Once again, the soccer news starts with MLS in the Concacaf Champions League round of 16 first-legs and once again it's mixed results. Sporting Kansas City shutout Toluca 3-0 at home. Krisztian Nemeth scored in the 35th with Gerso Fernandez doubling the lead in the 52nd. Ilie Sanchez finished off the scoring in the 72nd minute. Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia kept the clean sheet with three saves. . . .
Club Brugge takes the lead in the Europa League
Friday's soccer news starts in the Europa League round of 32 first-legs. Ethan Horvath was in goal for Club Brugge's 2-1 home win over Red Bull Salzburg, making four saves. Club Brugge fell behind in the 17th minute with Stefano Denswil equalizing in the 64th. Wesley Moraes scored in the 81st minute. "A Club Brugge wrecked by stress in the first-half, afraid of making mistakes. I was livid at . . .
The Europa League tries to compete
Friday's soccer news opens with Europe's other club tournament. The Europa League began its group stage on Thursday. now facing a coverage issue in the United States. In English, the games are only available on B/R Live, the new streaming service launched by Turner Sports. In Spanish, Univision has coverage but mainly on their Deportes channel. UEFA has tried to raise the status of the Europa . . .
UEFA and its Super Cup
By J Hutcherson (Aug 14, 2018) US Soccer Players - Wednesday's UEFA Super Cup doesn't officially start anything. It's not the kickoff for either of Europe's club tournaments, both well into qualifying at this point. UEFA's Champions League couldn't even get out of the way for the World Cup, playing games while that tournament was still underway in Russia. The domestic leagues in Europe stagger . . .
The Scottish Premier League question
The 2018-19 Scottish Premier League season starts this weekend, a league that is now only occasionally identified with USMNT players. Perry Kitchen's time at Hearts was the latest example, but it's a list that includes the Alejandro Bedoya - Carlos Bocanegra - Maurice Edu era at Rangers and prior to that DaMarcus Beasley and Claudio Reyna spending time with the club. The collapse of Rangers' . . .
La Liga in the Europa League
We start the soccer news with La Liga's dominance in the Europa League. Since revamping the UEFA Cup and merging in the Cup Winners' Cup for the 2009-10 Europa League, Spanish clubs have won it five out of eight times. The only time over that period that a La Liga team lost a Europa League final was when both finalists came from Spain. Sevilla accounts for three of those titles with their . . .
Arsenal exits the Europa League
The soccer news starts with a familiar story. Arsenal is out of Europe, exiting the Europa League at the semifinal stage after a 2-1 aggregate loss to Atletico Madrid. Following the 1-1 home draw, Arsenal lost 1-0 at Atletico. The result isn't necessarily surprising, continuing a streak of disappointment for the club in European competition. The last time Arsenal won a European competition was the . . .
Arsene Wenger decides he’s done at Arsenal
The Friday soccer news starts with Arsene Wenger announcing he's leaving as manager of Arsenal at the end of the season. Wenger has been under intense criticism for the club's position in the Premier League and in Europe. Arsenal is in the Europa League semifinals, but it's a different era for competition among the London clubs. “After careful consideration and following discussions with the . . .
Who has the most to lose in Europe?
By J Hutcherson (Apr 17, 2018) US Soccer Players - It's an off week for the Champions League and Europa League while we wait for the semifinals in both of Europe's club tournaments. With eight clubs still in position to lift a trophy, it's worth remembering what happened last season. Though Real Madrid kept their Champions League streak alive at the expense of Juventus, it was the Europa League . . .
La Liga’s dominance in Europe still in place
Friday's soccer news starts with the draw for the 2017-18 Champions League semifinals. On one side of the bracket, old acquaintances Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. On the other, Liverpool plays Roma in a rematch of the 1984 final. Well, a meeting of the same teams that once played for a trophy in a noticeably different version of the European club championship. Times have changed, and right . . .
