Two Group H matches were played in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
At Lviv, Ukraine:
Luiz Adriano produced a second-half hat trick (PK-58', 83', 90'+3, that's him celebrating after completing his triple) as Shakhtar Donetsk placed themselves on the cusp of advancing to the group stage following their 5-0 demolition of visiting FC BATE Borisov.
At Bilbao, Spain:
Jackson Martinez (56', that's him on his knees looking to the heavens after scoring) and Yacine Brahimi (73') each scored a goal as FC Porto clinched a berth in the group stage with a 2-0 home win over Athletic Bilbao, knocking the Spanish club out of the tournament.
AFP/Getty Images photos
GROUP H STANDINGS:
1. x-FC Porto (GP: 4; GD: +9; PTS: 10)
2. Shakhtar Donetsk (GP: 4; GD: +12; PTS: 8)
3. FC BATE Borisov (GP: 4; GD: -17; PTS: 3)
4. z-Athletic Bilbao (GP: 4; GD: -4; PTS: 1)
x-Clinched berth in knockout stage
z-Eliminated from tournament but still alive for berth in Europa League knockout stage
Two Wednesday matches were contested in Group G of the UEFA Champions League.
At Lisbon:
Mouhamadou-Naby Sarr (26'), Jefferson Nascimento (52', that's him celebrating with teammates), Nani (72'), and Islam Slimani (90'+1) each delivered a goal as Sporting CP doubled up visiting Schalke 4-2.
At Maribor, Slovenia:
Nemanja Matic delivered the equalizer in the 73rd minute to carry Chelsea to a 1-1 road draw with NK Maribor. Agim Ibraimi scored for the hosts in the 50th minute. Here, we see the Blues' Eden Hazard (in the gold uniform) try to get away from Maribor's Zeljko Filipovic.
AFP/Getty Images photos
GROUP G STANDINGS:
1. Chelsea (GP: 4; GD: +7; PTS: 8)
2. FC Schalke 04 (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 5)
3. Sporting CP (GP: 4; GD: 0; PTS: 4)
4. NKMaribor (GP: 4; GD: -6; PTS: 3)
Group F play in the UEFA Champions League continued on Wednesday with two games.
At Paris:
Edinson Cavani (shown here celebrating) scored the only goal of the match in the second minute as Paris Saint-Germain clinched a berth in the knockout stage with their 1-0 home win over APOEL FC, knocking the Cypriot club out of the tournament.
At Amsterdam, Netherlands:
Lionel Messi scored twice (36, 76, that's him celebrating with teammates) as Barcelona locked up a knockout-stage berth with a 2-0 road win over Ajax Amsterdam, eliminating the Dutch giants from the tournament. Leo the Lion now has scored 71 Champions League goals, tying the record set by Raul.
AFP/Getty Images photos
GROUP F STANDINGS:
1. x-Paris Saint Germain (GP: 4; GD: +3; PTS: 10)
2. x-FC Barcelona (GP: 4; GD: +4; PTS: 9)
3. z-Ajax Amsterdam (GP: 4; GD: -4; PTS: 2)
4. z-APOEL FC (GP: 4; GD: -3; PTS: 1)
x-Clinched berth in knockout stage
z-Eliminated from tournament but still alive for berth in Europa League knockout stage
Eight games were played on Wednesday as UEFA Champions League group-stage action continued. Two of the contests were in Group E.
At Manchester, England:
Seydou Doumbia scored twice (2', 34', that's him celebrating after his second goal) as CSKA Moscow knocked off Manchester City 2-1 on the road.
AFP/Getty Images photo
At Munich, Germany:
Franck Ribery (38', that's him celebrating) and Mario Gotze (64') each scored a goal as Bayern Munich locked up not only a berth in the knockout stage, but also won Group E with a 2-0 home win over AS Roma.
AFP/Getty Images photo
GROUP E STANDINGS:
1. xx-Bayern Munich (GP: 4; GD: +10; PTS: 12)
2. AS Roma (GP: 4; GD: -4; PTS: 4)
3. CSKA Moscow (GP: 4; GD: -4; PTS: 4)
4. Manchester City (GP: 4; GD: -2; PTS: 2)
xx-Won Group E and clinched berth in knockout stage
Group D action in the UEFA Champions League resumed with two games on Tuesday.
At London:
Anthony Vanden Borre (61', PK-73', the second goal is shown here) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (90') delivered the goals as RSC Anderlecht came back from a three-goal deficit to gain a 3-3 road draw with Arsenal and keep themselves mathematically alive in the race for a berth in the knockout stage. Mikel Arteta (PK-25'), Alexis Sanchez (29'), and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (58') each scored a goal for the Gunners, who blew a chance to lock up a berth in the Round of 16.
AFP/Getty Images photo
At Dortmund, Germany:
Marco Reus (39'), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (56'), Ciro Immobile (74'), and Semih Kaya (OG-85') each scored a goal as Borussia Dortmund locked up a berth in the knockout stage with a 4-1 home domination of Galatasaray. That's the German club (having their struggles in domestic league play) celebrating their victory.
Getty Images photo
GROUP D STANDINGS:
1. x-Borussia Dortmund (GP: 4; GD: +12; PTS: 12)
2. Arsenal (GP: 4; GD: +2; PTS: 7)
3. RSC Anderlecht (GP: 4; GD: -4; PTS: 2)
4. Galatasaray (GP: 4; GD: -10; PTS: 1)
x-Clinched berth in knockout stage
Two Group C games were played in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
At Saint Petersburg, Russia:
Son Heung-min scored twice (68', 73') as Bayer Leverkusen held off Zenit Saint Petersburg 2-1 on the road, putting the German club on the cusp of advancing to the knockout stage. Here's a remorseful Zenit head coach Andreas Villas-Boaz seen here being interviewed following the defeat.
AFP/Getty Images photo
At Lisbon:
Talisca (that's him celebrating) scored the only goal of the match in the 82nd minute as SL Benfica stayed very much in the race for a berth in the knockout stage following their 1-0 home win over AS Monaco.
AFP/Getty Images photo
GROUP C STANDINGS:
1. Bayer Leverkusen (GP: 4; GD: +4; PTS: 9)
2. AS Monaco (GP: 4; GD: 0; PTS: 5)
3. Zenit Saint Petersburg (GP:4; GD: -1; PTS: 4)
4. SL Benfica (GP: 4; GD: -3; PTS: 4)
Two games were played in Group B of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
At Basel, Switzerland:
Breel Embolo (34'), Derlis Gonzalez (41', that's him being congratulated by fans and teammates), Shkelzen Gashi (59'), and Marek Suchy (65') each produced a goal as FC Basel gained sole possession of second place in Group B following their 4-0 demolition of visiting Ludogorets Razgrad
At Madrid:
Karim Benzema, seen here celebrating, scored the only goal of the match in the 27th minute as Real Madrid laid claim to a knockout-stage berth after shutting out visiting Liverpool 1-0.
GROUP B STANDINGS:
1. x-Real Madrid (GP: 4; GD: +9; PTS: 12)
2. FC Basel (GP: 4; GD: 0; PTS: 6)
3. Liverpool (GP: 4; GD: -4; PTS: 3)
4. PFC Ludogorets Razgrad (GP: 4; GD: -5; PTS: 3)
Eight games were played on Tuesday as the second half of UEFA Champions League group-stage action commenced. Two of the contests took place in Group A.
At Malmo, Sweden:
Koke (30', that's him celebrating with teammates) and Raul Garcia (78') each scored a goal as Atletico Madrid blanked Malmo FF 2-0 on the road. The Mattress Makers have blanked the Swedish club 7-0 in two games in Group A
At Turin, Italy:
Roberto Jiminez Gago (OG-65') and Paul Pogba (66', that's him celebrating after scoring) each scored a goal roughly a minute apart as Juventus came from behind to upend visiting Olympiacos 3-2.
AFP/Getty Images photos
GROUP A STANDINGS:
1. Atletico Madrid (GP: 4; GD: +7; PTS: 9)
2. Olympiacos (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 6)
3. Juventus (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 6)
4. Malmo FF (GP: 4; GD: -7; PTS: 3)
Two games were played on Sunday as the Major League Soccer Cup Playoff continued.
EASTERN CONFERENCE;
At Harrison, New Jersey:
Bradley Wright-Phillips (40') and Peguy Luyindula (73') delivered the goals as the New York Red Bulls blanked visiting DC United 2-0 in the opening game of their two-match Eastern Conference semifinal series. The New York MLS franchise has never advanced past DC in four previous playoff encounters.
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
At Frisco, Texas:
Osvaldo Alonso's equalizer in the 54th minute lifted the Seattle Sounders to a 1-1 Western Conference semifinal series-opening road draw with FC Dallas. Michel successfully converted a penalty kick in the 34th minute for the Hoops.
The Major League Soccer Cup Playoffs continued on Saturday as two conference semifinal series opened.
NOTE: This is the first time that MLS will be using the away goals rule in their two-game conference semifinal and final series as a tie-breaker in the event the aggregate score were deadlocked after 180 minutes.
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
At Columbus, Ohio:
Charlie Davies scored twice (34', 78') while Chris Tierney (51') and Lee Nguyen (70') each added a goal as the New England Revolution took command of their two-match series with the Columbus Crew following their series-opening 4-2 road win.
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
At Sandy, Utah:
The opening match between Real Salt Lake and the visiting Los Angeles Galaxy ended in a 0-0 stalemate. Galaxy goalkeeper Jaime Penedo made six saves to keep RSL off the scoreboard.
At Blida, Algeria:
Sofiane Younes scored in the 50th minute on Saturday to help ES Setif gain a 1-1 CAF Champions League Final game-two home draw with AS Vita Club at home and enabled the Algerian club to win the African club title on away goals with the aggregate score at 3-3.
ES Setif will travel to neighboring Morocco for next month's FIFA Club World Cup.
That tournament will start on December 10.
The opening match will take place on December 10 at Rabat as Moghreb Tetouan, who won the title in the Mococcan top flight in 2014 taking on Auckland City from New Zealand (winners of the 2013-14 OFC Champions League title).
The winner of the Moghreb Tetouan-Auckland City match will take on newly crowned African continental champs ES Setif in a quarterfinal contest on December 13 while Cruz Azul (who won last season's CONCACAF Champions League crown) will battle the Western Sydney Wanderers, who on Saturday took the AFC Champions League title in the other quarterfinal on that same day. Both games will be played at Rabat.
Semifinal Round:
The winner of the Cruz Azul-Western Sydney match will battle 10-time European continental champs Real Madrid on December 16 at Marrakesh.
Also at Marrakeah, the winner of the Setif-opening match survivor contest will battle Argentina's San Lorenzo, the South American champs (Copa Libertadores) on December 17.
The final will take place in Marrakesh on December 20.
At Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:
A Saturday 0-0 game-two road stalemate with Al-Hilal was good enough for the Western Sydney Wanderers, who became the first Australian club to win the AFC Champions League title with a 1-0 aggregate victory over the Saudi Arabian club.
The Wanderers will play in next month's FIFA Club World Cup, set to take place in Morocco.
At Harrison, New Jersey:
Bradley Wright-Phillips scored twice late in the second half (77', 90') as the New York Red Bulls came from behind Thursday to dethrone defending champions Sporting Kansas City 2-1 in the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference knockout playoff match.
New York will host DC United in the opening match of an Eastern Conference two-game semifinal series on Sunday at 1:00 PM Pacific Time (Univision Deportes) with the return contest set for Washington on November 8 (11:30 AM Pacific Time, NBC).
That was the word that was announced on Thursday as Major League Soccer announced that a new expansion club will start play in the City of Angels (or at least in the vicinity of Los Angeles) beginning in 2017.
For the time being, the club is being called the Los Angeles Football Club.
At Frisco, Texas:
Michel's penalty kick in the 84th minute carried FC Dallas To a 2-1 home victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Western Conference one-game knockout playoff as the Major League Soccer Cup Playoffs commenced on Wednesday.
The Hoops will next take on the newly-crowned Supporters' Shield winners, the Seattle Sounders in a two-game Western Conference semifinal series, which begins this coming Sunday at Frisco, Texas (6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time, ESPN 2), with the return match to be played in Seattle on Monday, November 10 (7:30 PM Pacific Time, NBCSN).
Well, friends and neighbors, what has been suspected for quite some time became official on Monday as Major League Soccer announced that the Goats will cease operations immediately.
This is timed with the planned Los Angeles expansion club that is set to start play in 2017.
Also, the Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City will switch to the Western Conference next season to accompany the arrival of the two new expansion clubs, New York City and Orlando City.
Having begun play in the same year as Real Salt Lake (2005), Chivas USA had an awful first year. Then, under first Bob Bradley, then Preki, the Goats made the playoffs four straight years (2006-09). They even finished atop the Western Conference standings in 2007.
During that four-year run, the Los Angeles Galaxy failed to make the playoffs in three of those years----including David Beckham's first two seasons with the Galaxy.
But the Goats never advanced beyond the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs and after 2009, never took part in them again.
The club, which had been owned by the owner of Mexico's Chivas de Guadalajara, was purchased by MLS prior to the start of this season but the problems continued. There had been criticisms of the club under the previous management as they operated as nothing more than a minor-league farm club for their more famous Mexican parent club.
At least at the end, the Goats managed to win three of their final four games.
At times this year, attendance for Goats games at the StubHub Center drifted between poor and pitiful.
At Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo:
Lema Mabidi scored twice (PK-45'+3, 77') as AS Vita Club battled visiting ES Setif to a 2-2 series-opening draw on Sunday as the two-match final of the CAF Champions League. Ndombe Mubele (OG-17') and Akram Djahnit (59') each scored a goal for the Algerian club.
The series will conclude this coming Saturday as Setif, Algeria.
The winner will advance to December's FIFA Club World Cup, set to play in Morocco.
Three games were played on Sunday as Major League Soccer's regular season came to a close.
At Columbus, Ohio:
Jairo Arrieta (13') and Bernardo Anor (90') each scored a goal as the Columbus Crew assured themselves of avoiding the fourth vs. fifth place knockout playoff with a third-place Eastern Conference finish following their 2-1 home win over the Philadelphia Union.
At Carson, California:
Felix Borja scored the only goal of the match in the 32nd minute as Chivas USA, in what may have been the final contest of their existence after ten years, racked up their third victory in their last four games with a 1-0 home win over the San Jose Earthquakes and finished seventh in the Western Conference.
At Kansas City, Kansas:
Bradley Wright-Phillips scored twice (15', 70') as he wound up the season with an MLS single-season record-tying 27 goals (equaling the recored first set in 1996 by Roy Lassiter of the Tampa Bay Mutiny and matched in 2012 by the San Jose Earthquakes' Chris Wondolowski). The New York Red Bulls leapfrogged Sporting Kansas City into fourth place in the Eastern Conference with their 2-0 road victory and will host SKC in an opening round playoff game this coming Thursday.
FINAL MLS STANDINGS:
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
1. DC United (GP: 34; GD: +15; PTS: 59)
2. New England (GP: 34; GD: +5; PTS: 55)
3. Columbus (GP: 34; GD: +10; PTS: 52)
4. New York (GP: 34; GD: +5; PTS: 50)
5. Kansas City (GP: 34; GD: +7; PTS: 49)
6. Philadelphia (GP: 34; GD: 0; PTS: 42)
7. Toronto FC (GP: 34; GD: -10; PTS: 41)
8. Houston (GP: 34; GD: -19; PTS: 39)
9. Chicago (GP: 34; GD: -10; PTS: 36)
10. Montreal (GP: 34; GD: -20; PTS: 28)
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
1. Seattle (GP: 34; GD: +15; PTS: 64)
2. Los Angeles (GP: 34; GD: +32; PTS: 61)
3. Real Salt Lake (GP: 34; GD: +15; PTS: 56)
4. FC Dallas (GP: 34; GD: +10; PTS: 54)
5. Vancouver (GP: 34; GD: +2; PTS: 50)
6. Portland (GP: 34; GD: +9; PTS: 49)
7. Chivas USA (GP: 34; GD: -32; PTS: 33)
8. Colorado (GP: 34; GD: -19; PTS: 32)
9. San Jose (GP: 34; GD: -15; PTS: 30)
The 2014 MLS Cup playoffs will get underway this coming Wednesday.
Knockout Round:
Wednesday, 6:00 PM Pacific Time:
FC Dallas vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (Western Conference)
Thursday, 5:00 PM Pacific Time:
New York Red Bulls vs. Sporting Kansas City (Eastern Conference)
Conference Semifinals (all two-game total-goals series):
Eastern Conference:
This coming Saturday, 1:00 PM Pacific Time:
Columbus Crew vs. New England Revolution, Game #1
Next Sunday, November 2, 1:00 PM Pacific Time:
New York-Kansas City winner vs. DC United, Game #1
Saturday, November 8, 11:30 AM Pacific Time:
DC United vs. New York-Kansas City winner, Game #2
Sunday, November 9, 2:00 PM Pacific Time
New England vs. Columbus, Game #2
Western Conference:
This coming Saturday, 5:00 PM, Pacific Time:
Real Salt Lake vs. Los Angeles Galaxy, Game #1
Next Sunday, 6:00 PM Pacific Time:
Dallas-Vancouver winner vs. Seattle Sounders, Game #1
Sunday, November 9, 4:30 PM Pacific Time
Los Angeles vs. Real Salt Lake, Game #2
Monday, November 9, 7:30 PM Pacific Time
Seattle vs. Dallas-Vancouver winner, Game #2
Saturday marked the next-to-last day of Major League Soccer's regular season as five games were contested.
At Seattle:
Marco Pappa smurfed a pair of goals late in the contest (85', 90'+5) as the Seattle Sounders blanked the visiting Los Angeles Galaxy 2-0 and won the Supporters' Shield for the first time in their MLS history. The Sounders will have home-field advantage throughout the MLS Cup Playoffs.
At Montreal:
In a battle of the two MLS clubs that advanced to the knockout stage of the CONCACAF Champions League, Fabian Espindola's equalizer in the 86th minute lifted DC United to a 1-1 road draw with the Montreal Impact, whose goal came in the 27th minute from Marco Di Vaio, in his final contest before his planned retirement.
At Foxborough, Massachusetts:
Lee Nguyen scored the only goal of the match in the 36th minute as the New England Revolution locked up second place in the Eastern Conference with their 1-0 home victory over Toronto FC.
At Frisco, Texas:
Darlington Nagbe (43') and Maximiliano Urruti (81') delivered the goals as the Portland Timbers blanked FC Dallas 2-0, ending the Hoops' eight-match home winning streak and knocked the hosts into a Wednesday opening-round knockout playoff. The Timbers moved into the Western Conference's final playoff spot---for the time being.
At Vancouver, British Columbia:
Kendall Waston scored the only goal of the match in the 70th minute as the Vancouver Whitecaps blanked the visiting Colorado Rapids (who ended the season on a 14-match winless skid) 1-0 and snatched----and clinched---the final Western Conference playoff berth. Goalkeeper David Ousted made five saves to preserve the shutout (his 13th of the season)---and the victory that knocked the Portland Timbers out of post-season play.
At Sydney, Australia:
Tomi Juric scored the only goal of the match in the 64th minute as the Western Sydney Wanderers defeated visiting Al-Hilal 1-0 in Saturday's opening contest of the two-game AFC Champions League Final.
The series will conclude next Saturday at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The winner of this series will play in December's FIFA Club World Cup, set to take place in Morocco.
