Wednesday’s soccer news starts with the MLS playoffs. Nashville came back to knockout Orlando 3-1 at home. City took the lead through a 14th minute Daryl Dike goal, but Hany Mukhtar equalized in the 21st and put Nashville up in the 74th. Johnder Cadiz finished off the Nashville goals four minutes into stoppage time. Nashville plays Philadelphia on Sunday in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
In the Western Conference, Real Salt Lake became the only lower seed to advance. They beat Seattle 6-5 on penalties after a 0-0 draw through extra time. RSL finished with no shots and held 38% of the possession in a game where the Sounders took 21 shots and put three on goal.
“We talk about mentality all the time and tonight was a perfect example of what that mentality looks like,” Real Salt Lake interim coach Pablo Mastroeni said. “It was a tough game against a great team at their home and we found a way to win. That’s what I said to the guys is that no one is giving us a chance. No one has from the beginning of the season and finding ways to win in football is very difficult, especially when you are on the road coming to a place with a history and legacy like Seattle has and digging deep and taking what the game gives you.”
Bob Bradley is the new coach and sporting director of Toronto FC. “I want to thank Bill Manning and the board at MLSE for trusting me with this project,” Bradley said in a press statement. “I have seen firsthand the passion that Toronto has for football and the way the club has connected with the city. I look forward to putting a team on the field that will make our fans and supporters proud.”
The Chicago Fire announced that Ezra Hendrickson is the team’s new coach. “To the Fire faithful, I know that we have a great deal of work ahead of us to get the club back to its days of MLS dominance,” he said. “It will not be easy, but I know that your continued support of our club will be necessary and appreciated by myself, the players and the staff.”
Moving to the Champions League, Jordan Pefok scored for Young Boys in their 3-3 home draw with Atalanta in group F. Trailing from the 10th minute, Pefok equalized in the 39th. Atalanta got the lead back in the 51st with Vincent Sierro equalizing in the 80th minute and Silvan Hefti making it 3-2 Young Boys in the 84th. Atalanta equalized in the 88th minute. Sergino Dest subbed on in the 86th minute of Barcelona’s 0-0 home draw with Benfica in group E.
Christian Pulisic subbed out in the 72nd minute of Chelsea’s 4-0 home win over Weston McKennie’s Juventus in group H. Trevoh Chalobah opened the scoring in the 25th and Reece James doubled the lead in the 55th. Callum Hudson-Odoi (58th) and Timo Werner (stoppage time) also scored for Chelsea. Romain Gall wasn’t in the squad for Malmo’s 1-1 home draw with Zenit St Petersburg in group H. Soren Rieks scored for Malmo in the 28th. Zenit went a man down in the 86th, equalizing two minutes into stoppage time.
Timothy Weah’s Lille beat Brendent Aaronson’s Red Bull Salzburg 1-0 at home in group G. Jonathan David scored in the 31st minute. Weah subbed out in the 84th and Aaronson followed in the 85th minute. Also in group G, John Brooks subbed out in the 88th minute of Wolfsburg’s 2-0 loss at Sevilla. The goals came in the 12th and seven minutes into stoppage time.
In England’s Championship, Ethan Horvath was on the bench for Nottingham Forest’s 0-0 home draw with Luton Town. Matthew Olosunde wasn’t in the squad for PNE’s 2-1 win at Middlesbrough. Down a goal from the 33rd, Ched Evans equalized for PNE in the 77th and Emil Riis Jakobsen scored in the 81st minute. A league down, Lynden Gooch subbed out in the 74th minute of Sunderland’s 1-1 draw at Shrewsbury Town. Alex Pritchard scored for Sunderland in the 16th minute. Shrewsbury went a man down in first-half stoppage time and equalized in the 64th.
Soccer America’s Scott French interviews Colorado Rapids coach Robin Fraser. The Salt Lake Tribune’s Aaron Falk highlights Real Salt Lake goalkeeper David Ochoa in the playoff win at Seattle. SI’s Brian Straus on US Soccer going with Columbus and St Paul for the January and February home World Cup qualifiers.
THURSDAY’S SOCCER TV
Europa League on Galavision: Lokomotiv Moscow vs Lazio at 12:45pm and Leicester City vs Legia Warzaw at 3pm. TUDN has Galatasaray vs Marseille at 12:45pm and Monaco vs Real Sociedad at 3pm. MLS playoffs on Fox: Colorado vs Portland at 4:30pm. Liga MX on TUDN: Puebla vs Leon at 8pm and Fox Deportes: Santos Laguna vs Tigres at 10pm ET.
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Photo by Nashville SC
