Europa League 4/28/2011.

The all-Portuguese leg between Benfica and Braga ended 2-1 with the Eagles looking relatively good. All of the goals came in the second half with Jardel opening the scoring in the 50th. Vandinho equalized for Braga three minutes later but it was to no avail as Oscar Cardozo struck a sweet free-kick in the 59th. In the Iberian showdown, Porto crushed Villarreal 5-1 despite falling behind during stoppage time of the first half. Falcao equalized for Porto in the 49th before Fredy Guarin struck Porto into the lead in the 61st. Falcao then tacked on a trio of goals to make it 5-1 when the referee drew the game to a close. The next legs look quite straightforward, especially in Porto's case; Benfica v.s. Braga on the other hand may have some surprises though!

Domestic results and some conclusions. 4/30/2011,

First of all, in Germany, Borussia Dortmund have taken the title as they defeated 1. FC Nurnberg 2-0. That's the first domestic title for Dortmund since 2002! Dortmund under Jurgen Klopp have led the league rather comfortably since November of last year. Second place Bayer 04 Leverkusen lost their match today 2-0 to Koln which killed their title hopes and propelled Dortmund to the title. Bayern Munchen grabbed the last Champions League slot when they edged Hannover 96 to third place. Bayern got the three points when they beat Schalke 04 4-1; Thomas Muller scored twice. Hannover had lost to Monchengladbach 0-1 when they played earlier today. The bottom three as of today are Eintracht Frankfurt in 16th, 'Gladbach in 17th, and St. Pauli at the bottom of the pile. Kasierslautern sit mid table in 11th while Schalke hold 10th. Up north in Sweden, Mostapha El Kabir struck twice on either side of Daniel Nicklasson's, 38th minute goal to give Mjallby a 0-3 away victory over Norrkoping. In Scotland, Aberdeen edged Inverness 1-0 thanks to Peter Pawlett's 75th minute strike. Hibernian lost to St. Johnstone 1-2 despite an early opening goal from Akpo Sodje. Two second half goals from Liam Craig and Kevin Moon respectively got the Saints the three points. Kilmarnock and Hearts tied 2-2 while Rangers destroyed Motherwell 0-5. Celtic now has two games in hand. Down in England, Wigan and Everton tied 1-1 while Fulham went to Sunderland and beat them 0-3 thanks largely to two Simon Davies goals. Gael Kakuta opened the scoring in the 33rd though. Chelsea were able to edge Tottenham 2-1 despite the Spurs taking a 19th minute lead through Sandro. Frank Lampard and Saloman Kalou won Chelsea the game though. On the Iberian peninsula, Portugal looks on as Sporting lead Portmonense 2-1 thanks to scoring two goals in the first half without response. Spain witnessed both Barca and Real losing, with Barcelona unable to win away from home against Real Sociedad. Thiago had given the the Catalan side an early lead but they didn't expand on it and ended up losing after 71st and 82nd minute strikes. Real Madrid meanwhile lost at home against Zaragoza who had a 2-0 lead in the 54th. Sergio Ramos scored in the 62nd to make it 2-1, but Zaragoza got a second goal from Lafita to make it 3-1. Karim Benzema then scored in the 84th to make it 3-2 when the final whistle sounded. Madrid's Ricardo Carvalho was sent off in the 86th. Finally, over in Italy, Inter beat Cesena 2-1 while Napoli edged Genoa 1-0.

Futsal Cup Final!

Sporting Clube de Portugal will be facing unfamiliar adversaries in the UEFA Futsal Cup Final when they play ASD Citta di Montsilvano after both sides beat formidable opposition. The Portuguese holders, SL Benfica, were actually knocked out by the debutant Russian side after a 3-0 defeat in Almaty, Kazakhstan. (where the Final is being hosted) Sporting on the other hand got through after edging the hosts Kairat Almaty 3-2. Caio Japa was the savior of the Portuguese hopes when he scored his 36th minute goal to halt a late resurgence by the Kazakh side. The final and third-place matches are set-up, may the best teams win!

Real Madrid v.s. Barcelona and domestic stuff. 4/27/2011.

It was a dirty game in Madrid between Real Madrid and Barcelona, but it had its moments as Lionel Messi struck Barcelona's two goals in the second half which gives them a fantastic position coming into the second leg. There were 5 yellow cards and 2 reds given out between the two sides as scuffles and diving struck again and again. However, Messi's two goals were glorious! The first came from a cross in the 76th while the second was a great individual effort from the Argentine and Barca player which he finished by wrong siding the Real goalie and slotting home in the 87th. Meanwhile, in other news, England looked on as Fulham assaulted Bolton for a final score of 3-0. Clint Dempsey struck the first two in the 15th and 48th minutes while Brede Hangeland slotted home the third in the 65th.

Champions League Semi-final 4/26/2011.

The Champions League Semi-final showdown between Schalke and Manchester United was one of two very different halves. The first half came with some opportunities, but no goals as Schalke held on into half time with a 0-0 game. The second half, however, came with no goals for the Gelsenkirchen side but a brace for the English as Ryan Giggs scored the first goal in the 67th and Wayne Rooney added a second two minutes later to deal a crushing blow to Schalke's already shaky credentials. Tomorrow, Real Madrid and Barcelona face off in another exciting fixture which really may go either way. It may serve as a great time for Madrid to develop a lead for the second-leg, or it could be an opportunity for Barca to score some vital away goals. Either way, it should be a great match!

4/25/2011 Soccer Stuff.

In the northern nation-state of Sweden, Syrianska and AIK faced off with the home side edging the visitors 1-0. Dinko Felic scored the one goal in the 19th before Ibrahim Teteh Bangura was sent off in the 20th. The game was then called. Goteborg beat Kalmar 2-0 with Tobias Hysen and Niklas Bakroth striking a goal each. Hysen's goal came in the 41st. With the score 1-0 at the half, the game progressed at a frantic pace before, in the second minute of stoppage of the second half, Bakroth's goal sealed the game for the home side. Orebro and Helsingborg tied 1-1 with the game level 0-0 through the first half before Valdet Rama put the home side ahead in the 52nd. Helsingborg then drew level through May Mahlangu in the 71st. The game concluded in this state. Over in Scotland, Hamilton and Aberdeen tied 1-1 after Dougie Imrie put Hamilton ahead in the 64th. Nick Blackman drew Aberdeen level though, in the 74th, which concluded the game 1-1. Down in England, Blackburn lost to Manchester City due only to Edin Dzeko's 75th minute goal which made it 0-1. The game concluded in this state. Over in Spain, Zaragoza and Almeria faced-off with the dead-lock only broken when Diego Alves made a terrible mistake and struck an own-goal in the 70th minute. The game had far more cards than goals though, with 4 yellows handed out for Almeria while Zaragoza collected 2 yellows and a red card! Too bad there weren't that many goals! Look for exciting Champions League action tomorrow when Schalke and Manchester United face off for a birth in the Final. Will Schalke continue their dragon-slaying ways? Best of luck to all sides either way!

All that action. Domestic action that is. 4/24/2011.

Beginning in Sweden, Djurgarden lost at home to a good Norrkoping side 1-3. The first half was not very eventful, but Anders Wikstrom put Norrkoping ahead in the 46th to get the goals flowing. Christopher Telo struck his first of two goals in the 53rd before Sebastian Rajalakso scored Djurgarden's first in the 63rd. Three minutes later though, Telo struck his second to make it 1-3 before the final whistle blew. Elfsborg's match with Malmo was slightly more one-sided as the home side destroyed the visitors 3-0. Again, the first half wasn't anything special, but Andreas Augustsson opened the floodgates when he scored in the 65th minute. Johan Larsson struck Elfsborg's second, while Amadou Jawo slotted home in the first minute of stoppage time in the second half to make it 3-0. Hacken and Gefle tied 0-0 in a frankly uninteresting game. Halmstad and Trelleborg finished level 1-1 with the away side taking the lead through Thommie Persson in the 49th. Trelleborg were looking good then, until the 74th minute came around. At that point, Emil Salomonsson equalized for Halmstad. The sides were unable to break the 1-1 deadlock though. Mjallby and GAIS also finished level 1-1. Marcus Ekenberg struck Mjallby ahead in the 6th minute before Amadaiya Rennie brought GAIS level in the 58th. Over in Scotland, it was a day of deadlock as Hibernian and St. Mirren tied 1-1 and Rangers v.s. Celtic ended 0-0. Hib's were bumped into the lead as Akpo Sodje struck in the 26th. They couldn't even make it into the second half in the lead though, as Craig Dargo converted a penalty in the 39th. No other goals were scored. In the Old Firm game though, it was a wonder that the B'hoys could go to Rangers and come away with a point. It leaves them with a game in hand and, as the teams are positioned in the standings, Rangers have 81 points to Celtic's 80. If Celtic win their game in hand, they win it all. In England, there was quite a surprise as Bolton managed to beat Arsenal 2-1. Daniel Sturridge edged Bolton into the lead in the 38th. Robin van Persie put Arsenal on level terms in the 48th but to no avail as Tamir Cohen edged Bolton into the lead at the last moment for a 2-1 victory. Across the Channel, in Germany, Nurnberg and Mainz finished 0-0. Wolfsburg beat Koln 4-1 in their match today. Mario Mandzukic and Ashkan Dejagah scored twice each for Wolfsburg. Finally, over in the Netherlands, Ajax beat Excelsior 4-1, PSV lost to Feyenoord 3-1, and Utrecht beat Vitesse 4-2.

Matches on a glorious Easter weekend! 4/23/2011.

Starting up north in Scotland, Dundee United welcomed Kilmarnock and defeated them soundly. With a final scoreline of 4-2, Scott Severin and David Goodwillie got United off to a good start. They scored the home side's two goals in the first half while Goodwillie slotted in the game's third in the 47th to make it 3-0. Craig Conway tacked on United's fourth before Kilmarnock had even scored their first. David Silva finally put Kilmarnock on the scoring sheet though, in the 70th. Manuel Pascali scored Kilmarnock's second with three minutes left in the match to make it 4-2 when the final whistle blew. Hearts and Motherwell are currently poised in an exciting 3-3 match that either side could really take the reins of. Craig Thomson converted his penalty in the 26th to start off the affair while Rudolf Skacel tacked on a second in the 36th. In the second half, Ryan Stevenson struck Hearts' third with everyone waiting for the away side to respond. They did so. In the 55th, John Sutton scored for Motherwell with Tom Hateley slotting home their second four minutes later. Then, in the 88th, Sutton scored again to complete an impressive fight back for Hearts from the brink of defeat. Down in England meanwhile, Manchester United edged Everton 1-0 thanks to Javier Hernandez's 84th minute goal. Otherwise, it was a game of yellow cards really with even Everton's goalie Tim Howard receiving a booking. Aston Villa are currently tied 1-1 with Stoke, Blackpool are in the same position with Newcastle, Liverpool lead Birmingham 3-0 thanks to two goals from Maxi Rodriguez on either side of Dirk Kuyt's 23rd minute goal strike. Sunderland are beating out Wigan 2-1, Tottenham are now leading West Brom by the same margin, and Wolves are beating someone! They lead Fulham by a solitary goal from Steven Fletcher quite early on. Over in Germany, Eintracht Frankfurt somehow managed to hold Bayern to a 1-1 draw. Leverkusen edged Hoffenheim despite falling behind in the 28th when Gylfi Sigurdsson scored for the away side. Michal Kadlec and Arturo Vidal then struck a goal each in the 40th and 51st minutes for a final scoreline of 2-1. Kaiserslautern went to Schalke and managed to beat them 0-1 thanks to a hard fought goal from Srdjan Lakic in the 42nd. St. Pauli lost to Werder Bremen 1-3 despite taking the lead in the 29th. Three goals in the second half won Bremen the game though. Stuttgart and Hamburg finished a one-sided game 3-0. It all began in the 6th when Cacau slotted home before Christian Gentner scored 72 minutes later. Cacau knocked in another in the 88th to make it 3-0 when the final whistle blew. Finally, in Italy, it was an up and down day to be a home team: Bari lost at home, to Sampdoria 0-1. Bologna lost at home too, with Cesena winning 0-2. Cagliari also lost at home, 1-2, to Fiorentina. Genoa beat Lecce 4-2 while Inter edged Lazio 2-1. Palermo also edged their opponents, Napoli, 2-1. Finally, Roma beat Chievo 1-0 in one of the less exciting matches of the day: after Simone Perrotta scored in the 4th, no one else did.

Domestic action and Copa del Ray results! 4/20/2011.

Starting on the domestic front, in Sweden, Kalmar edged Elfsborg 2-1 despite falling behind in the 5th minute after David Elm struck Elfsborg ahead. Erik Israelsson and Daniel Sobralense then scored for Kalmar in the 32nd and 67th minutes to save the game for the home side. Malmo were also successful at home, winning 1-0 over Mjallby. Guillermo Molins scored the winning goal in the 75th minute for Malmo. The last game in Sweden was between Norrkoping and Halmstad. It finished 2-0 with Bobbie Friberg da Cruz and Gunnar Heidar Thorvaldsson striking the home side to victory. Meanwhile, in England, Chelsea outscored Birmingham 3-1 with Florent Malouda striking twice for the Blues. Tottenham and Arsenal meanwhile, finished their game tied 3-3 with Theo Walcott giving Arsenal the lead in the 5th, Rafael van der Vaart equalized in the 7th, Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie slotted home in the 12th and 40th minutes, before Tom Huddlestone scored for Tottenham, making it 2-3 for the visitors at the half. The second half was a lot less action-packed: Rafael van der Vaart converted a penalty in the 70th to make it 3-3. The deadlock was not broken. In Scotland, Celtic destroyed the dreams of the home side, Kilmarnock, as they demolished them 0-4. Kris Commons scored twice in a row before Gary Hooper and Anthony Stokes scored once each to make it an immense steam-rolling by the B'hoys. Finally, Real Madrid were able to edge Barcelona in the Copa del Ray Final after an intense match that ended only 1-0. This completes the circle of results between the two sides, but what happens when the two face off in the Champions League is anyone's guess! Enjoy!

Action today: 4/19/2011.

In Scotland, Dundee United were demolished 0-4 by a visiting Rangers side. Steven Whittaker struck Ranger's first two goals while Nikica Jelavic and Kyle Lafferty tacked on goals for themselves while all Dundee United received was 3 red cards: for Mihael Kovacevic, Sean Dillon, and Morgaro Gomis. Meanwhile, in Sweden, GAIS were able to come back from a goal down to beat Djurgarden 2-1. Kennedy Igboananike opened the scoring for Djurgarden in the 33rd but Eric Magloire Bassombeng and Mervan Celik retaliated in the 45th and 62nd minute respectively to make it 2-1 as the final whistle blew; a fine victory for the home side! Back in the U.K., Newcastle welcomed Manchester United to Newcastle and actually drew with the English League leaders 0-0. There were cards for both sides, but no goals despite efforts from both sides. Wrapping up, in Switzerland, Bellinzona tied Sion 2-2 with goals from Mauro Lustrinelli and Axel Konan for the home side and Fabrizio Zambrella and Giovanni Sio scoring for Sion. Last but not least, Zurich and Young Boys played a close match which ended 2-1 in Zurich's favor. Alain Nef scored an own goal in the 46th to give Zurich the lead early in the second half. Senad Lulic then brought Young Boys level in the 51st, but Admir Mehmedi put Zurich in the lead again with his 59th minute strike.

Women's Champions League 4/18/2011.

So it is official: next month, Olympique Lyonnais will be facing 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam. The French side have not fared so well against German opposition in the past, but their good performance against Arsenal LFC may continue in their game against the Potsdam side. That will be what they are hoping for at least! However, the Germans are looking very powerful as their qualification up to this point proves. Good luck to both teams and let the best team win!

Games across the land! 4/17/2011.

Beginning in Sweden, Elfsborg played AIK and ended in a 2-2 draw. Mohamed Bangura scored both of the goals for AIK before Elfsborg could even score one. Niklas Hult then made it 1-2 before the half when he struck in the 33rd. David Elm slotted home in the 64th to bring Elfsborg level 2-2 with quite a bit of the game to go. No breakthrough came though, as the two sides ended 2-2. Syrianska were hammered 1-5 by Hacken who were up 3-0 at the half, then 4-0 before Syrianska's Peter Ijeh scored for the first time for the poor-performing home side. Hacken were then put 1-5 up in the 73rd as they completed their trouncing of the opposition. The last Swedish game, between Trelleborg and Norrkoping ended with the home side being edged by the away side. Norrkoping were put into the lead in the 54th by Bobbie Friberg da Cruz. Trelleborg equalized though, a minute later, as Marcus Pode scored a nice goal. Marcus Falk-Olander then scored the goal which edged the opposition: 1-2. Down in Germany, Bayern found their winning ways and destroyed Leverkusen 5-1 beginning with an own goal from Simon Rolfes in the 7th minute. This was then continued as Mario Gomez scored a hat-trick before the half and before Leverkusen could get the ball into the correct net. Eren Derdiyok was the man who finally scored for Leverkusen though, the goal coming in the 62nd minute. Franck Ribery then tacked on Bayern's fifth before the final whistle blew. Meanwhile, Dortmund kept up their good work in a 3-0 victory over Freiburg with goals from Mario Gotze, Robert Lewandowski, and Kevin Grosskreutz. In Portugal, Porto were leading Sporting by just a goal as I posted this. Benfica edged Beira-Mar with goals from Sidnei and Franco Jara putting Benfica 2-0 up for much of the game. Ishmael Yartey scored for Beira-Mar in the 90th to give them some room for talking. Portimonense went to Leiria and beat them softly 1-0 thanks to Pedro Silva's 62nd minute goal. Rio Ave beat Naval 1 Maio by the same scoreline thanks to Milhazes' 19th minute goal. Over the border in Spain, Real Sociedad edged Sporting Gijon 2-1, Athletic dealt with Osasuna by the same margin, Levante managed against Hercules 2-1 as well, Deportivo beat Racing 2-0, while Espanyol and Atletico were tied 2-2 as I posted this. Arsenal and Liverpool played out a good match which ended thanks only to two very late penalties, one coming from Robin van Persie and the other from the foot of Dirk Kuyt. Finally, in Italy, Catania lost heavily to Lazio, 1-4. Cesena edged Bari 1-0, while Chievo dealt Bologna a 2-0 defeat. Fiorentina and Juventus actually ended their match the way they started: 0-0. Genoa beat Brescia 3-0 as Napoli were edged 1-2 by Udinese. Finally, Lecce tied Cagliari in a goal-galore game which ended 3-3.

Domestic results for 4/17/2011.

Let's start in temperate Spain as the huge clash between Real Madrid and Barcelona topped the charts today. Despite the fact that all of the goals came from the penalty spot, it was still an exciting game. Barca were put 0-1 up when Lionel Messi converted his 53rd minute spot-kick. Real were saved though, as Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty of his own in the 82nd to make it 1-1 when the final whistle blew. Malaga ran over Mallorca 3-0 thanks in large part to two goals from Julio Baptista. Sebastian Fernandez also scored for the home side in their comfortable win. Sevilla were actually edged 1-0 by Getafe following Miku's 76th minute strike which turned to gold. Otherwise, Valencia beat Almeria handily, 0-3. Over in Portugal, Olhanense and Pacos de Ferreira tied 0-0  while Vitoria SC beat Maritimo 2-0 with goals from Rui Miguel and Renan. In Germany, Bremen and Schalke tied 1-1 with goals from Sandro Wagner and Edu for the respective sides. Hamburg and Hannover ended in  a goalless draw, while Hoffenheim edged Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 thanks to Roberto Firmino in the 78th. Kaiserslautern meanwhile, were beaten 0-2 by Nurnberg as Koln lost 1-3 to Stuttgart. Finally, Wolfsburg and St. Pauli tied near the very end to make it 2-2. Up north in England, Birmingham beat Sunderland 2-0, Wigan beat Blackpool 3-1, and Everton beat Blackburn 2-0. Chelsea were all too capable of beating West Brom, which they did with much relish. Aston Villa edged West Ham 2-1. Last but not least, in Scotland, Rangers edged St. Mirren 2-1 while Inverness and Hearts ended level 1-1.

Domestic matches 4/15/2011.

Up in Sweden, things are pretty close as Djurgarden lost 0-1 to top-of-the-table Malmo despite being at home. The tie-breaker came in the 90th minute from Jimmy Durmaz. Down in the Netherlands, Heerenveen beat Utrecht 3-0 thanks to goals from Oussama Assaidi, Luciano Narsingh, and Bas Dost. Meanwhile, in Germany, Mainz kept themselves comfortably in the top five of the table with their defeat of Monchengladbach 1-0. Mike Hanke's sending off in the 53rd for Monchengladbach gave Mainz some confidence, and it showed when Andre Schurrle slotted home in the 87th minute for the win. In Portugal, Academica managed to tie with Vitoria FC with Miguel Fidalgo scoring in the 38th to give the home side the lead. Then, both teams had players sent-off before Claudio Pitbull struck Vitoria level 1-1 with 9 minutes left before the final whistle.

Champions League match-ups to look forward to!

For the Semi-final of the Champions League, Schalke 04 of Germany will be facing Manchester United of England. Real Madrid will be playing a high stakes pair of games against Barcelona. As for who I think will win the respective clashes, I would tip Manchester United, but secretly I want Schalke to make it to the Final. They were phenomenal against Inter Milan and who thought they'd play the way they did? True, they may have lost the element of surprise now, but I'd be hesitant to write the last German representatives off completely. On the other hand, Barcelona v.s. Real Madrid is any one's guess. I could see Barcelona edging their rivals, but the game seriously could go either way. It's not just a derby, but a derby on the international stage; who knows what will happen?

Europa League 4/15/2011.

So how about the Portuguese clubs? Spartak Moskva were eliminated in fantastic form by Porto who won a 2-5 away victory in Russia. Hulk struck in the 28th minute to give Porto an early lead. Cristian Rodriguez slotted a second in overtime of the first half to make it 0-2 for Porto before Fredy Guarin struck a third. Moskva came back thanks to Artem Dzyuba's 52nd minute goal for a 1-3 game. Falcao scored for Porto again two minutes later to make it 1-4. Ari brought Moskva one up again in the 72nd, but to no avail as Ruben Micael scored again for Porto to make it 2-5 as the final whistle blew. That's a 3-10 aggregate victory for Porto! Meanwhile, PSV were held 2-2 by Benfica in the Netherlands, not the result that the Dutch side were hoping for but a good enough result for the Portuguese power-house who won 3-6 on aggregate. PSV had looked like they might be able to do it after 2 early goals, but Luisao's strike just before the half was enough to tip things back in Benfica's favor. Twente's dream run is over as well after their defeat to Villarreal. The Netherlands's teams have dropped like flys! Emir Bajrami struck in the 32nd for the only goal of the first half, but it didn't do the Dutch much good as Giuseppe Rossi, Marco Ruben, and Cani each struck to give Villarreal a 2-8 aggregate victory and a 1-3 victory on the day. Finally, the last of the Portuguese sides, Braga, managed to edge past Dynamo Kyiv after a 0-0 result today. The aggregate score was 1-1 so they relied on the away goals rule heavily. The fact that they were able to stay in the game after Paulo Cesar was sent off in the 29th is a testament to the strength of the team, though things did get a little better after Goran Popov was sent off with a second yellow in the 87th minute. So, we'll see Benfica taking on Braga in one Semi-final match-up while Porto and Villarreal face-off in the other. It should be a great round of games! I could see Benfica facing either Porto or Villarreal in the Final, though which one is kind of hard to call. Enjoy! 

Champions League Quarterfinals: 4/13/2011. Some domestic results too!

First off, in Germany, Schalke are looking in outstanding form as they have further extended their chances of beating Inter Milan following Raul Gonzalez's 45th minute goal. Thiago Motta did equalize for Inter in the 49th minute but to no avail as Raul Gonzalez set up Benedikt Howedes to break the tie and put Schalke in the lead with only 9 minutes or so to go. Raul Gonzalez definitely had a good game today, as did the other members of the German side who go into the next round with a ton of confidence having beaten the holders of the Champions League title 7-3 on aggregate. Meanwhile, in England, the under dogs Tottenham could make nothing happen against Real Madrid as they were dealt a 0-1 home defeat to compliment a 0-5 aggregate loss. A disappointing showing  for a side that had looked relatively capable in the competition thus far. Cristiano Ronaldo scored in England, in the 50th minute, to put the final nail in the Tottenham coffin. Over to the domestic side of things, in Romania, Astra were able to edge Sportul Studentesc 1-0 thanks to the talent of Kehinde Fatai who struck in the 54th minute. Gaz Metan and Brasov had an uneventful game that ended 0-0. Steaua edged Otelul Galati 1-0 thanks to Maicon's 25th minute goal. Timisoara and Pandurii had an action-packed game which somehow ended in a 2-2 draw. Lukas Magera opened the scoring for Timisoara, but Stojan Vranjes and Valentin Lemnaru struck in the 38th and 48th minutes for Pandurii to give them a 1-2 lead. However, before things could end in that way, Ianis Zicu slotted home in the 90th minute to bring the two sides level just before the final whistle blew. Finally, in the Scottish League, Aberdeen lost at home to Rangers by a slim scoreline of 0-1. Nikica Jelavic slotted home for Rangers in the 22nd minute to give them the three points and keep chase of Celtic who lead them by two points.

Day of the expected in the Champions League: 4/12/2011. Domestic games too.

In England, Manchester United were undoubtedly very happy as they defeated Chelsea 2-1. Javier Hernandez struck a beauty in the 43rd minute after a first half full of cards but not much else. Following the half, Ramires was sent off in the 70th with a second yellow and 7 minutes later both Park Ji-Sung and Didier Drogba had scored for their respective sides as Manchester won 3-1 on aggregate. Meanwhile, over in the Ukraine, Shakhtar Donetsk lost for the first time at home in Europe to the Catalan giants Barcelona. The final score was 0-1 for the away side but the gulf in class is more apparent in the aggregate score line of 6-1 for the Spanish giants. The deciding factor? Lionel Messi. In other news, Celtic further strengthened their hold on the Scottish title with their 0-1 away victory over St. Johnstone. It was thanks to Biram Kayal's first minute of extra time strike in the first half! Down on the mainland, Romania saw fair games between Dinamo Bucuresti and Unirea Urziceni. Ersin Mehmedovic and Ionel Daniel Danciu scored first for the home side before Adrian Mihalcea struck for the away side to make it 2-1 in the 82nd. Elis Bakaj struck Dinamo Bucuresti's third. Gloria Bistrita and Vaslui finished level 1-1 with Mike Temwanjera striking in the 9th before Liviu Bajenaru equalized for Gloria in the 64th.

Quick domestic action recount: 4/11/2011.

Starting in Sweden, Kalmar were able to edge Djurgarden 3-2 with Joona Toivio getting the opening goal in the 22nd for Djurgarden. Kalmar equalized 7 minutes later through Kristoffer Fagercrantz. There wasn't another goal until Daniel Sobralense slotted home in the 59th giving Kalmar a 2-1 lead. Ricardo Santos then struck Kalmar's third in the 84th before Carl Bjork scored four minutes later. Meanwhile, Malmo beat Halmstad 3-1 after having to come back from a 0-1 deficit after Jonas Saevarsson struck for Halmstad. It wasn't enough though, as Agon Mehmeti, Jeffrey Aubynn, and Miljan Mutavdzic each struck following the sending off of Halmstad's Zamora in the 56th. Over in England, the biggest match of the day was between Liverpool and Manchester City. Struggling Liverpool have been making some gains, but sat beneath their opposition. That was nothing though, as they crushed City 3-0! Andy Carroll struck on either side of Dirk Kuyt's 34th minute goal as Liverpool played a simply fantastic game. Down in the temperate climates of Spain, Zaragoza edged Getafe out 2-1 with two goals to the good before Francisco Casquero's solitary goal for the away side. Finally, over West in Portugal, Braga finished 3-1 above Vitoria SC. Paulao, Ukra, and Alan all scored for the home side before Edgar struck Vitoria's only goal from the penalty spot in the 90th minute. 

Did you see the way she shot that? Women's Champions League 4/10/2011.

It was a back and forth battle in Germany today as FCR 2001 Duisburg were pressed to maintain themselves against an impressive FFC Turbine Potsdam. The good news was, they managed to tie! The bad news was, they tied! There were a ton of opportunities, especially for the home side, throughout the game, however, Isabel Kerschowski's gave Potsdam the lead in the 16th minute. It was short lived. Inka Grings took up a through ball and equalized for the home side in the 32nd. Not three minutes later, Yuki Nagasato had then given Potsdam the lead again, this time 2-1. Once more, however, Potsdam was halted. Once again, Alexandra Popp was the incisive passer, this time going to Jennifer Oster who all too willingly buried the strike to make it 2-2 in the 42nd minute. The second half on the other hand was not nearly as action-packed: not one more goal was scored! There were chances, including a lightning bolt from Fatmire Bajramaj, but nothing went in. The second leg is thus posed to be a huge event! Meanwhile, over in France, Lotta Schelin had a fantastic game for Olympique Lyonnais, scoring both of their goals in the first 11 minutes as they took a possibly decisive lead to their opponents in England: Arsenal LFC. Lyon had all but three of the good opportunities which the British side didn't seem to show up for. Best of luck to all sides!

Continuing domestic recap of 4/9/2011.

It wasn't a good day to be a home side in the Netherlands today as only Den Haag were able to defeat their visitors, Vitesse. The end result was 1-0 with Danny Buijs the man who scored the goal for Den Haag. Otherwise, Excelsior just drew 0-0 with De Graafschap. However, Venlo were hammered 1-4 by NEC who only had a 1-0 half time lead thanks to Lorenzo Davids' 22nd minute goal. Meanwhile, John Goossens struck in the 58th, Biorn Vleminckx struck three minutes later, and Goossens slotted home his second in the 81st to make it a 0-4 game before Ahmed Musa converted his penalty opportunity in the third minute of stoppage time in the second half. Willem II were unsurprisingly beaten by Heracles, however the scoreline was a surprise: Andreas Lasnik converted a penalty in the fourth minute of play which saw Heracles go down to ten men. However, Everton then scored for Heracles, making it 1-1 before Everton scored again for a 2-1 margin. Willy Overtoom then converted his penalty in the third minute of stoppage time in the first half for a 3-1 goal difference. Everton tacked on his third after the half, scoring in the 58th minute to make it a 4-1 game before Denis Halilovic scored in the 82nd for Willem to make it 4-2, but that wasn't the end of the frustration: Overtoom scored his second to make it 5-2 in the 88th before Kwame Quansah streuck in the second minute of stoppage time for a final score of 6-2 for the visitors. Now then, over in Germany, Freiburg just managed to edge Hoffenheim 3-2 with Julian Schuster opening the scoring in the 23rd, Vedad Ibisevic converting a 34th minute penalty to draw the sides level after Freiburg had Pavel Krmas sent off. Ryan Babel then struck in the 42nd to put Hoffenheim in the lead! Only to have Papiss Demba Cisse score in the 60th and Heiko Butscherslot home in the 78th to finish things 3-2 for the home side. Hamburg and Dortmund drew 1-1 in their match which saw Ruud van Nistelrooy put Hamburg ahead in the 39th minute after a penalty. The half came with the game thus posed. The game continued along these lines with chances, and the sending off of Anis Ben-Hatira in the 78th which put Hamburg down a man. However, it was only in the second minute of stoppage time of the second half before Dortmund equalized, through Jakub Blaszcykowski. Hannover beat Mainz 2-0, while Bayern could only draw against Nurnberg 1-1 after a very good start with a Muller goal in the 5th minute. Christian Eigler equalized for Nurnberg in the 60th while Arjen Robben was stupid enough to get a straight red card in the third minute of stoppage time in the second half to leave him out of contention for the next match. Schalke beat Wolfsburg 1-0 thanks to Jose Jurado's 76th minute goal. Finally, Kaiserslautern beat Stuttgart 4-2 in Stuttgart with a vital opening goal from Srdjan Lakic. Stuttgart then struck twice to take the lead into the half. However, the second half was dominated by Kaiserslautern as they scored three times: through Erwin Hoffer, Srdjan Lakic again, and Stiven Rivic. Over in Italy Inter crept closer to AC Milan with their victory over Chievo 2-0 at home in Milan. Roma won in their game too, away to Udinese, 2-1. Francesco Totti scored both goals on either side of Antonio Di Natale's 87th minute equalizer for Udinese. On the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal looked on as Sporting beat Academica 2-0 thanks to two nice goals from Yannick. Across the border in Spain, Real Madrid found their winning ways with a 0-3 victory over Athletic. Kaka converted two penalties while Cristiano Ronaldo slotted home the third. Barcelona beat Almeria in their match 3-1 with two Messi goals as well as a Thiago goal against Corona's for Almeria. While Mallorca tied Sevilla 2-2 at home. Sevilla were saved by Ivan Rakitic!

Domestic action 4/9/2011.

For this post, I'd like to start in the North land of Sweden: GAIS welcomed Trelleborg and destroyed them 4-0. Alvaro Santos struck the first two goals of the game, coming in the 15th and 29th minutes to give the home side a 2-0 lead at the half. Mervan Celik then struck in the 59th to make it 3-0. They had to wait for the fourth minute of stoppage time in the second half for the fourth goal, which Wanderson was all too happy to put in. Gefle were also successful hosts, beating Norrkoping 2-0 thanks to goals from Daniel Theorin in the 11th and Hans Berggren in the 88th minutes. Over to Scotland now, Celtic edged St. Mirren in Glasgow 1-0 thanks to Kris Commons' 78th minute goal. Aberdeen lost to Hibernian 0-1 after Akpo Sodje slotted home for the visitors in the 15th minute. Dundee United struck twice to sink St. Johnstone while Hearts and Motherwell ended in deadlock: 0-0. Finally, Kilmarnock tied Inverness 1-1. Down south in England, nothing out of the ordinary happened as Chelsea edged out Wigan 1-0 thanks to Florent Malouda's 67th minute strike, Manchester United beat Fulham 2-0 thanks to Dimitar Berbatov's 12th minute strike, Antonio Valencia also struck, in the 32nd minute to tie the game up for the club on a high. Tottenham took on Stoke and were able to edge them out 3-2 with two goals coming from Peter Crouch and one from Luka Modric. I'll go over some more results later!

Europa League 4/8/2011.

The Portuguese sides still look fantastic as Porto demolished Spartak Moskva 5-1 with Falcao opening the scoring in the 37th minute and striking twice more to complete a remarkable hat-trick. Silvestre Varela struck a goal himself in the 65th while Maicon slotted home in the 70th to make it 3-0 before Moskva could reply. Their reply came in the 71st minute though, through Kirill Kombarov who made it 3-1 with 19 minutes to go. Falcao then decided to widen the margin, striking in the 84th and 92nd minutes to make it 5-1 when the referee blew the final whistle. Meanwhile, in Lisbon, Benfica showed PSV Eindhoven who was boss in a 4-1 stampede of goals. Pablo Aimar struck first, in the 37th minute, while Eduardo Salvio struck in the 45th minute to make it 2-0 at the half. Salvio then struck again in the 52nd to make it 3-0. PSV then decided to show up with Zakaria Labyad subbing on in the 78th minute and scoring two minutes later! So, with 3-1 PSV still has a bit of a shot right? Nope. Javier Saviola struck in the fourth minute of stoppage time in the second half to make it a 4-1 game as full time was called. Now over to another Portuguese clash, where Braga went to the home of Dynamo Kyiv and left with a 1-1 scoreline! The fact that the Iberian side were able to go to Eastern Europe and draw a match against reasonably talented opposition is just fantastic. Andriy Yarmolenko put Kyiv ahead in the 6th minute, then they lost it to an own goal from Oleh Gusev in the 13th minute which is all that Braga needed when they return to Portugal. Also, Dynamo Kyiv will be without Andriy Shevchenko who subbed on in the 46th minute, and was dismissed with a second yellow in the 62nd! So, it'll be interesting to see how the Portuguese manage the game from here on in the second leg. Finally, The other Dutch side Twente did not look good today when they went to Spain and were spanked 5-1 by Villarreal. Carlos Marchena opened the scoring for the Yellow Submarines in the 23rd minute while Borja Valero added his own to the tally on the score sheet in the 43rd. Nilmar then struck his first goal of the game in the first minute of stoppage time of the first half to make it 3-0 at the half. Giuseppe Rossi then slotted home in the 55th and Nilmar scored his second of the day in the 81st to make it 5-0 with 9 minutes or so to go. Then, almost as an afterthought, Marc Janko struck in the first minute of stoppage time in the second half to make it 5-1 just before the ref ended the match.

Pretty big domestic news, especially in Scotland! 4/6/2011.

In Scotland, Celtic look well on their way to taking control of the Scottish League as they currently lead Hibernian 3-1 thanks to Anthony Stokes' 4th minute strike and Gary Hoopers' two goals in the 20th and 39th minutes. Hib's have pulled one back through Liam Miller's 67th minute penalty. Motherwell lead Dundee United 2-1 thanks to Jamie Murphy and Chris Humphrey's respective strikes. Johnny Russell brought Dundee back one but we'll have to see how they manage! St. Mirren are also leading Aberdeen 3-1 in what has been a good day for home sides. Michael Higdon struck in the 6th while Hugh Murphy scored an own goal early in the second half to give Aberdeen a way back into the match with a 1-1 scoreline. Craig Dargo and Steven Thomson returned the advantage to St. Mirren though, with goals in the 57th and 68th making the home side happy. Over in Romania, Dinamo Bucuresti finished 2-1 above Brasov while Otelul Galati were held 0-0 to Vasuli. Timiaora tied 2-2 with Astra while Gaz Metan finished at a goalless draw with FCM Targu Mures.

Champions League Quarter-finals for 4/5/2011 and 4/6/2011.

What a brilliant week of Champions League action! Inter Milan seemed to be afflicted with the same illness that I am as they were totally beaten by Schalke 04 by a 2-5 scoreline. Dejan Stankovic had given Inter a lucky lead in the first few seconds of the match before Joel Matip equalized in the 17th. Diego Milito then put Inter ahead again with his 34th minute strike but that still wasn't the end! Edu then struck Schalke level for a 2-2 scoreline at the half. When the teams returned, Schalke were helped into the lead for the first time of the game by Raul Gonzalez in the 53rd. Andrea Ranocchia then scored an own goal from a cross four minutes later to give Schalke a 4-2 lead. Edu then struck a second to make it 5-2 in the 75th after Inter were reduced to ten men by Cristian Chivu's 62nd minute sending-off. In the other Tuesday match, Real Madrid definitively beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 with Emmanuel Adebayor striking in the 4th to start things off well for the home side. The conditions deteriorated quickly for Tottenham though, as Peter Crouch was given a second yellow in the 15th to put the English down to ten men. Surprisingly, Real were unable to score again in the first half, but found their form in the second with Adebayor striking in the 57th to make it 2-0 for the Spanish side. Angel Di Maria and Cristiano Ronaldo then struck one each to make it 4-0 as the full-time whistle blew. Essentially all Tottenham did the whole game was defend. Meanwhile, as I post this Barcelona lead Shakhtar Donetsk 4-1 with Andres Iniesta having opened the scoring in the 2nd minute and Daniel Alves made it 2-0 in the 34th to give Barca a 2-0 lead at the half. Gerard Pique slotted home in the 53rd before Yaroslav Rakitskiy put one in for Shakhtar on the hour mark. Seydou Keita converted in the 61st to make it a 4-1 game. Over in London Chelsea trail at home to Manchester United thanks to Wayne Rooney's 24th minute strike which has made it 1-0. Chelsea have yet to use a sub while Nani has come on for United with Rafael coming off.

What happened in the domestic action of this weekend.

Well in Scotland, Rangers messed up quite badly as they lost 3-2 to Dundee United and lost their chance to overcome Celtic's league lead. Motherwell played well against Aberdeen, winning 2-1. St. Mirren meanwhile, defeated Hamilton 3-1with Michael Higdon striking all three of their goals after David Buchanan had put Hamilton in the lead. Moving down to England now, Arsenal could only tie Blackburn 0-0 while Newcastle had their way with Wolves 4-1. Chelsea were held 1-1 by Stoke, West Brom defeated Liverpool 2-1, as Manchester United defeated West Ham 4-2. Over in the Netherlands, AZ beat Feyenoord 1-0 while Twente defeated PSV 2-0 with Theo Janssen striking both Twente goals! Over in Germany, Bayern were able to edge Monchengladbach 1-0 thanks to Arjen Robben's 77th minute goal. Bremen tied Stuttgart 1-1 thanks to Torsten Frings' 34th minute equalise after Tamas Hajnal put Stuttgart ahead 1-0 in the 13. Dortmund managed to beat Hannover 4-1 in their match which gives them a 7 point lead over second place Leverkusen and 14 points over third place Bayern. Kaiserslautern on the other hand weren't so lucky as they lost 1-0 at home to visiting Leverkusen. In France, Lille sit at the top of the table by 4 points after a 3-1 victory over Caen. Sochaux had a good game against Brest, winning at home in the first minute of stoppage time in the second half thanks to Brown Ideye's strike. They had an earlier lead after Ryad Boudebouz converted a penalty in the 7th to give the home side a 1-0 lead. Bruno Grougi's 62nd minute penalty for Brest equalised matters but to no avail after Brown Ideye's goal. Over in Italy, the biggest game of the weekend may have been AC Milan's 3-0 destruction of Inter Milan which was begun by Alexandre Pato's first minute strike, continued by his 62nd minute goal, and concluded with Antonio Cassano's 90th minute penalty conversion. After his goal, Cassano was then given two cards, a yellow, and then a send off to conclude an up and down night for the man. Over in Spain, Barcelona worked wonders, winning 1-0 over Villarreal while Real Madrid fell further off the mark after a 1-0 loss to Sporting Gijon at home in Madrid! Valencia showed Getafe what was what in a 4-2 victory as well. Finally, in the big Portuguese game of the weekend, Porto edged Benfica 2-1 after going ahead in the 9th through Freddy Guarin before Javier Saviola tied it 1-1 with his 17th minute penalty. Hulk then converted a penalty of his own in the 26th to conclude an action-packed first half but a weaker game.

Lots and lots of news 4/1/2011. No joke.

First of all, today's games include what should be a good match between St. Pauli and Schalke in Germany; Portugal's Leiria and Maritimo play on the Iberian Peninsula; over in Eastern Europe Illychivets Mariupil and Shakhtar Donetsk play in Ukraine;  finally, Ferencvaros and Ujpest as well as Kaposvar v.s. Vasas will be the face-offs in Hungary. Tomorrow, Inverness host Celtic and Rangers welcome Dundee United in a big day of matches for Scotland. Meanwhile on the English side of the border all of the big names are playing: Arsenal play Blackburn, Newcastle will play host to Wolves, Stoke welcome Chelsea, West Brom face Liverpool, West Ham will fight Manchester United, and Tottenham are away to Wigan. Across the water in Germany there is a lot of big name action as well with Bayern welcoming Monchengladbach to Bavaria, Mainz expecting a win against Freiburg, Kaiserslautern hoping to upset Leverkusen when they face off, and Dortmund expecting victory over Hannover. Hoffenheim will also be facing Hamburg tomorrow. Over in the Netherlands solid performing under dogs Twente will be taking on PSV Eindhoven while Feyenoord match-up with AZ. In Spain, Real Madrid face Sporting Gijon as Barcelona are away to Villarreal in one of the biggest games of the day. However, the one most people will be watching is probably the Milan, Italy derby of AC Milan v.s. Inter Milan. Victory for Inter would put them one ahead of AC while if the black and reds triumph, that's five points separating themselves and their cross town rivals. Last but not least, the Swedish league kicks off with Halmstad's hosting of Kalmar. Saturday isn't the only day of games though, as Sunday is when Portuguese giants Benfica welcome the league leaders Porto to the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon. There are tons of other games, but due to time constraints that's all I have time for! I'll be back tomorrow to update on scores!