', 36') helped spark league-leading FC Porto to a 5-1 home fistbeating of struggling Vitoria Setubal.

Easy Win For Vitesse At Sparta's Expense

At Arnhem:

In the lone Friday Dutch Eredivisie contest Danko Lazovic's double (PK-3', 84') helped lead Vitesse Arnhem to a 3-0 home whitewashing of Sparta Rotterdam.

Addicks Out Of Drop Zone; Toffees Up To Fifth

Two games were played on Friday in the English Premier League:

At Manchester:

Visiting Charlton Athletic climbed out of the relegation zone, thanks to their 0-0 draw with Manchester City.

At Liverpool:

Everton climbed up to fifth place in the Premiership standings after four different goal scorers each tallied once in the Toffees' 4-1 home manhandling of Fulham.

Pachuca Overtakes Houston To Create All-Mexican CONCACAF Cup Final

At Pachuca, Mexico:

Christian Gimenez scored a hat trick (PK-15', PK-58', 105') helped lead homestanding Pachuca to a 5-2 win decided in overtime, after their two-game CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal series with the Houston Dynamo ended deadlocked 4-4 on aggregate through 180 minutes (the Dynamo having won game one at home two weeks ago, 2-0). With the Mexican club having won this series 5-4 on aggregate, they will next play fellow Mexican club Chivas of Guadalajara for the championship, and the right to play in December's FIFA Club World Cup tournament in Japan.

UEFA Cup: Opening Day Of Quarterfinal Round

Four games were played Thursday as the four UEFA Cup quarterfinal-round, two-game, total-goals series got underway:

At Leverkusen, Germany:

Goals from Javier Cuellar (1'), David Lopez (71'), and Pierre Webo (73') sparked Osasuna to a 3-0 road fistbeating of Bayer Leverkusen in their series-opening match.

At Alkmaar, Netherlands:

Visiting Werder Bremen and AZ Alkmaar played game one of their two-match series to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Seville, Spain:

Goals from Frederic Kanoute (PK-19') and Aleksandr Kerzhakov (36') paced reigning UEFA Cupholders Sevilla to a 2-1 home win in their series opener with Tottenham Hotspur, whose Robbie Keane opened the scoring early in the second minute with a precious away goal.

At Barcelona:

Goals courtesy of Raul Tamudo (15'), Albert Reira (33'), and Walter Pandiani (58') enabled Espanyol to withstand a furious rally by visiting SL Benfica for a 3-2 series-opening home win. Nuno Gomes (63') and Simao (65') scored the second-half tallies for the visitors.

Saints and Hibs Draw

At St. Mirren:

In Wedenesday's lone Scottish Premier League contest, John Sutton's equalizer (89') lifted St. Mirren to a 1-1 home stalemate with Hibernian. The draw put the Saints seven points ahead of last-place Dunferline in their bid to avoid relegation.

Wolves (AS Roma, NOT Wolverhampton) Take Opener From Red Devils; Valencia and Chelsea Draw

Two more quarterfinal-round series in the UEFA Champions League began on Wednesday:

At Rome:

Goals from Rodrigo Taddei (44') and sub Mirko Vucinic (66') powered AS Roma to a 2-1 home win in game one of their two-game, total-goals series over 10-man Manchester United. Wayne Rooney, at 60 minutes, provided the Red Devils with an important away goal. Pictured here are Giollorossi players celebrating Mirko's game winner. Photo © AFP

At London:

Visiting Valencia and Chelsea battled to a series-opening 1-1 deadlock. David Silva put the visitors ahead in the 30th minutes by scoring a priceless away goal (he, on the left, is pictured celebrating with David Villa (Photo © Getty Images). The Blues' scoring machine Didier Drogba equalized at 53 minutes.

Goats Top DC United To Advance

At Guadalajara, Mexico:

After Jaime Moreno scored in the first half to give DC United a 1-0 lead, two goals, one from Adolfo Bautista shortly before intermission, and one early in the second half from Gonzalo Pineda, lifted homestanding Chivas of Guadalajara to a 2-1 victory in game number two of the clubs' two-game set in the semifinal round of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, enabling the Goats to take the series on aggregate 3-2 (following the opening 1-1 draw at Washington).

Colin Nish Leads Killie By Steelmen

At Motherwell:

In a rare Tuesday Scottish Premier League contest, Colin Nish scored the game winner during second-half stoppage time to lift visiting Kilmarnock into fifth place in the SPL standings as the guests topped Motherwell 1-0.

Reds Crush PSV; Bayern and Milan Draw

Quarterfinal round action in the UEFA Champions League commenced on Tuesday:

At Eindhoven, Netherlands:

Goals from a jubilant and photographed Steven Gerard (27'), John Arne Riise (49') , and Peter Crouch (63') powered Liverpool to an impressive 3-0 road fistbeating of PSV Eindhoven in game one of the two clubs' two-game, total-goals quarterfinal series. Photo
© Getty Images

At Milan, Italy:

Two goals from Daniel Van Buyten, pictured here (78' and the equalizer at 90'+3) helped Bayern Munich gain an important 2-2 road draw against AC Milan in the series opener for both clubs. Andrea Pirlo (40) and Kaka (PK-84') provided the tallies for the Rossoneri. Photo
© Getty Images

Lions Draw Closer To Top Two

At Lisbon:

Goals from Abel (15') and Liedson (33') lifted Sporting Club Portugal to a 2-0 home triumph over relegation-threatened Beira Mar. The win put the Lions four points in back of first-place FC Porto and three in back of second-place Benfica atop the Portuguese BwinLiga standings. This was Monday's lone match in Portugal's top-flight division.

Villans And Toffees Draw At Villa Park

At Birmingham:

In Monday's lone English Premier League contest, England Under-21 international Gabriel Agbonlahor's equalizer at 83 minutes enabled sinking Aston Villa to gain a 1-1 home draw with Everton.

The Weekend In Russia

Here's a recap of the weekend action in the Russian Premier League:

Saturday's Games:

At Moscow:

Goals from Ramon (1') and Vagner Love (83') powered defending champs CSKA Moscow to a 2-0 home blanking of Lokomotiv Moscow.

At Saint Petersburg:

Egor Titov (2'), Martin Stanzl (24'), and Vladimir Bystov (PK-38') provided the offensive firepower as Spartak Moscow downed hosts Zenit Saint Petersburg 3-1.

At Kazan:

Second-half goals from Jean Narde (52') and Alexandru Gatcan (90') lifted FC Rubin Kazan to a come-from-behind 2-1 home win over FC Khimki.

At Tomsk:

Hrvoe Veyich's equalizer (83') lifted FC Tom' Tomsk to a 1-1 home draw with Saturn Moscow.

At Perm:

Dinamo Moscow and hosts FC Amkar Perm' battled to a 1-1 draw. Denis Kolodin's successful penalty kick (64') put the visitors up 1-0, only to see the Red-Blacks' Dmitri Belorukov tie it up at 66 minutes.

At Samara:

FC Krylya Sovetov Samara and visiting FC Moscow battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

Here's a look at the two Sunday games:

At Vladisvostok:

Alexander Dantsev's equalizer at 90 minutes lifted visiting FC Rostov Na-Donu to a 1-1 draw with FC Luch-Energia Vladivostok (possibly the easternmost team playing in any top-flight European league).

At Krasnodar:

Two scores from Ricardo Jesus (30', 84') helped lift PFC Spartak Nalchik to a 2-2 road deadlock with FC Kuban Krasnodar.

Eagles and Dragons Battle To Draw, Keeping FC Porto On Top Of League

Five games were played Sunday in the Portuguese Super Liga:

At Lisbon:

In a battle of the top two teams in the BwinLiga standings, league-leading FC Porto and hosts SL Benfica battled to a 1-1 draw. Pepe's goal at 40 minutes put the visiting Dragons up 1-0. Unfortunately, though, his teamate Lucho Gonzalez tied the game at 83 minutes with his own goal.

At Setubal:

Kevin Amuneke's insurance goal (67') sealed Vitoria Setubal's 2-0 home win over Estrela Amadora.

At Funchal:

Goals from Wender (27') and Maciel (89') lifted Sporting Braga back up to fourth place as The Arsenalists doubled hosts Maritimo 2-1.

At Figueira da Foz:

Visiting CD Nacional and Naval battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Coimbra:

Uniao Leiria and hosts Academica de Coimbra played to a 0-0 deadlock.

Win Puts Ajax Within Striking Distance of PSV; Excelsior Up From Relegation-Playoff Zone By Compounding ADO's Woes

Five games were played on Sunday in the Dutch Eredivisie:

At Amsterdam:

Two quick second-half goals from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (50', 52') contributed to Ajax Amsterdam's 3-0 home whitewashing off newly planted relegation-playoff zone residents SC Heracles Almelo. The win put Ajax in second place, three points in back of frontrunning PSV Eindhoven.

At Rotterdam:

With goals through the courtesy of Jarda Simr (10'), Eldridge Rojer (30'), and Daniel Guijo-Velasco (61'), Excelsior escaped from the relegation-playoff zone by defeating last-place ADO Den Haag at home 3-1.

At Arnhem:

Pierre van Hooijdonk's score at 79 minutes lifted Champions League hopeful Feyenoord Rotterdam to a 1-0 road win over Vitesse Arnhem.

At Rotterdam:

After trailing 2-0 at halftime, Sparta Rotterdam got tallies from Darryl Roberts (48') and Sjaak Polak (PK-74') as the hosts battled back to gain a 2-2 stalemate with SC Heerenveen.

At Enschede:

Champions League hopeful FC Twente Enschede drilled visiting FC Utrecht 3-0. Ramon Zomer (10), Blaise N'Kufo (25'), and Kennedy Bakircioglu (90') provided the goals for the Reds.

Hearts Top Hibs In Edinburgh Derby

At Edinburgh:

In Sunday's lone Scottish Premier League contest, Marius Zaliukas scored the lone goal at 81 minutes to lift Heart of Midlothian to a 1-0 road win over Hibernian in the latest edition of the Edinburgh local Derby.

PSG Escape Drop Zone; Toulouse and Sochaux Continue Battle For Third

Seven Ligue 1 contests took place throughout France on Sunday:

At Lens:

Goals from Amara Diane (2') and Sylvain Armand (72') lifted Paris Saint Germain out of the relegation zone as the guests knocked off second-place Lens 2-1.

At Troyes:

Romain Pitau (33') provided the only goal of the match as Sochaux clinged onto third place and France's last Champions League berth by knocking hosts Troyes into the drop zone 1-0.

At Toulouse:

Toulouse ended a three-game winless streak and resumed their quest for a Champions League berth with a 1-0 home win over St. Etienne. Johan Elmander provided the game's lone tally at 72 minutes.

At Nantes:

In a battle of relegation zone residents, Sedan picked up a key win on the road ,1-0 over FC Nantes Atlantique, to pull themselves out of last place, which is where the hosts now reside. David Ducourtioux (61') provided the score for Les Sangliers.

At Le Mans:

AJ Auxerre came back from a 2-0 second-half deficit to gain a 2-2 road draw with Le Mans. Kanga Akale (66') and Younes Kaboul (71') scored the tying goals for the guests.

At Lille:

Lille blew a chance to take over third place in the Ligue 1 standings as the homestanding Mastiffs were knocked off at home 2-0 by Valenciennes. Geoffrey Doumeng (78') and Eric Hassli (90') provided the tallies for Les Atheniens.

At Nice:

In what you might call a Ligue 1 Mediterranean Derby, AS Monaco, thanks to Jaroslav Plasil's equalizer at 80 minutes, gained a 1-1 road deadlock with Nice.

Home Wins For Hamburg and Bochum

Two games were played on Sunday in the German Bundesliga:


At Hamburg:

Thanks to Mehdi Mahdavikia's tally (60'), Hamburg picked up another key win as they continued to further separate themselves from the relegation with their 1-0 home win over VfL Wolfsburg.

At Bochum:

Theofanis Gekas (35') and Joel Epalle (42') provided the scoring punch for VfL Bochum as the hosts escaped the relegation zone with their 2-0 home win over Hannover 96, putting a crimp in the guests' hopes for European competition.

Chalk Up Another WIn For Inter Milan

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

At Milan:

Second-half Maxwell (56') and Hernan Crespo (70') goals sparked unbeated Inter Milan to a 2-0 home win over relegation-threatened Parma to stretch their commanding lead in the Serie A standings to 20 points over AS Roma.

At Turin:

Homestanding Torino and fourth-place Palermo battled to a 0-0 draw.

At Empoli:

Two goals each from Nicola Pozzi (44', 75') and Luca Saudati (PK-53', 71') paced Empoli to a decisive 4-1 home win over basement occupants Ascoli and placed them in fifth place, three points behind Palermo for a Champions League berth.

At Bergamo:

Cristiano Doni's successful penalty kick (65') lifted Atalanta to a 2-2 home draw with Fiorentina.

At Cagliari:

First-half goals courtesy of Davide Biondini (12') and Alessandro Budel (24') lifted Cagliari Calcio to a 2-0 home blanking of Messina, preventing the Sicilian club from climbing out of the drop zone.

At Livorno:

Christiano Lucarelli was the big star as his hat trick (20', PK-82', 90') propelled Livorno, in Fernando Orsi's debut as head coach, to a 4-1 victory over slumping Catania Calcio.

At Verona:

Sampdoria and homestanding Chievo Verona battled to a 1-1 deadlock. Fabio Quagliarelli put the Genoans on top with his goal at 27 minutes before Chievo's Matteo Brighi tied it up on 33 minutes.

At Udine:

Four different goal scorers helped Lazio win their seventh straight league game (and stengthening their hold on third place), defeating hosts Udinese 4-2.