Overtime Goals Send Galaxy To MLS Cup Final

At Carson, California:

After a scoreless regulation time, which had been interrupted twice by power outages (one in each half, each lasting over eighteen minutes), the Los Angeles Galaxy, thanks to overtime goals from Gregg Bernhalter (109') and Landon Donovan (PK-109') defeated the Houston Dynamo 2-0 to win the Western Conference championship and reach the MLS Cup final (their first since 2005 and their sixth overall [they've won it twice]) which will be played on November 22 at Seattle.

The Galaxy will face the winner of Saturday's Eastern Conference final between Real Salt Lake and the Chicago Fire at Bridgeview, Illinois.

Big Changes To English Premiership?

You have to realize that many Premiership clubs are now owned by foreign multimillionaires or billionaires.

Dynamo And Galaxy Advance To Western Final

The two Major League Soccer Western Conference semifinal series concluded Sunday.

At Houston:

After a scoreless regulation in match two (as well as the scoreless series opener ten nights earlier in Seattle), Brian Ching scored in overtime (95') for the only goal of the match and series as the Houston Dynamo took game two of their series with the Seattle Sounders at home, and the series on aggregate, both 1-0.

At Carson, California:

Landon Donovan's successful penalty kick at 73 minutes piloted the Los Angeles Galaxy to a 1-0 game two win and 3-2 aggregate win over Chivas USA.

Los Angeles will host Houston in Friday night's Western Conference final.

Auckland FC Get One At Home

Matchday #2 in group stage play in the OFC Champions League ended Sunday.

Group A:

At Auckland, New Zealand:

Matt Williams (47') and Daniel Koprivcic (52') provided the scoring as Auckland City FC came from behind to defeat visiting AS Magenta (New Caledonia) 2-1.

GROUP A STANDINGS:

1. Auckland City (GP: 2; GD: +6; PTS: 6)
2. Waitakere United (GP: 2; GD: +2; PTS: 4)
3. AS Magenta (GP: 2; GD: -1; PTS: 1)
4. AS Manu-Ura (GP: 2; GD: -7; PTS: 0)

Sporting Gijon Blank Parakeets

At Gijon, Spain:

Mate Bilic's goal at 3 minutes held up as Sporting Gijon blanked visiting Espanyol 1-0 Sunday in Spanish Premiera Division play.

Rossoneri Climb To Third In Serie A

At Rome:

AC Milan climbed up to third place in the Serie A standings on Sunday following their 2-1 road win over Lazio. Thiaquinto (21) and Alexandre Pato (35) each tallied once for the Rossoneri.

Fire Top Revs To Reach Eastern Final

At Bridgeview, Illinois:

John Thorrington (35') and Cuauhtemoc Blanco (83') each scored a goal as the Chicago Fire defeated the visiting New England Revolution 2-0 Saturday in the second game of their two-match Eastern Conference semifinal series in the Major League Soccer playoffs and won their the series 4-2 on aggregate.

Chicago will host Real Salt Lake in next Saturday's Eastern Conference final.

Scoreless In Monaco

At Fontvielle, Monaco:

In Saturday Ligue 1 action, hapless Grenoble, who had lost all of their previous eleven contests, racked up their first point of the campaign by holding hosts AS Monaco to a 0-0 stalemate.

Not Wolves Day

At Wolverhampton, England:

Arsenal, helped by own goals from Wolves' Ronald Zubar (28') and Jody Craddock (35') and well as goals from their own players, namely Cesc Fabregas (45') and Andrei Arshavin (66'), delivered a 4-1 road beatdown on Wolverhampton Saturday in English Premier League action, dropping Wolves into the relegation zone.

TP MAZEMBE WIN AFRICAN CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP

At Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

Emmanuel Omodiagbe's own goal at 73 minutes allowed TP Mazembe to claim a 1-0 home win over Heartland FC in game two of the CAF Champions League final, enabling the Congolese club, thanks to the away goals rule, to win Africa's continental club championsip for the third time and earn a place in the next month's FIFA Club World Cup, to be played in the United Arab Emirates.

Saturday Play In Oceania

Group stage play in the OFC Champions League resumed Saturday.

Group A:

At Waitakere, New Zealand:

Benjamin Totori (55') and Brent Fisher (PK-86') provided the second half goals as Waitakere United blanked visiting AS Manu-Ura 2-0.

Group B:

At Honiara, Solomon Island:

Francois Sakama (48') and Etienne Mermer (51') provided the quick, early second-half tallies as Tafea FC of Vanuatu won on the road, 2-0 over Marist FC.

At Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea:

After trailing 1-0 at halftime, Lautoka FC (Fiji) scored twice--thanks to Valerio Nawatu and Apisai Smith at 69 and 76 minutes, respectively--to defeat PRK Hekari United 2-1 on the road.

GROUP B STANDINGS:

1. Lautoka FC (GP: 2; GD: +3; PTS: 6)
2. Tafea FC (GP: 2, GD: +2; PTS: 4)
3. PRK Hekari United (GP: 2; GD: -1; PTS: 1)
4. Marist FC (GP: 2; GD: -4; PTS: 0)

Bayern Held To Home Stalemate

At Munich, Germany:

In Saturday German Bundesliga play, Joel Matip's goal at 43 minutes canceled out Daniel van Buyten's 31st-minute tally as FC Schalke 04 came from behind to gain a 1-1 road deadlock with Bayern Munich.

POHANG STEELERS WIN ASIAN CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP

At Tokyo:

Thanks to goals courtesy of Noh Byung-Joon (57') and Kim Hyung-Il (66'), Pohang Steelers held off Al-Ittihad 2-1 Saturday to win the championship match of the AFC Champions League. This marks Pohang's third AFC club title. Here, we see the happy Steelers with the Asian club championship club trophy.

The South Korean club will play in next month's FIFA Club World Cup, to be staged in the United Arab Emirates.


Photo © Getty Images

WOW!

This past Thursday night, there was a mixed martial arts contest, and a women's collegiate soccer game broke out.



Any bets she will be suspended for a long stretch for her actions?

Apparently, she has been.

BYU won the game 1-0 and advanced to the Mountain West Conference's women's soccer championship match.

MLS Playoffs: Champs Dethroned

The Major League Soccer Cup playoffs continued Thursday night.


At Columbus, Ohio:

Goals from Javier Morales (37'), Robbie Findley (PK-45'+2), and Andy Williams (74') enabled Real Salt Lake (a team that won only two games on the road during the regular season) to overtake the defending champions Columbus Crew and win game two of their two-match Eastern Conference semifinal series 3-2 on the road and win the series 4-2 on aggregate.

Next up for RSL is the Eastern Conference final, to be played at the home stadium of the winner of the ongoing New England Revolution-Chicago Fire series.

Europa League Play Resumes: Shakhtar, Werder, And Galatasaray Advance To Knockout Stage; Cottagers and Toffees Lose

The second half of group stage play in the Europa League commenced on Thursday.

Group A:

At Brussels, Belgium:

Matias Suarez (PK-29'), Mbark Boussoufa (69'), and Jonathan Legear (90'+5) all provided a goal apiece as RSC Anderlecht defeated visiting FC Timisoara 3-1.

At Zagreb, Croatia:

Marco Pantelic (13') and Demy de Zeeuw (45'+1) provided the first-half goalpower that carried Ajax Amsterdam to a 2-0 road win over Dinamo Zagreb.

GROUP A STANDINGS:

1. Ajax (GP: 4; GD: +3; PTS: 8)
2. RSC Anderlecht (GP: 4; GD: +4; PTS: 8)
3. FC Timisoara (GP: 4; GD: -5; PTS: 2)
4. Dinamo Zagreb (GP: 4; GD: -2; PTS: 0*)

*Three points deducted because of fan disturbance in away match against FC Timosoara (subject to appeal). The points deduction, for the time being, eliminated Dinamo Zagreb from European competition. Pending Dinamo Zagreb's appeal, RSC Anderlecht has clinched a berth in the knockout stage of the Europa League.

Group B:

At Prague, Czech Republic:

Petr Janda (79') and Peter Grajciar (82') provided the late scoring that wiped out a two-goal deficit as Slavia Prague salvaged a 2-2 home draw with Valencia (whose goals came from Joaquin Sanchez [PK-22] and Hedwiges Maduro [47']).

At Genoa, Italy:

Genoa, with goals from Rodrigo Palacio (14'), Hernan Crespo (58'), and Giuseppe Sculli (90'+3), defeated visiting Lille 3-2.

GROUP B STANDINGS:

1. Lille (GP: 4; GD: +6; PTS: 7)
2. Valencia (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 6)
3. Genoa (GP: 4; GD: 0; PTS: 6)
4. Slavia Prague (GP: 4; GD: -6; PTS: 2)

Group C:

At Hamburg, Germany:

Visiting Celtic and Hamburg battled to a 0-0 stalemate.


At Vienna, Austria:

Avihay Yadin (13'), Gil Vermouth (65'), and Bebars Natcho (70') each tallied once as visiting Hapoel Tel-Aviv overpowered Rapid Vienna 3-0.

GROUP C STANDINGS:

1. Hapoel Tel-Aviv (GP: 4; GD: +6; PTS: 9)
2. Hamburg (GP: 4; GD: 0; PTS: 7)
3. Rapid Vienna (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 4)
4. Celtic (GP: 4; GD: -2; PTS: 2)


Group D:

At Lisbon, Portugal:

Sporting salvaged a 1-1 home draw with FK Ventspils, thanks to Carlos Saleiro's equalizer at 22 minutes. Alessandro Zamperini had put the Latvian club ahead briefly at 15 minutes.

At Heerenveen, Netherlands:

Valeri Domovchiyski scored twice (21', 52') and Artur Wichniarek added the game winner (90'+1) as Hertha Berlin came from behind to top SC Heerenveen 3-2 on the road.

GROUP D STANDINGS:

1. Sporting (GP: 4; GD: +3; PTS: 10)

2.Hertha Berlin (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 4)

3. SC Heerenveen (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 4)

4. FK Ventspils (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 3)

Group E:

At Rome:

John Arne Riise (69') and Stefano Okaka Chuka (76') each scored a goal as AS Roma came from behind to defeat visiting Fulham 2-1.

At Basel, Switzerland:

FC Basel defeated visitng CSKA Sofia 2-1, thanks to goals courtesy of Marcos Gelabert (35') and Alexander Frei (PK-41', 67')

GROUP E STANDINGS:

1. FC Basel (GP: 4; GD: +5; PTS: 9)
2. AS Roma (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 7)
3. Fulham (GP: 4; GD: 0; PTS:5)
4. CSKA Sofia (GP: 4; GD: -6; PTS: 1)

Group F:

At Bucharest, Romania:

Harry Kewell (22'), Shabani Nonda (24'), and Mehmet Topal (56') provided the scoring that carried Galatasaray to a 3-0 road beatdown of Dinamo Bucharest as the Turkish club clinched a berth in the knockout stage of the Europa League.

At Graz, Austria:

Kostas Katsouranis scored the only goal of the match (70') as Panathinaikos eliminated SK Sturm Graz from European competition with a 1-0 road win.

GROUP F STANDINGS:

1. Galatasaray* (GP: 4; GD: +8; PTS: 10)

2. Panathinaikos (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 9)

3. Dinamo Bucharest (GP: 4; GD: -6; PTS: 3)

4. SK Sturm Graz# (GP: 4 GD: -3; PTS: 1)

*Advanced to knockout stage of UEFA Europa League
#Eliminated from European competition

Group G:

At Sofia, Bulgaria:

Franz Schiemer goal during second-half injury time (90'+3) was the only tally of the match as Red Bull Salzburg defated Levski Sofia 1-0 on the road.

At Villarreal, Spain:

Robert Pires scored twice in the first half (2', PK-15') to help lead Villarreal to a 4-1 home fistbeating of Lazio.

GROUP G STANDINGS:

1. Red Bull Salzburg (GP: 4; GD: +5; PTS: 12)

2. Villarreal (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 6)

3. Lazio (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 6)

4. Levski Sofia (GP: 4; GD: -7; PTS: 0)

Group H:

At Enschede, Netherlands:

Miroslav Stoch doubled (7', 89') as FC Twente defeated visiting FC Sheriff Tiraspol 2-1.

At Istanbul, Turkey:

Andre Santos (15'), Bilica (51'), and Alexsandro (Alex) de Souza (67') provided the goals that powered Fenerbahce to a 3-1 home triumph over Steaua Bucharest.

GROUP H STANDINGS:

1. Fenerbahce (GP: 4; GD: +3; PTS: 9)

2. FC Twente (GP: 4; GD: 0; PTS: 7)

3. FC Sheriff Tiraspol (GP: 4; GD: 0; PTS: 4)

4. Steaua Bucharest (GP: 4; GD: -3; PTS: 2)

Group I:

At Athens, Greece:

AEK Athens settled for a 2-2 home deadlock with BATE Borisov. Ismael Blanco (1') and Gustavo Manduca (38') scored for the hosts, while the visiting club from Belarus got tallies courtesy of Vitali Rodionov (17') and Alyaksandr Valodzka (25')

At Liverpool, England:

SL Benfica blanked hosts Everton 2-0 as Javier Saviola (63') and Oscar Cardozo (76') provided the second-half scoring for the Eagles.

GROUP I STANDINGS:

1. SL Benfica (GP: 4; GD: +8; PTS: 9)

2. Everton (GP: 4; GD: 0; PTS: 6)

3. FC BATE Borisov (GP: 4; GD: -2; PTS: 4)

4. AEK Athens (GP: 4; GD: -4; PTS: 4)

Group J:

At Toulouse, France:

Luiz Adriano (50') and Oleskiy Hai (63') each tallied once in the second half as Shakhtar Donetsk took control of a match that was scoreless at halftime and defeated hosts Toulouse 2-0 to lock up a berth in the round of 32.

At Belgrade, Serbia:

Dorge Kouemaha's double (36', 57') was part of Club Brugge's 4-2 road win over Partizan Belgrade, eliminating the hosts from European competition.

GROUP J STANDINGS:

1. Shakhtar Donetsk* (GP: 4; GD: +12; PTS: 12)

2. Club Brugge (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 7)

3. Toulouse (GP: 4 GD: -5; PTS: 4)

4. Partizan Belgrade# (GP: 4; GD: -8; PTS: 0)

*Advanced to the knockout stage of the Europa League

#Eliminated from European competition

Group K:

At Copenhagen, Denmark:

Balazs Dzsudzsak's 72nd-minute equalizer lifted PSV Eindhoven to a 1-1 road draw with FC Copenhagen, whose goal came from Jesper Gronkjaer on a successful penalty kick at 39 minutes.

At Cluj-Napoca, Romania:

Bony Wilfried scored the game winning goal at 90 minutes +5 as Sparta Prague defeated CFR Cluj 3-2 on the road.

GROUP K STANDINGS:

1. PSV Eindhoven (GP: 4; GD: +2; PTS: 8)

2. Sparta Prague (GP: 4; GD: +2; PTS: 7)

3. FC Copenhagen (GP: 4; GD: -2; PTS: 4)

4. CFR Cluj (GP: 4; GD: -2; PTS: 3)

Group L:

At Bremen, Germany:

Tim Borowski (81') and Hugo Almeida (84') came up with critical goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation as Werder Bremen clinched a berth in the knockout stage with their 2-0 home win over Austria Vienna.

At Funchal, Portugal:

Joseba Etxeberria's penalty kick at 85 minutes canceled out Edgar's 64th-minute PK as Athletic Bilbao came from behind to gain a 1-1 road stalemate with CD Nacional.

GROUP L STANDINGS:

1. Werder Bremen* (GP: 4; GD: +5; PTS: 10)

2. Athletic Bilbao (GP: 4; GD: +2; PTS: 7)

3. CD Nacional (GP: 4; GD: -2; PTS: 2)

4. Austria Vienna (GP: 4; GD: -5; PTS: 2)

*Advanced to the knockout stage of the Europa League

UCL Group H: Gunner On Cusp Of Advancing; Standard Stay Alive By Beating Olympiacos

Wednesday action in Group H in the UEFA Champions League.

At London:

Cesc Fabregas doubled (25', 52', that's him celebrating) as Arsenal pounded visitng AZ Alkmaar 4-1 to close within one point of clinching a berth in the knockout stage.

At Liege, Belgium:

Dieudonne Mbokani (31', he's pictured here celebrating) and Milan Jovanovic (88') provided the goals that lifted Standard Liege to a 2-0 home win over Olympiacos.



Both Photos © Getty Images





GROUP H STANDINGS:

1. Arsenal (GP: 4; GD: +6; PTS: 10)
2. Olympiacos (GP: 4; GD: 0; PTS: 6)
3. Standard Liege (GP: 4; GD: -2; PTS: 4)
4. AZ Alkmaar (GP: 4; GD: -4; PTS: 2)

UCL Group G: Sevilla Lock Up Spot In Knockout Stage; Rangers and Unirea Draw In Romania

Wednesday saw two games in Group G play in the UEFA Champions League.

At Seville, Spain:

Jesus Navas scored at 14 minutes as Sevilla clinched a berth in the knockout stage with their 1-1 home draw with VfB Stuttgart. Zdravko Kuzmanovic equalized for the visiting German club at 79 minutes. Pictured here, we see Stuttgart's Aleksandr Hleb battling for possession of the ball with Sevilla forward Luis Fabiano.

At Bucharest, Romania:

Marius Onofras' equalizer at 88 minutes salvaged a 1-1 home draw for FC Unirea Urziceni in their contest with Rangers, whose goal came at 79 minutes from Lee McCulloch. Unirea George Galamaz is shown here battling for the round football with 'Gers' Kenny Miller.





Both Photos © Getty Images





GROUP G STANDINGS:

1. Sevilla* (GP: 4; GD: +7; PTS: 10)
2. FC Unirea Urziceni (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 5)
3. VfB Stuttgart (GP: 4; GD: -2; PTS: 3)
4. Rangers (GP: 4; GD: -6; PTS: 2)

*Clinched berth in the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League

UCL Group F: Rubin Kazan Hold Barca To Scoreless Draw; Inter Take One On Road

Group F action in the UEFA Champions League resumed on Wednesday.

At Kazan, Russia:

FC Rubin Kazan and visiting Barcelona battled to a 0-0 deadlock as the Russian club took four of a possible six points in their two encounters with the defending European champs. Here, we see Lionel Messi breaking away from Rubin's Cristian Ansaldi.

At Kiev, Ukraine:

Late goals from Diego Milito (86') and Wesley Sneijder (89') enabled Inter Milan to come from behind to defeat Dynamo Kiev 2-1 on the road. Yep, that's Jose Mourinho celebrating after the Nerozzurri's victory.





Both Photos © Getty Images





GROUP F STANDINGS:

1. Inter Milan (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 6)
2. FC Rubin Kazan (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 5)
3. Barcelona (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 5)
4. Dynamo Kiev (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 4)

UCL Group E: Late Equalizer Sends Lyon To Round Of 16; Fiorentina On Verge Of Locking Up Knockout Stage Berth

Matchday #4 in UEFA Champions League group stage play concluded with eight games on Wednesday, including two in Group E.

At Florence, Italy:

Five different goal scorers---Adrian Mutu (14'), Dario Dainelli (52'), Riccardo Montolivo (59'), Marco Marchionni (61'), and Alberto Gilardino (74', that's him in action here with teammate Adrian Mutu in persuit)---each tallied once as Fiorentina dominated visiting Debreceni VSC 5-2 to put themselves on the cusp of advancing to the knockout stage. The Hungarian club has been eliminated from the tournament.

At Lyon, France:

Lisandro's 90th-minute equalizer (which canceled out Ryan Babel's 83rd-minute tally) locked up a knockout stage berth for Lyon as the hosts gained a 1-1 home stalemate with Liverpool, placing the five-time European champions in jeopardy of elimination from the tournament. That's Lisandro celebrating with teammates after his advancement-clinching goal.





Both Photos © Getty Images



GROUP E STANDINGS:

1. Lyon* (GP: 4; GD: +6; PTS: 10)
2. Fiorentina (GP: 4; GD: +5; PTS: 9)
3. Liverpool (GP: 4; GD: -2; PTS: 4)
4. Debreceni VSC# (GP: 4; GD: -9; PTS: 0)

*Advanced to the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League
#Eliminated from tournament but still alive for spot in Europa League group stage