Archive for the ‘Soccer news’ Category
December 7, 2008
LISBON, Portugal -Results from the 11th round of the Portuguese first-division football league (home teams listed first):
Friday’s Game
Amadora 1, Sporting 3
Saturday’s Games
Nacional 4, Belenenses 2
Academica 2, Pacos Ferreira 1
Setubal 0, FC Porto 3
Sunday’s Games
Rio Ave vs. Naval
Maritimo vs. Benfica
Monday’s Games
Guimaraes vs. Leixoes
Trofense vs. Braga
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Spanish Football Results
MADRID, Spain -Results from the 14th round of Spain’s first-division football league (home teams listed first):
Saturday’s Games
Sporting Gijon 2, Atletico Madrid 5
Villarreal 3, Getafe 3
Barcelona 4, Valencia 0
Sunday’s Games
Mallorca vs. Recreativo Hueva
Osasuna vs. Valladolid
Deportivo La Coruna vs. Malaga
Numancia vs. Almeria
Racing Santander vs. Athletic Bilbao
Real Betis vs. Espanyol
Real Madrid vs. Sevilla
Saturday, Dec. 13
Valencia vs. Espanyol
Barcelona vs. Real Madrid
Sunday, Dec. 14
Getafe vs. Mallorca
Recreativo Huelva vs. Osasuna
Valladolid vs. Deportivo La Coruna
Malaga vs. Numancia
Almeria vs. Racing Santander
Athletic Bilbao vs. Sporting Gijon
Sevilla vs. Villarreal
Atletico Madrid vs. Real Betis
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French Football Results
PARIS -Result from the 17th round of the French first-division football league (home teams listed first):
Friday’s Game
Bordeaux 2, Valenciennes 1
Saturday’s Games
Caen 1, Rennes 1
Lille 1, Toulouse 1
Marseille 2, Nice 1
Saint-Etienne 2, Le Havre 0
Nantes 2, Lyon 1
Sunday’s Games
Grenoble vs. Auxerre
Lorient vs. Nancy
Monaco vs. Sochaux
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Le Mans
Saturday, Dec. 13
Auxerre vs. Paris Saint-Germain
Le Mans vs. Bordeaux
Nancy vs. Grenoble
Sochaux vs. Caen
Toulouse vs. Saint-Etienne
Valenciennes vs. Monaco
Rennes vs. Nantes
Sunday, Dec. 14
Le Havre vs. Lorient
Nice vs. Lille
Lyon vs. Marseille
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Dutch Football Results
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -Results from the 14th round of the Eredivisie, the Dutch first-division football league (home teams listed first):
Saturday’s Games
AZ Alkmaar 2, Heracles Almelo 0
FC Twente 6, Sparta Rotterdam 2
Roda JC 3, Vitesse Arnhem 0
PSV Eindhoven 4, FC Groningen 2
Sunday’s Games
NEC Nijmegen vs. FC Utrecht
NAC Breda vs. ADO The Hague
FC Volendam vs. Ajax
Feyenoord vs. De Graafschap
Willem II vs. SC Heerenveen
Friday, Dec. 12
Ajax vs. NAC Breda
Saturday, Dec. 13
ADO The Hague vs. Roda JC
SC Heerenveen vs. De Graafschap
Feyenoord vs. AZ Alkmaar
Willem II vs. NEC Nijmegen
Sunday, Dec. 14
FC Utrecht vs. FC Volendam
Vitesse vs. PSV Eindhoven
Heracles Almelo vs. Sparta Rotterdam
FC Groningen vs. FC Twente
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Italian Football Results
ROME -Results in the Serie A, the Italian first-division football league (home teams listed first):
Saturday’s Games
Chievo Verona 0, AS Roma 1
Lazio 0, Inter Milan 3
Sunday’s Games
Atalanta vs. Udinese
Cagliari vs. Palermo
Lecce vs. Juventus
AC Milan vs. Catania
Napoli vs. Siena
Reggina vs. Bologna
Torino vs. Fiorentina
Sampdoria vs. Genoa
Saturday, Dec. 13
Bologna vs. Torino
Napoli vs. Lecce
Sunday, Dec. 14
Fiorentina vs. Catania
Genoa vs. Atalanta
Inter Milan vs. Chievo Verona
Palermo vs. Siena
Reggina vs. Sampdoria
AS Roma vs. Cagliari
Udinese vs. Lazio
Juventus vs. AC Milan
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Greek Football Results
ATHENS, Greece -Results after Saturday’s games in the 13th round of the Greek league (home teams listed first):
Saturday’s Games
OFI 0, Aris 1
Panserraikos 0, Ergotelis 2
Xanthi 1, Panathinaikos 2
Sunday’s Games
Iraklis vs. Thrasivoulos
Panionios vs. Larissa
PAOK vs. Asteras
AEK vs. Panthrakikos
Olympiakos vs. Levadiakos
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English Football Results
LONDON -Results Saturday in English football (home teams listed first):
Premier League
Fulham 1, Manchester City 1
Arsenal 1, Wigan 0
Blackburn 1, Liverpool 3
Bolton 0, Chelsea 2
Hull 2, Middlesbrough 1
Newcastle 2, Stoke 2
Manchester United 1, Sunderland 0
League Championship
Barnsley 0, Reading 1
Birmingham 3, Watford 2
Blackpool 2, Charlton 0
Bristol City 0, Swansea 0
Cardiff 2, Preston 0
Coventry 2, Nottingham Forest 2
Derby 1, Crystal Palace 2
Doncaster 1, Plymouth 0
Sheffield United 2, Burnley 3
Southampton 1, Sheffield Wednesday 1
Queens Park Rangers 1, Wolverhampton Wanderers 0
League One
Cheltenham 1, Crewe 0
Colchester 1, Hereford 2
Hartlepool 0, Yeovil 0
Huddersfield 2, Walsall 1
Leicester 3, Southend 0
Millwall 3, Bristol Rovers 2
MK Dons 0, Scunthorpe 2
Northampton 1, Leyton Orient 1
Oldham 1, Brighton 1
Stockport 1, Peterborough 3
Swindon 1, Carlisle 1
Tranmere 2, Leeds United 1
League Two
Accrington vs. Brentford, postponed
Aldershot 3, Wycombe 2
Bournemouth 1, Chester 0
Bradford 1, Dagenham and Redbridge 1
Darlington vs. Rochdale, postponed
Exeter 2, Lincoln City 1
Gillingham 2, Chesterfield 1
Luton 1, Barnet 1
Macclesfield 1, Bury 1
Notts County 1, Morecambe 0
Port Vale 2, Grimsby 1
Shrewsbury 1, Rotherham 0
October 30, 2008
Lyon beats Sochaux 2-0 in French league. Lyon beat Sochaux 2-0 with goals from Karim Benzema and Cesar Delgado and increased its lead to three points in the French league on Wednesday.
France forward Benzema fired from the edge of the box in the 66th minute for his league-leading seventh goal this season.
Two minutes into injury time, Delgado chipped over goalkeeper Teddy Richert.
“I missed two scoring chances in the first half so I had to redeem myself because we needed that victory,” Benzema said. “I scored a nice goal in the second half but I’m especially happy because the win is doing us a lot of good.”
Bottom-placed Sochaux was reduced to nine men after midfielder Stephane Dalmat was red-carded in the 81st for a tackle on Miralem Pjanic while centerback Damien Perquis received a second yellow card in stoppage time.
After 11 rounds, Lyon tops the standings with 24 points followed by Brodeaux and Toulouse on 21 each. Marseille slipped to fourth place with 20.
Lyon was under pressure before kickoff as Bordeaux routed Le Havre 4-0 on Tuesday to take the provisional lead.
Also on Wednesday, it was: Nantes 1, Marseille 1; Le Mans 0, Auxerre 2; Paris Saint-Germain 0, Toulouse 1; Grenoble 0, Lille 0; Valenciennes 0, Rennes 0; Caen 1, Nice 1; Monaco 3, Nancy 1; Saint-Etienne 1, Lorient 4.
Nantes opened the scoring against the run of play as fullback Remy Mareval fired a powerful strike from 30 meters into the top corner in the 44th.
But Ivory Coast forward Bakari Kone leveled for Marseille in the 76th with a semi-volley off a pass from Mamadou Samassa.
“The result is disappointing,” Marseille coach Eric Gerets told Europe 1 radio. “Today we lost two points. We played well but we lacked the finishing touch.”
Nantes forward Christian Bekamenga was sent off in the 79th after picking up a second yellow card for handling.
Dennis Oliech scored twice to help mid-table Auxerre stun Le Mans.
The Kenya international dribbled past goalkeeper Yohann Pele to flick the ball into the empty net in the 35th before beating Pele again from close range three minutes later.
Le Mans dropped to fifth place with 18 points.
Toulouse upset PSG thanks to defender Zoumana Camara diverting a corner kick into his own net in the 65th.
“We made a stupid mistake on the goal,” PSG coach Paul Le Guen acknowledged. “If you can’t win, then you have to seek a draw. But we didn’t have the strength to go and get the equalizer.”
In Caen, Steve Savidan headed in a cross from Julien Toudic in the 67th to put the host side ahead and bring his season tally to six goals. But Loic Remy converted a penalty in the 85th to equalize for Nice.
Frederic Nimani’s fourth goal this season gave Monaco a 1-0 lead. He converted a rebound in the 32nd after Nancy goalkeeper Gennaro Bracigliano stopped a shot from South Korea midfielder Park Chu-Young. Nikola Pokrivac doubled the lead in the 63rd with a free kick.
Youssouf Hadji slipped the ball past Monaco goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier in the 75th to pull one goal back for Nancy.
Substitute Alexandre Licata sealed the win for Monaco in the 88th with a 25-meter drive.
Lorient midfielder Jeremy Morel outpaced the Saint-Etienne defense to shoot past goalkeeper Jody Viviani in the 19th.
Saint-Etienne rallied in the 33rd when a header from Bafetimbi Gomis crashed against the crossbar before bouncing in off goalkeeper Lionel Cappone.
Bertrand Robert benefited from Kevin Gameiro’s crossing twice to score from close range in the 56th and 70th.
Ghana international Andre Ayew took advantage of a mishap from Viviani to make it 4-1 in the 88th with a tap-in.
Lorient leapfrogged Saint-Etienne into fourteenth place with 12 points.
October 30, 2008
Villarreal loses 5-0 in Copa del Rey. Jorge Molina’s hat trick helped third-division minnows Polideportivo Ejido inflict a humiliating 5-0 defeat on Villarreal in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
Molina scored in the 8th, 38th and 54th minutes of the fourth round first-leg match at Ejido’s Santo Domingo Stadium, with Gregory Laget adding late goals to complete Villarreal’s first defeat in all competitions this season.
Two more first-division teams lost against lower-league opposition - Racing Santander went down 2-1 at second-division Murcia, while third-division Ponferradina beat Sevilla 1-0.
Murcia rallied on goals by Jose Luis Capdevila and Adrian Sikora in the 74th and 77th minutes after Santander took an early lead through Ivan Bedia.
Cristian Portilla’s fierce shot in extra time brought Ponferradina victory over the 2007 champion.
One more first-division team failed to win, Espanyol mustering only a 2-2 draw at second-division Celta Vigo.
However, Valencia made a successful start to its Copa del Rey defense by beating Portugalete 4-1.
Fernando Morientes, replacing Valencia’s rested leading scorer David Villa, scored the visitor’s first goal in the 11th minute in the Basque town of Barakaldo.
The Spanish league leader doubled its tally 10 minutes later through Vicente Rodriguez.
Portugalete, the only fourth-tier team remaining in the last 32 of the competition, reduced the deficit in the 47th through Urko Vera’s header.
Five minutes later, Morientes shot Valencia’s third goal from Vicente’s pass, with substitute Nikola Zigic sealing the comfortable win when he fired home in the 84th.
Five other topflight sides - Atletico Madrid, Deportivo La Coruna, Almeria, Valladolid and Real Betis - all avoided upsets in their trips to inferior opposition.
Nine-time champion Atletico won 1-0 at Orihuela, Deportivo downed Elche 2-0, Almeria beat Rayo Vallecano 2-1, Valladolid trounced Hercules 5-1, and Betis won 2-0 at Castellon.
In all-first-division matchups, 23-time champion Athletic Bilbao beat visiting Recreativo Huelva 2-0, Sporting Gijon won 1-0 at Numancia, host Malaga drew 1-1 with Mallorca, and Getafe, beaten finalist for the past two seasons, drew 0-0 with visitor Osasuna.
The second legs are scheduled for Nov. 12.
First-division clubs have entered the competition at this stage, with rules stating that those who are drawn against lower-league opponents must play the first leg away from home.
On Tuesday, Barcelona won 1-0 at third-division Benidorm. Real Madrid begins its bid to win the competition for the first time since 1993 at third-division Real Union on Thursday.
October 30, 2008
Two late goals give Tottenham 4-4 draw at Arsenal. Tottenham continued its startling recovery under new manager Harry Redknapp when it scored twice in the last five minutes to salvage a 4-4 draw against Arsenal in the English Premier League on Wednesday.
After conceding what could be the goal of the season, Arsenal rallied to lead 4-2 before Jermaine Jenas scored in the 89th minute and substitute Aaron Lennon equalized in the fourth minute of injury time to earn a point for the last-placed team.
Although Tottenham stayed bottom of the league and is still winless in 18 league games against its biggest rivals, the comeback against its fierce north London rival suggested Spurs should soon be able to clear the relegation zone.
“It showed a lot of character, I felt, to keep going,” Redknapp said. “I just have to make them believe in themselves. There’s ability at the club and they’re a good bunch of lads.”
The Gunners looked likely to win for most of the game, even after former Arsenal winger David Bentley put Tottenham in front at Emirates Stadium through a 40-meter (yard) volley.
Mikael Silvestre, William Gallas and Emmanuel Adebayor put Arsenal 3-1 ahead and, although Darren Bent got a goal with his first touch in the 67th, Robin van Persie struck for Arsenal just a minute later to seemingly secure victory.
But Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was on his knees in despair after Jenas struck a curling shot from the edge of the area and Lennon scored from a rebound when Luka Modric had hit the post.
Arsenal still moved up a place, but the late goals cost it sole possession of third place and mean it is tied with Manchester United and Hull on 20 points - six points behind leader Liverpool.
“The positive side is that we were really superior to Tottenham,” Wenger said. “The negative side is that we didn’t win and I believe that is down to a lack of maturity.”
Tottenham, though, was again far improved from its listless performances under Juande Ramos, and now has four points from two games under the Spaniard’s replacement.
Spurs looked out of the game when Van Persie scored in the 68th, and an Arsenal crowd which has often been silenced by unexpected setbacks in the past, was in noisy, confident form after Wenger’s recent criticism of them as too quiet.
But chants of “Bentley, what’s the score?” toward their former player stopped when Jenas - who scored the opening goal last season in Tottenham’s 5-1 League Cup semifinal victory over Arsenal - closed the gap.
And it was the Spurs fans who were loudest when Lennon, who had replaced defender Alan Hutton in an attacking substitution, tapped in past goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.
Tottenham took a surprise lead in the 13th. Jenas headed an aerial ball to Modric and got it straight back before sending it toward Bentley just outside the center circle.
Bentley, who left Arsenal in 2006 after just a handful of appearances, took one touch of the ball - which had not touched the ground since leaving Jenas the first time - and then hit an ambitious, dipping volley that Almunia could only touch on its way over his head and into the net.
Arsenal responded with a flurry of chances including three each from Van Persie and Theo Walcott and was rewarded in the 37th when the unmarked Silvestre headed in a corner kick past flailing goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes.
Arsenal fans, who have not seen their team beaten at home by Tottenham since May 1993, were roused further when Gallas beat Tom Huddlestone in the air to head another goal past Gomes.
“Two set plays; 2-1 down in no time,” Redknapp said. “We’ve got to stop conceding silly goals from set plays. We didn’t pick up people because people who were supposed to mark didn’t quite do their jobs.”
Adebayor then beat Hutton to tap in from inside the six-meter (yard) box in the 64th and, after Bent scored from a rebound following Almunia’s save from Huddlestone, Van Persie collected a lofted pass by Adebayor and calmly placed the ball past Gomes for his 50th Arsenal goal.
Wenger was so assured of victory that he replaced the dangerous Van Persie and Walcott, but Spurs struck the late goals to lift themselves ahead of Saturday’s match against Liverpool.
“We can’t wait to bring Liverpool on now,” Redknapp said. “We’ll be difficult to beat on Saturday. I don’t think they need a lot of motivating after that.”
October 30, 2008
Udinese and Napoli both win to stay atop Serie A. Udinese and Napoli won to extend their surprising runs atop the Serie A on Wednesday, while Inter Milan dropped behind following a 0-0 draw at Fiorentina.
Udinese beat Catania 2-0 with goals from Chile forward Alexis Sanchez and Italy forward Fabio Quagliarella. Argentine striker German Denis racked a hat trick as Napoli defeated last-place Reggina 3-0 to celebrate the reopening of the curves at San Paolo Stadium.
“Everyone should fear Napoli for the way we’re playing right now,” Napoli coach Edy Reja said. “If we continue performing at this level anything is possible.
“I said at the start that (Denis) was going to be a key player for Napoli, considering the 37 goals he scored in Argentina. But today (Marek) Hamsik was really extraordinary, providing two assists like only he knows how.”
Napoli next visits AC Milan, which beat Siena 2-1 with Filippo Inzaghi scoring once and earning a penalty that Kaka converted. After dropping its opening two games, Milan has gone unbeaten in its last seven, winning six.
The closest Inter came to scoring was when Amantino Mancini hit the crossbar five minutes in. Inter also drew 0-0 against Genoa at the weekend.
“I’m going home content tonight,” Inter coach Jose Mourinho said. “I can’t be satisfied with the result, but my squad played tough, and that’s what counts. We haven’t won the last two games, but we haven’t lost either. I think it’s only fair to give some merit to Genoa, to Fiorentina for how they played us.”
Udinese and Napoli lead with 20 points each, 1 more than Milan, followed by Inter with 18 and Fiorentina with 17.
Juventus has 15 points after Pavel Nedved scored twice in a 2-1 win over Bologna. It was Juve’s second straight win after going a month without a victory.
Also, it was: Chievo Verona 1, Lazio 2; Genoa 2, Cagliari 1; Lecce 1, Palermo 1; and Torino 2, Atalanta 1.
The AS Roma-Sampdoria game was stopped after six minutes with the score 0-0 due to heavy rain. It will be replayed later.
Mourinho dropped forwards Adriano and Julio Ricardo Cruz for punishment after the Genoa game, and surrounded Zlatan Ibrahimovic with Victor Obinna and Amantino Mancini in attack instead.
Ibrahimovic provided the pass when Mancini hit the crossbar and the Sweden center forward missed wide in the 27th.
Manuel Pasqual curved a free kick around Inter’s wall in the 43rd and Fiorentina argued for a penalty after defender Nicolas Burdisso appeared to tug down Giampaolo Pazzini as he was going for the rebound.
Mancini missed a wide open look in the 58th and was replaced by Patrick Vieira five minutes later. Hernan Crespo also came on for Obinna and the rarely used Argentina forward had a shot from a sharp angle blocked by Fiorentina goalkeeper Sebastien Frey two minutes later.
Mourinho sent on another attacking player, Ricardo Quaresma, for Dejan Stankovic with his final substitution, but it was Fiorentina that threatened in the final minutes, with Pazzini and Stevan Jovetic both missing high in the 86th and 88th, respectively.
Fiorentina was without its top forwards Alberto Gilardino and Adrian Mutu. Gilardino, the league’s scoring leader with seven goals, was suspended for two games for scoring with his hand against Palermo at the weekend, and Mutu was a late scratch due to a bad knee.
At the San Siro, Inzaghi took a pass from Gennaro Gattuso to put Milan ahead in the 31st, then earned a penalty that Kaka converted in the 65th after Siena captain Simone Vergassola had equalized in the 54th.
Nedved scored in the 12th and 56th, and provided the pass when Amauri hit the post in the 51st.
Former Juventus player Marco Di Vaio pulled one back for Bologna in the 75th.
Juventus captain Alessandro Del Piero sat out to nurse a bruise.
October 30, 2008
FC Twente beats NAC Breda 1-0 in Dutch league.
Edson Braafheid’s goal in the 11th minute was all FC Twente needed to beat NAC Breda 1-0 and improve to third in the Dutch league on Wednesday.
Also, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored twice in the second half to help Ajax beat 10-man Heracles Almelo 3-1.
Urby Emanuelson set up Luis Suarez for Ajax’s opening goal in the second minute but Jan Wuytens leveled for Heracles in the 28th.
Huntelaar produced in the 77th and 82nd, then Heracles midfielder Ricky van den Bergh was dismissed in the 87th for fouling Suarez.
AZ Alkmaar, after beating Roda JC 2-0 on Tuesday, led with 18 points, one ahead of FC Groningen and Twente. NAC Breda and Ajax were next with 16 each.
Elsewhere, Sparta foiled Feyenoord’s bid to earn only its second win of the season by winning the 50th edition of the Rotterdam derby 2-1.
Leroy Fer opened scoring for Feyenoord in the 40th but Arne Slot equalized two minutes later, beating Feyenoord goalkeeper Henk Timmer from close range. Rydell Poepon got the winner three minutes from the end.
Gonzalo Garcia earned the equalizing goal in the 89th to give 10-man FC Groningen a 2-2 draw at NEC Nijmegen.
Andreas Granqvist was ejected in the 83rd after his second yellow card, then a minute later Youssef El-Akchaoui put NEC up 2-1.
Peter Wisgerhof’s goal in the 48th canceled Berry Powel’s 11th-minute goal for Groningen.
Santi Kolk and Nick Hofs scored in Vitesse Arnhem’s 2-0 defeat of SC Heerenveen for its first win of the season.
On Tuesday, PSV beat ADO The Hague 2-0, while FC Volendam drew 2-2 against Willem II.
On Thursday, it’s De Graafschap vs. FC Utrecht.
October 30, 2008
Scottish Football Results. Results Wednesday in Scottish football (home teams listed first):
League Cup quarterfinal
Kilmarnock 1, Celtic 3.
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Spanish Football Results.
Results from the first leg of the fourth round in the Copa del Rey (home teams listed first):
Wednesday’s Games
Portugalete 1, Valencia 4
Ponferradina 1, Sevilla 0
Orihuela 0, Atletico Madrid 1
Polideportivo Ejido 5, Villarreal 0
Hercules 1, Valladolid 5
Rayo Vallecano 1, Almeria 2
Celta Vigo 2, Espanyol 2
Castellon 0, Real Betis 2
Murcia 2, Racing Santander 1
Elche 0, Deportivo La Coruna 2
Numancia 0, Sporting Gijon 1
Malaga 1, Mallorca 1
Athletic Bilbao 2, Recreativo Huelva 0
Getafe 0, Osasuna 0
Thursday’s Game
Real Union vs. Real Madrid.
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English Football Results.
Results Wednesday in English football (home teams listed first):
Premier League
Arsenal 4, Tottenham 4
Aston Villa 3, Blackburn 2
Bolton 0, Everton 1
Fulham 2, Wigan 0
Hull 0, Chelsea 3
Liverpool 1, Portsmouth 0
Manchester United 2, West Ham 0
Middlesbrough 2, Manchester City 0
Stoke 1, Sunderland 0.
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Italian Football Results.
Results in the Serie A, the Italian first-division football league (home teams listed first):
Wednesday’s Games
Bologna 1, Juventus 2
Catania 0, Udinese 2
Chievo Verona 1, Lazio 2
Fiorentina 0, Inter Milan 0
Genoa 2, Cagliari 1
Lecce 1, Palermo 1
AC Milan 2, Siena 1
Napoli 3, Reggina 0
AS Roma vs. Sampdoria, ppd., rain
Torino 2, Atalanta 1
Saturday’s Games
Reggina vs. Inter Milan
Juventus vs. AS Roma
Sunday’s Games
Atalanta vs. Lecce
Cagliari vs. Bologna
Lazio vs. Catania
Palermo vs. Chievo Verona
Sampdoria vs. Torino
Siena vs. Fiorentina
Udinese vs. Genoa
AC Milan vs. Napoli.
—-
French Football Results.
Results from the 11th round of the French first-division football league (home teams listed first):
Wednesday’s Games
Sochaux 0, Lyon 2
Nantes 1, Marseille 1
Le Mans 0, Auxerre 2
Paris Saint-Germain 0, Toulouse 1
Grenoble 0, Lille 0
Valenciennes 0, Rennes 0
Caen 1, Nice 1
Monaco 3, Nancy 1
Saint-Etienne 1, Lorient 4
Saturday, Nov. 1
Lille vs. Nantes
Nancy vs. Bordeaux
Nice vs. Paris Saint-Germain
Toulouse vs. Caen
Lorient vs. Grenoble
Auxerre vs. Valenciennes
Marseille vs. Saint-Etienne
Sunday, Nov. 2
Rennes vs. Sochaux
Le Havre vs. Monaco
Lyon vs. Le Mans.
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Dutch Football Results.
Results from the eighth round of the Eredivisie, the Dutch first-division football league (home teams listed first):
Wednesday’s Games
Sparta Rotterdam 2, Feyenoord 1
NEC Nijemegen 2, FC Groningen 2
NAC Breda 0, FC Twente 1
SC Heerenveen 0, Vitesse Arnhem 2
Heracles Almelo 1, Ajax 3
Thursday’s Game
De Graafschap vs. FC Utrecht
Saturday’s Games
NAC Breda vs. Groningen
SC Heerenveen vs. AZ Alkmaar
FC Twente vs. Ajax
PSV Eindhoven vs. Willem II
Sunday’s Games
Sparta Rotterdam vs. NEC
Roda JC vs. Feyenoord
FC Volendam vs. De Graafschap
FC Utrecht vs. Heracles Almelo
Vitesse Arnhem vs. ADO The Hague.
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German Football Results.
Results in the 10th round of the Bundesliga, the German first-division football league (home teams listed first):
Wednesday’s Games
Hamburger SV 2, Stuttgart 0
Eintracht Frankfurt 1, Bayern Munich 2
Hertha Berlin 3, Hannover 0
Bochum 1, Hoffenheim 3
Cologne 0, Borussia Dortmund 1
Friday’s Game
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Wolfsburg
Saturday’s Games
Werder Bremen vs. Hertha Berlin
Stuttgart vs. Cologne
Hannover vs. Hamburger SV
Bayern Munich vs. Arminia Bielefeld
Energie Cottbus vs. Schalke
Hoffenheim vs. Karlsruhe
Sunday’s Games
Borussia Dortmund vs. Bochum
Borussia Moenchengladbach vs. Eintracht Frankfurt.
—-
Greek Football Results.
Result Wednesday from the Greek football league:
Panathinaikos 2, Ergotelis 3.
October 2, 2008
Wednesday Champions League Results.
(Home teams listed first)
First Round
Group A
Bordeaux (France) 1, AS Roma (Italy) 3
CFR Cluj (Romania) 0, Chelsea (England) 0
Group B
Anorthosis Famagusta (Cyprus) 3, Panathinaikos (Greece) 1
Inter Milan (Italy) 1, Werder Bremen (Germany) 1
Group C
Sporting Lisbon (Portugal) 2, FC Basel (Switzerland) 0
Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) 1, FC Barcelona (Spain) 2
Group D
Liverpool (England) 3, PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) 1
Atletico Madrid (Spain) 2, Marseille (France) 1.
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Champions League: Inter-Bremen draws 1-1.
Inter Milan was held to a 1-1 draw against Werder Bremen despite dominating most of the Champions League match on Wednesday.
Maicon gave Inter the lead with a close-range goal in the 13th after gathering a loose ball in the area. Claudio Pizarro equalized in the 62nd, tapping in a cross that caught Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar out of position.
Inter, coming off its first loss of the season Sunday, was unable to convert its dominance into goals while Bremen had trouble working its way into the area for most of the game.
October 2, 2008
CFR Cluj continued its impressive start in the Champions League. Drawing 0-0 with Chelsea on Wednesday to stay unbeaten in Group A.
Cluj has four points from its first two games and leads the group with Chelsea.
“We were not afraid and that could be seen today,” Cluj chairman Iuliu Muresan said. “They won’t make jokes about us any more. We are a real team. This is the most important result in our club’s history.”
Eugen Trica threatened to get a late winner for the Romanian champion in the 80th with a fierce shot from the edge of the area. Six minutes later, Alvaro Pereira forced a close-range save from Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba was taken off on a stretcher in the 55th with ankle ligament damage, appearing to fall awkwardly while trying to score from a low cross into the six yard box.
“One point is a good result,” Chelsea coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said. “I am happy with all of my players. They tried. There are some injuries.”
Cluj, which just six years ago was in the third tier of Romanian football, could even have beaten the Premier League powerhouse - last year’s runner-up following a penalty shootout loss to English rival Manchester United.
Cech had to rush to beat Cluj midfielder Sebastian Dubarbier to a through ball in the first minute and then watched as Yssof Kone’s 30-meter (yard) lob went over the bar.
Dubarbier was called for offside in a dangerous position, while left-back Pereira caused Chelsea several problems when he surged forward, not least when Jose Bosingwa had to tackle him in the area or when he shot just wide with a low effort.
Chelsea reverted to two strikers by bringing on Nicolas Anelka before Drogba was injured in another blow for Chelsea, which already has Joe Cole, Deco, Ricard Carvalho and Ashley Cole on the sidelines with injuries.
“I have to build the team again,” said Scolari, who said that captain John Terry and defender Alex were also hurt during the game.
October 2, 2008
Anorthosis Famagusta scored twice in the first 15 minutes to beat Panathinaikos 3-1 on Wednesday. As the Cypriot team continued its surprising run in the Champions League group stage.
Jose Sarriegi gave Panathinaikos a terrible start by scoring an own-goal in the 11th minute when his attempted back header from an Andreas Constandinou throw-in caught goalkeeper Mario Galinovic off guard. Sinisa Dobrasinovic doubled the lead in the 15th before Dimitris Salpingidis pulled one back for Panathinaikos in the 28th.
But Hawar Taher sealed the win in the 78th for Anorthosis, the first Cypriot team to make it into the Champions League group stage.
Anorthosis has four points after two games in Group B, while Panathinaikos remains without a point.
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Roma rallies to beat Bordeaux 3-1.
Brazilian forward Julio Baptista came off the bench to score twice and rally AS Roma to a 3-1 win over Bordeaux in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Yoann Gourcuff had given Bordeaux the lead in the first half. After the home side lost defender Henrique to a red card in the 36th minute, Roma equalized through Mirko Vucinic before Baptista’s two goals.
“I think our chances of qualifying are really hampered now,” Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc said. “But I told my players that we played well tonight. I am very happy with how we played, even though the score went against us.”
Roma coach Luciano Spalletti said his team deserved to win after a sluggish start.
“For an hour we didn’t play well, but everything changed after that,” Spalletti said. “They played well for an hour and even scared us. Vucinic gave us a lot tonight, he brought his courage to the game.”
But Blanc was angered by the red card shown to Henrique.
“I am not someone who comments much on what happens during a game, but it cost us,” Blanc said. “The match became much more difficult, playing against Roma with 10 players. With 11 players we would have done much better.”
Blanc suggested Roma’s players used their experience to help influence Spanish referee Alberto Mallenco Undiano into sending Henrique off.
“The Italians learn very fast,” Blanc said. “(Henrique) told me he didn’t touch him and I have seen that there was no contact. But there is a player who falls to the ground. That’s what I mean by experience.”
Both teams lost their opening games in Group A. Roma has three points, Bordeaux has none. Chelsea and Cluj both have four points after drawing 0-0 in the other game.
“Cluj has shown its qualities with this result,” Spalletti said. “It’s up to us now to win our home games. Everything is possible.”
Bordeaux took the lead in the 18th minute, when Gourcuff twisted past his marker on the edge of the penalty area and hit a low, swerving shot past Doni and into the bottom left corner. Gourcuff recently returned to France after two years at AC Milan, which has loaned him to Bordeaux.
Roma took over in the second half and exposed goalkeeper Mathieu Valverde’s lack of experience.
Valverde was playing in the Champions League for the first time, and had only made eight league appearances in five years as Bordeaux’s reserve goalkeeper. His lack of top flight football showed when he came to collect Daniele De Rossi’s corner and missed the ball, allowing Vucinic a free header into the top corner in the 64th.
Valverde then stood on the spot against Baptista’s superb free kick in the 71st.
Gourcuff had needlessly given the ball away while trying to dribble out of defense, forcing his teammates to concede a foul. Baptista’s shot curled over the wall and into the top right corner.
Bordeaux’s defense was taken apart again in the 83rd when Rodrigo Taddei’s powerful cross from the right was turned in neatly by Baptista.
Bordeaux had looked comfortable until Henrique’s sending off in the 36th after Henrique had used his elbows.
“The sending off did not change anything for us, it did not have an outcome on the match,” Spalletti said, preferring to say Vucinic and Baptista turned the game around. “Baptista showed great character when he came on,” Spalletti said. “He is great in these situations, and his free kick was brilliant.”
Blanc reacted quickly by swapping Brazilian winger Jussie with Wendel, while winger Gabriel Obertan came off for defender Marc Planus. Wendel should have doubled Bordeaux’s lead moments before halftime, but headed wide from close range.
Both sides started without their regular captains.
Roma forward Francesco Totti is still recovering from a knee injury, and Bordeaux’s veteran goalkeeper Ulrich Rame sat out the match after hurting his groin against Saint-Etienne.
Spalletti played Vucinic as a lone striker, but Baptista joined him soon after the interval.
In the ninth minute, Jussie played a one-two with Marouane Chamakh and his low shot was saved by Doni.
Valverde, meanwhile, was called into action in the 12th and he did well to tip away Alberto Aquilani’s swerving free kick from the left. He was beaten by John Arne Riise’s free kick in the 26th but Riise the powerful shot went just wide.
Christian Panucci, Taddei, Baptista and De Rossi were all shown yellow cards within 16 minutes of the second half in heavy rain at Stade Chaban Delmas.
