Thursday’s soccer news starts in the Champions League. Gio Reyna subbed on in the 68th minute of Borussia Dortmund’s 2-1 home loss to Manchester City with City advancing to the semifinals 4-2 on aggregate. Jude Bellingham scored for Dortmund in the 15th minute. Riyad Mahrez converted a City penalty in the 55th with Phil Foden scoring in the 75th minute. Zack Steffen was on the bench for Manchester City.
“Of course, we want more,” Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said. “We are going to play PSG, the finalists last year against Bayern Munich. We know how tough they are. They knocked out Bayern Munich, the best team in the world right now. We will see what happens and how we arrive, but for the club and especially the players, it is a good moment for all of us. We cannot forget, in the five years we are together, we have gone out of the Champions League quarterfinals three times.”
In the Concacaf Champions League, Toronto beat Leon 2-1 in Orlando to advance 3-2 on aggregate. Patrick Mullins opened the scoring for Toronto in the 55th with Justin Morrow doubling the lead on the night in the 71st. Leon pulled a goal back in the 80th minute.
“The locker room right now is electric.” Toronto coach Chris Armas said. “There’s a lot of belief that players gain from experiences like that. If you were inside the locker room, you would see all the veteran players, Pozuelo, Jozy, rallying around the young guys. They stepped up in a big way tonight.”
Philadelphia advanced with a 4-0 home win over Saprissa, taking that series 5-0 on aggregate. Jamiro Monteiro put Philadelphia up from the penalty spot in the 47th with Kacper Przybylko making it 2-0 in the 51st. Anthony Fontana added a goal in the 54th with Monteiro scoring again in the 90th minute. Union goalkeeper Andre Blake didn’t need to make a save to keep the clean sheet while Philadelphia put eight of its 14 shots on frame.
“I’m really proud of the team’s performance over both legs,” Philadelphia coach Jim Curtin said. “Again, we set ourselves up with a good result in Costa Rica. We knew tonight’s match would be very difficult. Both teams are obviously missing some players. I think they had some bad breaks go against them in terms of injuries, COVID, and some travel issues. They still put a group on the field that was very hard to break down, especially in the first-half.”
Also in the soccer news, The US Women players filed their appeal over equal compensation. In a statement, their spokesperson wrote. “This legal case is simple: for each win, loss, and tie that women players secure, they are paid less than men who play the same sport and who do the same work; that is gender discrimination. In addition, the discovery record demonstrated – including in depositions from current or former USSF executives and Board members – that a pervasive atmosphere of sexism drove this pay discrimination. We are extremely pleased to file our appeal of the summary judgment ruling, and look forward to presenting our case to the 9th circuit.”
Bobby Wood is no longer a Hamburg player, leaving the club by mutual consent to complete his move to Real Salt Lake. ESPN’s Stephan Uersfeld reports on the move. SBI’s Ives Galarcep interviews Wolfsburg and USMNT player John Brooks. The Athletic’s Jeff Rueter talks to Colorado Rapids and USMNT player Kellyn Acosta. Soccer America’s Paul Kennedy previews the 2021 MLS season with a focus on players. The NY Times’ Scott Cacciola explains the connection between Brooklyn Nets players and officials and Major League Soccer. DW on Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League exit.
“The knife stays between our teeth. We keep going, there’s more for us.”
Keep It Going | All For One: Moment presented by @Bell pic.twitter.com/hmqt5hcOD8
— Toronto FC (@TorontoFC) April 15, 2021
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