Soccer
Paulinho has silenced his critics at Barcelona
MADRID (AP) Brazil midfielder Paulinho wasn’t greeted with the warmest of welcomes when he arrived in Barcelona. Fans made it clear they were not too thrilled to see the club spend 40 million euros ($48 million) on a defensive midfielder who was playing in the Chinese league. They were expecting a blockbuster signing after Neymar’s …
‘Dries Armando Mertens’: Napoli goal recalls Maradona feat
ROME (AP) It was a goal that brought back memories of Diego Armando Maradona. Dries Mertens’ improvised long-distance lob in the second half of Napoli’s 4-1 comeback win at Lazio was instantly compared to a similar effort by Maradona 32 years earlier. Chasing a long pass from Marek Hamsik, Mertens circled back around after goalkeeper …
Hoffenheim forward Uth puts himself in World Cup contention
BERLIN (AP) The way he has been playing so far, Hoffenheim forward Mark Uth could end up at the World Cup for Germany. The 26-year-old Uth scored again late Wednesday – in the second minute of injury time – to clinch a remarkable 3-2 win at Mainz after a poor start left the team trailing …
War of egos weakens Cavani at Paris Saint-Germain
PARIS (AP) With eight wins in as many matches this season, Paris Saint-Germain should be bursting with confidence ahead of Bayern Munich’s visit next week in the Champions League. A war of egos between the club’s biggest stars, however, is tarnishing PSG’s perfect start to the season, as well as the club’s slick image that …
Sporting KC beats Red Bulls 2-1 to win 4th US Open Cup title
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) Latif Blessing hoisted the U.S. Open Cup as high as he possibly could, which meant the bottom of the silver trophy just about scraped the ground as he pranced around the field. Short jokes aside, he played plenty big Wednesday night. The 5-foot-3 dynamo scored midway through the first half, Daniel …
Impact cools off Toronto FC with 5-3 win (Sep 20, 2017)
TORONTO (AP) Ignacio Piatti and Anthony Jackson-Hamel each scored twice, and the Montreal Impact cooled off Toronto FC with a wild 5-3 victory on Wednesday night. Marco Donadel also scored for Montreal (11-12-6), which had lost four straight. A 3-2 loss to Minnesota on a late goal last weekend prompted owner Joey Saputo to issue …
Atlanta scores 3 goals in 7 minutes, beats Galaxy 4-0 (Sep 20, 2017)
ATLANTA (AP) Yamil Asad scored twice, Josef Martinez had his 17th goal, and Atlanta United cruised past the Los Angeles Galaxy 4-0 on Wednesday night. Atlanta (13-8-7) scored three goals in seven minutes for a 3-0 lead midway through the first half and cruised in the second half to extend its home unbeaten streak to …
Pulisic seals 3-0 Bundesliga win for Dortmund in Hamburg
BERLIN (AP) Christian Pulisic sealed a 3-0 win for Borussia Dortmund at Hamburger SV on Wednesday that maintained the side’s record of not conceding a goal in the Bundesliga this season. Dortmund’s win returned the side to the top of the league after five games, one point ahead of Bayern Munich. ”It was no easy …
Atletico beats Athletic Bilbao to move to 2nd place in Spain
MADRID (AP) Atletico Madrid moved closer to the Spanish league lead by defeating Athletic Bilbao 2-1 on Wednesday. Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak stopped Aritz Aduriz’s penalty kick before halftime and Angel Correa and Yannick Carrasco scored second-half goals to leave the Madrid side within four points of leader Barcelona. Third-place Sevilla hosts Las Palmas later …
Madrid stunned by Betis at home, loses ground to Barcelona
MADRID (AP) Real Madrid’s faltering start to the Spanish league season continued on Wednesday with a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Real Betis. A day after league leader Barcelona routed Eibar 6-1 with four goals by Lionel Messi for its fifth win in a row, Madrid conceded an injury-time goal to remain winless in …