Tuesday’s soccer news starts with the Champions League group stage beginning later today with games on Paramount+ and TUDN. With the attention usually on the biggest clubs in Europe, it’s convenient that some of them have USMNT players on their rosters. That starts with James Sands and Malik Tillman’s Rangers in group A, alongside Ajax, Liverpool, and Napoli. It’s easy to see this as a difficult setup for the Scottish Premiership runners-up, starting at Ajax on Wednesday and then hosting Napoli next week, especially since they’re coming off of a 4-0 loss at Celtic.
“Of course we have a big game on Wednesday,” Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst said following that loss to Celtic. “But I think you should feel the way you are feeling now because it’s a big loss for us. You should feel the disappointment. That’s our moment you have to take on the chin and learn from that and move on.”
Owen Otasowie’s Club Brugge is in group B, playing Porto, Atletico Madrid, and opening at home against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday. Club Brugge is 3rd in the Belgian Pro League table, winning their local derby last Friday. Timmy Chandler’s Eintracht opens group D play on Wednesday at home against Sporting in a group that also has Spurs and Marseille. Eintracht’s home win over RB Leipzig has them 10th in the table five games into the Bundesliga season.
Sergino Dest’s Milan and Christian Pulisic’s Chelsea are in group E, not meeting until matchday three. Dest’s Milan starts at Red Bull Salzburg and Pulisic’s Chelsea opens at Dinamo Zagreb with both games on Tuesday. Dest was on the bench for Milan in his first availability with his new club, beating Inter Milan 3-2 at home. Pulisic got the start for Chelsea in their 2-1 home win over West Ham.
Cameron Carter-Vickers’s Celtic is in group F with Real Madrid, RB Leipzig, and Shakhtar Donetsk, getting a home opener with Real Madrid on Tuesday. Carter-Vickers played the full 90 against Rangers. Gio Reyna’s Borussia Dortmund hosts FC Copenhagen later today in group G that also has Manchester City and Sevilla. Reyna subbed on in Dortmund’s home win over Hoffenheim on Friday.
Group H has Weston McKennie’s Juventus and John Brooks’s Benfica up against PSG and Maccabi Haifa. McKennie’s Juventus is at PSG on Tuesday with Brooks’s Benfica hosting Maccabi Haifa. McKennie went the distance for Juventus in their 1-1 draw at Fiorentina on Saturday while Brooks wasn’t in the squad for Benfica’s 2-1 home win over Vizela.
Moving to the soccer scores, Lynden Gooch subbed out in the 75th minute of Sunderland’s 1-0 loss at Middlesbrough in the Championship. Boro’s Riley McGree scored in the 25th minute. Matthew Hoppe was on the bench and Zack Steffen wasn’t in the squad for Middlesbrough.
Reggie Cannon’s Boavista shutout Pacos de Ferreira at home in the Primeira Liga. Robert Bozenik scored in the 58th minute and Cannon saw yellow in the 65th.Aron Johansson’s Valur lost 1-0 at Breidablik in the Urvalsdeild karla to a 63rd minute goal.
In MLS, Kenny Bundy is now the interim coach at Houston, replacing Paulo Nagamura with Houston announcing the move on Monday night. “This is a difficult decision because Paulo is a top individual who has earned the respect of the players and staff for his tireless work ethic and commitment to the club. We wish Paulo and his staff (assistants Chris Martinez and Jimmy Nielsen) well moving forward in their careers,” Houston GM Pat Onstad said in a press statement. “Moving forward, we are excited about this opportunity for Kenny. He is a talented up-and-coming coach who worked his way up through our coaching system and he will lead the team for the remainder of the season.”
WEDNESDAY’S SOCCER TV
UEFA Champions League on UniMas: Eintracht vs Sporting at 12:45pm and Barcelona vs Viktoria Plzen at 3pm. Ligue q on beIN Sport: Lorient vs Lyon at 1pm. Liga MX on TUDN: Tigres vs Toluca at 8pm and Mazatlan vs Atlas at 10pm. Tijuana vs Chivas is on FS2 at 10pm. Copa Libertadores on beIN Sport: Flamengo vs Velez Sarsfield at 8:30pm ET.
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Photo by Hollandse-Hoogte via ZUMA Press – ISIPhotos.com
