Milan, Dortmund score late equalizers, Chelsea rolls in Champions League | Soccer By Ives

Barcelonas quest to become the first team in history to retain the UEFA Champions League got off to a rocky start with a draw to AC Milan as the home side conceded both in the first minute and deep into second-half stoppage time.

Alexander Pato put visiting AC Milan ahead after just 25 seconds with an expertly taken goal. The Brazilian international streaked through a Barcelona defense that was caught flat-footed to slot the ball past VictorValdes. A goal nine minutes before halftime from Pedro drew the Spanish giants level. Lionel Messis slashing run led to a simple cross and a point-blank tap-in from Pedro. David Villa seemed to give Barcelona the victory with a curling free kick from just outside the area in the 50th minute.However, AC Milan had one more push forward and deep into injury time, Thiago Silvas header gave the Italians a vital away draw.

Arsenal will be disappointedwith conceding a late goal but a 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund is as good a result as Arsene Wengers men could have hoped for.

A brilliant volley from substitute Ivan Perisic salvaged a point for the German champions in the 88th minute. Per Mertesacker headed clear a Dortmund corner kick but the ball found its way to the Croatian international, who came up with a gem of a goal. Robin Van Persie had put Arsenal up with a clinical finish off an incisive through ball from Theo Walcott in the first half.

Chelsea were less than convincing in the early stages against visiting Bayern Leverkusen but the Blues had enough firepower to start of their Champions League campaign with a win.

Michael Ballack made his return to Stamford Bridge while $79 million striker Fernando Torres failed to score once again. David Luiz marked his season debut with a goal in the 67th minute with an assist from the struggling Torres. Juan Mata continues to impress during his short stint with Chelsea and gave the home side an insurance policy with a goal in injury time. Torres unselfishly provided the assist when he could have opted to go for goal.

In other results, FC Porto was able to overcome an early deficit to claim victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in their Group G opener. Hulk and Kleber canceled out Luiz Adrianos goal in the 12th minute.

Valencia recorded 22 shots but couldnt find the back of the net as KRC Genk held out for a surprising draw. Hungarian goalkeeperLaszlo Kotele made four saves in the shutout. In Greece,Marsielle find themselves top of Group F with a win in Athens againstOlympiakos. Lucho Gonzalez scored just after the restart to give the French side the win.

Cyrpus side Apoel Nicosia temporarily finds itself joint-top of Group G after a 2-1 victory over Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg. Gustavo Manduca and Ailton Almeida scored within two minutes of each other to giveApoel Nicosia the comeback victory. Viktoria Plzen and Bate Borisov could have taken advantage of Barcelona and Milans draw to go top of Group H but the Eastern Europeans ended deadlocked at one.

Tuesdays scoreboard

Group E

Chelsea 2, Bayern Leverkusen 0

Valencia 0, KRC Genk 0

Group F

Marseille 1,Olympiakos 0

Arsenal 1, Borussia Dortmund 1

Group G

Apoel Nicosia 2,Zenit St. Petersburg 1

FC Porto 2,Shakhtar Donetsk 1

Group H

Barcelona 2, AC Milan 2

Viktoria Plzen 1, Bate Borisov 1

What did you think of todays results? Does Barcelonas defense worry you? Grateful for Arsenals point? Can Chelsea make a deep run in the Champions League?

Share your thoughts below.

CONCACAF Champions League: Match Night Commentary | Soccer By Ives

Major League Soccer teams already have two wins in Mexico in the last few weeks, but the Los Angeles Galaxy will look to make it a third when it defends its place atop Group A at Morelia in a CONCACAF Champions League group stage match (8pm, Fox Soccer Channel).

The Colorado Rapids also hope to maintain their grip atop their group as they welcome Santos Laguna to their home turf for a Group B tilt (10pm, Fox Soccer Channel) after starting their CCL group run with a 1-0-1 record.

SBI will be providing commentary on tonights matches, so please feel free to join us. As always, please feel free to share any thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action (Commentary is after the jump):

Santos Laguna thrashes Rapids in CCL | Soccer By Ives

The Colorado Rapids entered Tuesday night sitting atop their CONCACAF Champions League group with a chance to move themselves in pole position for a quarterfinal place.

Santos Laguna had other plans.

The visitors from Mexico turned Dicks Sporting Goods Park into their own personal playground, demolishing a make-shift Rapids defense with speedy wing play and precise passing on their way to a 4-1 victory.

Daniel Luduena opened the scoring for Santos, hitting a long-range blast past Steward Ceus in the 14th minute. Oribe Peralta made it 2-0 in the 27th when he tapped home a square pass after Darwin Quintero beat Colorados offside trap. Quintero and Christian Suarez added insurance goals in the second half before Brian Mullan added a consolation goal.

Colorado played its starting attack, but rested goalkeeper Matt Pickens and defenders Tyrone Marshall and Kosuke Kimura. Their replacements, Scott Palguta and Danny Earls, were ravaged by Santos speedy attack. Ceus also struggled at times playing in place of Pickens.

The Rapids loss, coupled with Isidro Metapans 2-1 vs. Real Espana, dropped Colorado from first to third in Group B. Now the Rapids face the daunting task of likely needing two wins from their final three group matches to secure a place in the second round. With Real Espana looking unlikely to take points from either Metapan or Santos Laguna, the Rapids will have little choice but to beat Real Espana and then travel to beat Metapan or Santos Laguna on the road.

What did you think of Colorados performance? Impressed with Santos? Think the Rapids can still reach the quarterfinals?

Miscues make Galaxy lead disappear as Morelia rallies for comeback win in CCL | Soccer By Ives

Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Galaxy

By ADAM SERRANO

MORELIA, MEXICO – Three points were there for the taking, but errors in goal and by the officiating crew in the last 10 minutes proved disastrous for the Los Angeles Galaxy, who fell 2-1 to Monarcas Morelia in their CONCACAF Champions League match Tuesday night.

After a stellar goalkeeping performance making as many as seven saves on the night, Josh Saunders allowed an Adrian Aldrete shot from distance to slip between his legs for the equalizer. The bad lucky only continued in the 90th minute when Robbie Keane–who had scored the Galaxys first goal in the 52nd minute— was ruled offside on an apparent go-ahead goal.

According to replays after the match, the call was clearly incorrect as defender Gerardo Lugo clearly played Keane onside on the play. After the call, the Galaxys disaster culminated just a minute later when Miguel Sabah capitalized on poor marking on a corner kick to score the winning goal for Morelia. Following the match, Saunders was understandably gutted about the one moment even sheding a few tears after the match as one of his greatest nights turned into one of his worst.

Its disappointing for us to come down here and give up two goals late, said Saunders. We worked really hard and I feel gutted to have the situation that happened, questionable or not, it was still a mistake by me. The ref made a judgment call to call it a goal, I say otherwise, but thats how the game goes. I commend the guys because they played extremely well tonight, but we couldnt come away with the result.

At the outset of the match, it was Morelia, who came out the more motivated side, capitalizing on a Galaxy team that appeared to be struggling with the altitude as well as the hostile atmosphere. With Ecuadorian left winger Joao Rojas leading the Morelia attack, the Monarcas peppered Saunders net with chances. Despite the lack of possession, it was the Galaxy with the finest chance of the half as in the 31st minute, Omar Gonzalez headed a ball off the cross bar that nearly into the Morelia net.

In the second half, the script switched as the Galaxy appeared to have more confidence dealing with Morelias advances. In the 52nd minute, Los Angeles broke through on the counter attack as Landon Donovan found Keane, who expertly went around Jorge Gastelum for the goal.

We broke out a little bit and Robbie broke out well, said Donovan. I wanted to get it to him as quickly as possible. His first touch was great and then he did a good job to knock it around the guy and had a great finish.

As the Galaxy took the lead, the chants in Morelos changed from Vamos Morelia (Go Morelia) to a more nationalistic slant as Vamos Mexico overtook the crowd. This support in the stands led to a response from the team as Morelia began to dominate possession and press Saunders for a goal.

In the 90th minute, Gonzalez smashed a header onto goal that forced a save from Morelia goalkeeper Federico Villar that appeared to lay stationary on the goal line. Keane raced onto the ball and fired it into the back of the net, seemingly giving the Galaxy the lead. However, moments later, the goal was called off as Honduran linesman Oscar Velasquez ruled the Irishman offside. According to replays following the match, Morelias Lugo was three yards in front of Keane as the ball was played to the Irish DP..

Just moments after their goal was called off, the night got worst as right back Frankie Hejduk was called for a foul setting up a free kick for Morelia, which led to two corners for Morelia. On the second corner, poor marking on the Galaxys part allowed Sabah to break free and head in the game winner.

I dont really know what happened, they just started coming at us late in the game, the first goal, they hit a shot outside and they got lucky, said Gonzalez. They didnt get any chances from behind us, we kept us in front of us, and they just got that shot from outside the box thats exactly what we wanted. It was anyones game and they sort of came back.

The Galaxy is now tied with Morelia on points in group A with six, but Monarcas are on top due to their head-to-head advantage. The pair will return to Champions League action with the Galaxy traveling to Costa Rica to face Alajuelense on Sept. 21 while Morelia travel to Honduras to take on Motagua on Sept. 22.

Although the Galaxy departs Morelia with a loss, the impact of the atmosphere at the intimate Estadio Morelos clearly had an effect on Los Angeles. Following the match as the team pulled away, fans lined up to get in one last shot at the Galaxy with their middle fingers proudly in the air.

Its pretty impressive actually how much cache there is around our team now, said Donovan. Everybody knows who we are wherever we go. Most MLS teams come down here and people arent aware of who they are.

Although the Galaxy was hated when on the field, their impact in the city of Morelia was unmistakable as Galaxy jerseys were sold and worn even in Morelias city center. Upon learning this fact, even the battle-hardened Donovan couldnt help but be amused.

Its good, its putting our league in a good light and its a positive, added Donovan.

Morelia 2, Los Angeles Galaxy 1: Match Highlights | Soccer By Ives

Barcelona 2, AC Milan 2: Match Highlights | Soccer By Ives

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Fantasy MLS: Week 28 | Soccer By Ives

Photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com

By ALAN LEDBETTER

A high scoring week in MLS left many fantasy points up for grabs last week. One of the more surprising fantasy performers was Charlie Davies, who notched a hat trick on the road vs. Chivas. His value will be on the rise if he can regain the form he showed at the beginning of the season and could be a good pickup for the remaining weeks of the season.

If you still have transfers left for this season, be sure to pick up someone that will have value for the remaining of the season, and not just the current week. This is more important now than ever before as transfers begin to run out and the end of the season nears.

Here are a few more items to consider before setting your fantasy lineup this week:

MULTIPLE GAMES

Houston and Columbus both have two games this week. Both teams are coming off disappointing results last week and will look to make up lost points this week. They both have decent matchups this week so it is worth playing your Dynamo and Crew players.

MFLS WEEK 28 BEST XI

GK – Donovan Ricketts, LA – Made his return to the Los Angeles lineup last week vs. Colorado and recorded a shutout. With one of the best defenses in the league in front of him, he should be able to preserve a shutout in LAs home game vs. Vancouver.

D – Sean Franklin, LA – With four goals and three assists in his last seven games, Franklin is the hottest defender in the league and should be a part of every fantasy team.

D – Nat Borchers, RSL – Borchers is always a threat on set pieces and should have a decent chance to get a shutout in front of his home crowd at Rio Tinto.

D – Geoff Cameron, HOU – Midfielder listed as a defender in MFLS, has two chances to get on the score sheet this week.

M – Brad Davis, HOU – The Dynamo faces a Crew team that has yielded 10 goals in its last two games, and Davis is one of the top creators in the league with his MLS-best 13 assists.

M – Dwayne DeRosario, DC – D.C. United seems to play better on the road than they do at RFK Stadium. De Rosario is an integral part of their offense and is a great play almost every week.

M – Sebastian Le Toux, PHI – Le Toux has started to regain a little of his form from last season as Philadelphias offence is beginning to click. I would keep him in your line-up again this week.

M – Landon Donovan, LA – With a home game against expansion side Vancouver, Donovan is poised for another big game as he maintains his chase for the leagues Golden Boot.

F – Thierry Henry, NY – Henry is one of the most dangerous forwards in the league and, though his team is underperforming, I would keep this goal-scorer in your line-up.

F – Dominic Oduro, CHI – Oduro has a great matchup this week vs. Chivas, who looked lost without Heath Pearce last week. He picked up a small ankle knock against San Jose but is expected to return this weekend.

F – Fredy Montero, SEA – Is he back? He scored last week after a long scoring drought and I think this will give him confidence to put up more goals in the coming weeks. He is an interesting pickup with big upside going down the stretch.

INJURY WATCH

During a impressive performance last week, D.C.s Chris Pontius suffered a fractured tibia and is likely to be out for the rest of the season. For injury news, check out the most updated MLS injury report. Also, many players picked up red cards and have accumulated enough yellow cards for suspension, so dont forget to check out the latest disciplinary report.

The deadline for Week 28 is Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Be sure to change your lineups by then.

SBI League Standings (Top 10) 1. I 3 MLS633 points 2. La Flama Blanca623 3. Campione.. 602 4. Catfish FC590 5. Joga Bonito.579 6. McGruber FC..566 7. Stonebury United.555 8. Hungate XI545 8. Waterbury FC545 10. Rainbow Chickens..539

LAST WEEKS SBI LEAGUE TOP SCORER

Slipstream CoV(61 points)

Hamid(8) Franklin(6)-White(5)Sarkodie(0)- -Pappa(-2)-Juninho(1)Beckerman(1)Donovan(5) Bunbury(10)Davies(15)Wondolowski(9)-

Coach: Arena(3)

SBI Prediction League Standings (Top 10) 1. HANDtoBALLS..497 points 2. Cheeky BackHeel493 3. Lancergolfer87..490 4. 4evr Orange.489 5. Los Diabolitos467 6. I 3 MLS..458 7. TSV AC CD Generic FC SC..455 8. FC Byrd Turgler..448 9. Orange Blur..437 10. Ron Burgundys Blazer..436

LAST WEEKS SBI PREDICTION LEAGUE TOP SCORER

Driscolls Boys (23 points: 1 exact, 1 margin, 4 correct)

Which teams have the best matchup this week? Who is in for the biggest fantasy week? Which players are you going to pick up? Think you can win the league?

Share your thoughts below.

Borussia Dortmund 1, Arsenal 1: Match Highlights | Soccer By Ives

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UCL: Manchester clubs aim to maintain top form in group openers and more | Soccer By Ives

Manchester City and Manchester United have each tried to out-do the other during sterling starts to Premier League play, but both turn their attention to the UEFA Champions League, where the results matter even more.

City hosts Napoli (2:45 p.m., Fox Soccer Plus/FoxSoccer.tv) in its UCL debut in a match boasting some of the worlds top attacking talent. Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko have taken little time to establish themselves as goal-scoring threats this season, while David Silva has been a maestro in setting up the City attack. The English side will likely need to post some goals to counter Napolis Edinson Cavani-Marek Hamsik-Ezequiel Lavezzi trio in order to get off to a strong start in the loaded Group A.

United faces Benfica in a Group C tilt in Portugal (2:45 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel) without the services of Rio Ferdinand, but the club has displayed its depth early on this season and has done nothing to dissuade those who believe the Red Devils should make another deep tournament run.

Heres a look ahead to the rest of Wednesdays UEFA Champions League matches:

Dinamo Zagreb vs. Real Madrid, 2:45 pm., FoxSoccer.tv/Fox Sports Networks

Jose Mourniho wont be in the coaching box as Madrids quest to bring the ultimate prize back the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu kicks off in Croatia. Mourinho will be serving the first of his three-match ban, but Madrid shouldnt be too troubled in its Group D opener.

Villarreal vs. Bayern Munich, 2:45 p.m., FoxSoccer.tv/DirecTV

Fresh off a 7-0 win in Bundesliga play, Bayern Munich has the look of a contender as it braces for a match against Giueseppe Rossi and a capable Villarreal side in their Group A (aka Group of Death) opener.

Lille vs. CSKA Moscow, 2:45 p.m., FoxSoccer.tv/DirecTV

Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard and the French champions open Group B play looking to take advantage of a weakened CSKA side that wont have goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev or Japanese star Keisuke Honda due to long-term injuries.

Ajax vs. Lyon, 2:45 p.m., FoxSoccer.tv/DirecTV

Ajax and Lyon are two teams that always seem to give the opposition fits in Champions League play. Both figure to be chasing second place in the group behind Real Madrid, and theres no better way to get the inside track on that by topping their chief competition for the spot.

FC Basel vs. Otelul Galati, 2:45 p.m., FoxSoccer.tv/DirecTV

The two Group C underdogs square off knowing that the opening match is the best opportunity to secure three points ahead of future games against United and Benfica.

Inter Milan vs. Trabzonspor, 2:45 p.m., FoxSoccer.tv/DirecTV

Inter stumbled out of the gates in Serie A with a 4-3 loss to Palermo last weekend, but the club faces Trabzonspor, which is only in the Champions League because Turkeys actual qualifier, Fenerbahce, was prohibited from the tournament due to a match-fixing scandal.

Which game are you looking forward to watching the most? How do you see the Group A matches unfolding? Do you see Manchester United, Real Madrid, Inter Milan or Bayern Munich having a tough time in their opening games?

Share your thoughts below.

College Soccer Rewind: Maryland tops UMBC in OT, UVA falls to Liberty & more | Soccer By Ives

Photo courtesy of Maryland Media Relations

John Stertzer got his second chance, and he took it well.

Stertzer made up for a missed penalty kick in the first overtime period by heading home the game-winner in the second overtime to lift No. 2 Maryland (Fox Soccer/SBI) to a thrilling 4-3 victory over UMBC Tuesday night.

Casey Townsend netted a hat trick for the Terrapins (6-0), who had a 3-1 lead in the 81st minute before yielding two goals to the Retrievers Sean Rothe less than two minutes apart that forced the game into extra time.

After Patrick Mullins was brought down in the box toward the end of the first overtime, Stertzer stepped to the spot looking to seal the win over UMBC (2-1-2), but the junior couldnt convert. Instead, he headed home a Taylor Kemp free kick in the 104th minute for his fourth goal of the season that kept Maryland unbeaten.

Here are a couple of more results from Tuesdays college soccer action:

LIBERTY STUNS UVA

Virginias uneven start to the college soccer season resulted in one of the more surprising defeats in the programs storied history.

Chris Phillips and Phillip Aseweh scored in the 72nd and 75th minutes, respectively, to lift Liberty to a 2-0 victory over the No. 11 Cavaliers in Charlottesville, Va. The win was Libertys first over Virginia in 20 attempts (1-18-1) and was the Flames third consecutive victory after a season-opening loss.

Virginia had just come off a satisfying victory at Duke over the weekend but fell to 4-2 with the result.

UNC BOUNCES BACK

No. 1 North Carolina recovered from its first loss of the season by scoring four unanswered goals and topping James Madison, 4-1.

Enzo Martinez scored two goals and played provider as well, setting up Billy Schuler for his fifth goal of the season. Mikey Lopez found the back of the net with the eventual game-winner for the Tar Heels (4-1), who had dropped an overtime result to Virginia Tech over the weekend and fell behind in the 28th minute after Patrick Innes got the Dukes on the board.

What do you make of Tuesdays results? Surprised UMBC pushed Maryland to overtime? Whats wrong with UVA? Who do you see winning the ACC?

Share your thoughts below.