Wednesday’s soccer news starts in the Concacaf Champions League with LAFC advancing to the quarterfinals 4-2 on aggregate over Alajuelense after losing the second-leg 2-1 at home. Alajuelense took the lead on the night from an 8th minute penalty, making it 2-0 in the 51st. LAFC’s Carlos Vela pulled a goal back in the 81st minute.
“We are happy to be around further in the competition, which was the objective and that’s where we are,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. “We saw a similar game to the first-leg. The first-half of both games were quite similar, we created chances but didn’t finish. The only difference was they scored a goal in this game in the first-half. Other than that, it was a very similar game.”
Vancouver lost 3-2 at Real Espana, but took the series 7-3 on aggregate. Brian White put Vancouver up on the night in the 66th, but Real Espana equalized in the 67th and scored again in the 75th. Simon Becher equalized for the Whitecaps in the 83rd with Real Espana scoring their third goal of the night in the 75th minute.
Orlando City exited to Tigres on away goals after drawing 1-1 at home and 1-1 on aggregate. Tigres took the lead in the 21st minute with Orlando’s Ercan Kara equalizing in the 89th. Tigres finished a man down with a red card six minutes into stoppage time.
In UEFA’s Champions League, Timmy Chander was on the bench for Eintracht’s 3-0 loss at Napoli, exiting the tournament 5-0 on aggregate. Napoli scored in first-half stoppage time, the 53rd minute, and converted a 64th minute penalty.
“Congratulations to SSC Napoli on a deserved victory and a place in the Champions League quarterfinals,” Eintracht coach Oliver Glasner said. “We tried everything, we were more competitive than in the first leg but have to accept that Napoli were too much for us. They’re playing at a top level and showed us our limits. Nevertheless, I’m proud of what the team have achieved in their first Champions League season.”
Chris Richards was on the bench for Crystal Palace in their 1-0 Premier League loss at Brighton to a 15th minute goal. A league down, Daryl Dike subbed out in the 58th minute of West Brom’s 1-1 draw at Cardiff City. Dike put West Brom up in the 17th with Cardiff equalizing in the 65th.
“The feeling in the dressing room was like one of defeat and certainly that we have left two points here,” West Brom manager Carlos Corberan said. “I don’t think that’s a negative. I think it’s important now to take this feeling into the next time we wear Albion shirts, and realise that one point isn’t enough. We want more. We didn’t achieve the target that we had. We wanted three points. In football, you don’t always get the things that you want.”
Josh Sargent subbed out in the 77th minute for Norwich City in their 1-1 draw at Huddersfield Town. Gabriel Gomes put Norwich City up in the 26th with an on-goal levelling the score in the 65th.v Norwich finished a man down with a stoppage time red card to Marquinhos. Duane Holmes wasn’t in the squad for Huddersfield.
Ethan Horvath’s Luton Town beat Bristol City 1-0 at home. Carlton Morris scored Luton’s goal in the 4th minute with Horvath making three saves to keep the clean sheet. Lynden Gooch subbed on in the 72nd minute of Sunderland’s 2-1 home loss to Sheffield United. Edouard Michut put Sunderland up in the 30th with Sheffield United equalizing in first-half stoppage time and going ahead in the 61st minute.
Also in the soccer news, FIFA president Gianni Infantino won reelection until 2027. “Being FIFA President is an incredible honour, an incredible privilege, and it is also a great responsibility,” Infantino said. “I am truly humbled and touched by your support, and I promise you that I will continue serving FIFA, serving football all over the world and serving all 211 FIFA member associations.”
FRIDAY’S SOCCER TV
Premier League on USA: Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle at 4pm. La Liga on ESPN Deportes: Real Valladolid vs Athletic at 4pm. Ligue 1 on beIN Sport: Lyon vs Nantes at 4pm. Primeira Liga on GolTV: Santa Clara vs Rio Ave at 4:15pm. Liga MX on TUDN: Puebla vs Atlas at 9pm and Mazatlan vs Necaxa at 11pm. ESPN Deportes has Tijuana vs Toluca at 11pm ET.
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Photo by LAFC
