Soccer Sports News & Betting

Jose Antonio Reyes and Sidnei scored second-half goals Saturday. To bring Benfica a 2-0 win over Sporting Lisbon and end its crosstown rival’s perfect start to the Portuguese league season.

Reyes received a pass from substitute Pablo Aimar and sent a curling shot home in the 67th minute to the delight of most of the 60,022 spectators at Benfica’s Stadium of Light.

Sidnei ran in to head Carlos Martins’ floated free kick at the far post to make it 2-0 five minutes later.

Reyes and Sidnei had not scored previously for Benfica. They arrived at the club from Atletico Madrid and Internacional de Porto Alegre respectively in the offseason as the club’s new coach, Quique Sanchez Flores, attempted to remodel his squad.

Sporting’s defeat left it in second place behind Nacional, which hosts Amadora on Sunday and is the only team remaining with maximum points.

Nacional and Sporting have nine points. Defending champions FC Porto, which beat Pacos Ferreira 2-0 on Friday, has eight, together with Benfica.

Also Saturday, it was: Braga 1, Naval 1; and Setubal 1, Rio Ave 0.

Naval dropped to fifth place after the draw at Braga.

Braga striker Albert Meyong Ze took advantage of Paulao’s mistake to give the home side a 15th-minute lead, with Naval midfielder Bruno Lazaroni equalizing from the penalty spot eight minutes from time.

Setubal edged promoted Rio Ave courtesy of a 65th-minute goal by attacking midfielder Ricardo Chaves.

Also on Sunday, Maritimo entertains Academica and Guimaraes visits last-place Trofense.

Belenenses welcomes Leixoes on Monday.

FC Barcelona won 2-1 at crosstown rival Espanyol in a Spanish league match on Saturday. That was halted for 10 minutes during the second half due to crowd trouble.

Referee Luis Medina Cantalejo took the decision after Barcelona supporters in the upper tier of Espanyol’s Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium threw flares at rival fans below.

Some Espanyol fans broke a fence and spilled onto the field in an attempt to escape from the flares.

Espanyol opened the scoring through Ferran “Coro” Corominas in the 20th minute, with Thierry Henry equalizing in the 77th soon after the match restarted. Lionel Messi scored Barcelona’s winning goal with an injury-time penalty.

Espanyol was reduced to 10 men just before halftime when midfielder Nene received a second yellow card for elbowing Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets.

Earlier, Villarreal moved top of the league after winning 1-0 at Sporting Gijon with a goal from Giuseppe Rossi.

The striker struck in the 65th minute at Gijon’s El Molinon stadium as Villarreal maintained its unbeaten record this season and took a one-point lead in the standings.

Villarreal’s stay at the top will only last 24 hours if Valencia wins its home game against Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday to reclaim first place on goal difference.

Villarreal stayed a point clear of Real Madrid, which beat Real Betis 2-1 with goals by Gabriel Heinze and Ruud van Nistelrooy to climb into second place.

The defending champions gained their fourth straight win despite playing with 10 men for the final 35 minutes following the dismissal of left back Marcelo.

Villarreal has 13 points from five games. Madrid has 12, with Barcelona and Valencia on 10.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola recalled Henry, who he left on the bench in the team’s previous game against Betis, to take the position of center forward Samuel Eto’o. The France striker had hinted this week he may leave Barcelona if the coach persisted in playing him on the left wing.

Guardiola was rewarded when Henry slid the ball into an empty net after it bounced off goalkeeper Carlos Kameni and defender Daniel Jarque.

Messi converted Barcelona’s late penalty, awarded when Eto’o, a 54th-minute substitute, was tripped by defender Nico Pareja.

Espanyol took the lead after Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes had allowed a cross to hit the crossbar, with Coro seizing on the rebound to fire home. Valdes claimed he had been impeded by forward Luis Garcia and received a yellow card for his protests.

Gijon’s defeat was its fifth in five matches - in which it has conceded 20 goals - since it returned to the top flight after a decade’s absence.

However, the home team - which in its previous two games lost 6-1 to Barcelona and 7-1 to Madrid - gave a much more accomplished display against Villarreal and almost scored in the 41st minute when striker Mate Bilic’s header struck the bar.

Rossi, who had entered the field as a halftime substitute, fired the winning goal from a corner by another replacement, Santi Cazorla.

The goal provoked a furious reaction from Gijon players, who claimed Villarreal striker Joseba Llorente handled the ball. Moments later, Gijon coach Manuel Preciado was ordered from the bench for his protests.

Madrid dominated the game at Manuel Ruiz de Lopera Stadium from the start and Heinze leaped to head home in the 18th minute from Rafael van der Vaart’s floated free kick from the left.

Betis goalkeeper Casto Espinosa then came to his team’s rescue on several occasions to prevent Madrid from extending its lead before halftime. However, the home team also went close in the 45th minute when midfielder Achille Emana’s shot was pushed onto the post by Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

Betis, without a win this season, leveled in the 54th when Garcia ran in to fire home the rebound after the striker’s penalty was parried by Casillas. Marcelo’s foul on Damia Abella led to the spot kick and the Brazilian’s ejection.

Garcia was also ejected in the 82nd after receiving a second yellow card and van Nistelrooy won Madrid three points with an injury-time strike following a swift counterattack.

Also on Sunday, it’s: Atletico vs. Sevilla; Malaga vs. Valladolid; Almeria vs. Recreativo Huelva; Athletic Bilbao vs. Getafe; Racing Santander vs. Mallorca; and Numancia vs. Osasuna.

Results from the fourth round of the Portuguese first division football league. (home teams listed first):
Saturday’s Games

Braga 1, Naval 1

Setubal 1, Rio Ave 0

Benfica 2, Sporting Lisbon 0

Sunday’s Games

Maritimo vs. Academica

Nacional vs. Amadora

Trofense vs. Guimaraes

Monday’s Game

Belenenses vs. Leixoes.

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Results from the fifth round of Spain. First-division football league (home teams listed first):

Saturday’s Games

Real Betis 1, Real Madrid 2

Sporting Gijon 0, Villarreal 1

Espanyol 1, Barcelona 2

Sunday’s Games

Malaga vs. Valladolid

Almeria vs. Recreativo Huelva

Athletic Bilbao vs. Getafe

Racing Santander vs. Mallorca

Numancia vs. Osasuna

Valencia vs. Deportivo La Coruna

Atletico Madrid vs. Sevilla

Saturday, Oct. 4

Villarreal vs. Real Betis

Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid

Sunday, Oct. 5

Recreativo Huelva vs. Malaga

Getafe vs. Almeria

Sevilla vs. Athletic Bilbao

Mallorca vs. Sporting Gijon

Osasuna vs. Racing Santander

Deportivo La Coruna vs. Numancia

Valladolid vs. Valencia

Real Madrid vs. Espanyol.

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Results Saturday from the seventh round of the French first-division football league. (home teams listed first):

Saturday’s Games

Auxerre 3, Le Havre 0

Caen 3, Nantes 0

Le Mans 1, Marseille 1

Lyon 2, Nancy 1

Rennes 1, Nice 0

Sochaux 1, Lorient 1

Paris Saint-Germain 0 Grenoble 1

Sunday’s Games

Monaco vs. Lille

Valenciennes vs. Toulouse

Bordeaux vs. Saint-Etienne

Saturday, Oct. 4

Grenoble vs. Nantes

Le Havre vs. Le Mans

Lorient vs. Bordeaux

Marseille vs. Caen

Nice vs. Sochaux

Toulouse vs. Auxerre

Lille vs. Valenciennes

Sunday, Oct. 5

Rennes vs. Lyon

Saint-Etienne vs. Monaco

Nancy vs. Paris Saint-Germain.

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Results from the fourth round of the Eredivisie. The Dutch first-division football league (home teams listed first):

Saturday’s Games

FC Twente 3, De Graafschap 0

Willem II 2, AZ Alkmaar 5

NAC Breda 4, SC Heerenveen 2

PSV Eindhoven 1, FC Volendam 0

Sunday’s Games

FC Groningen vs. Feyenoord

Ajax vs. Vitesse Arnhem

Sparta Rotterdam vs. Roda JC

ADO The Hague vs. FC Utrecht

NEC Nijmegen vs. Heracles Almelo

Friday, Oct. 3

AZ Alkmaar vs. Sparta Rotterdam

Saturday, Oct. 4

PSV Eindhoven vs. De Graafschap

Heracles Almelo vs. Roda JC

Vitesse Arnhem vs. Willem II

Sunday, Oct. 5

FC Groningen vs. ADO The Hague

SC Heerenveen vs. Ajax

FC Volendam vs. NAC Breda

FC Utrecht vs. FC Twente

Feyenoord vs. NEC Nijmegen.

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Results in the Serie A, the Italian first-division football league. (home teams listed first):

Saturday’s Games

Sampdoria 0, Juventus 0

Fiorentina 1, Genoa 0

Sunday’s Games

Bologna vs. Napoli

Catania vs. Chievo Verona

Lecce vs. Cagliari

Palermo vs. Reggina

AS Roma vs. Atalanta

Torino vs. Lazio

Udinese vs. Siena

AC Milan vs. Inter Milan

Saturday, Oct. 4

Lazio vs. Lecce

Inter Milan vs. Bologna

Sunday, Oct. 5

Atalanta vs. Sampdoria

Chievo Verona vs. Fiorentina

Genoa vs. Napoli

Juventus vs. Palermo

Reggina vs. Catania

Siena vs. AS Roma

Udinese vs. Torino

Cagliari vs. AC Milan.

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Results Saturday in English football. (home teams listed first):

Premier League

Aston Villa 2, Sunderland 1

Everton 0, Liverpool 2

Fulham 1, West Ham 2

Manchester United 0, Bolton 2

Middlesbrough 0, West Bromwich Albion 1

Newcastle 1, Blackburn 2

Stoke 0, Chelsea 2

Arsenal 1, Hull 2

League Championship

Barnsley 0, Norwich 0

Blackpool 1, Coventry 1

Burnley 3, Preston 1

Cardiff 1, Birmingham 2

Charlton 1, Sheffield Wednesday 2

Doncaster 0, Southampton 2

Plymouth 1, Nottingham Forest 0

Queens Park Rangers 0, Derby 2

Reading 4, Swansea 0

Sheffield United 2, Watford 1

Wolves 2, Bristol City 0

Ipswich 1, Crystal Palace 1

League One

Bristol Rovers 0, Crewe 0

Cheltenham 2, Stockport 2

Leeds 1, Hereford 0

Leicester 1, Hartlepool 0

Milton Keynes Dons 1, Peterborough 2

Northampton 2, Brighton 2

Oldham 1, Huddersfield 1

Scunthorpe 2, Yeovil 0

Walsall 2, Carlisle 1

League Two

Bournemouth 3, Darlington 1

Bury 0, Wycombe 0

Chesterfield 0, Brentford 1

Dagenham & Redbridge 1, Rotherham 1

Gillingham 1, Port Vale 0

Grimsby 0, Barnet 1

Lincoln City 1, Morecambe 1

Luton 1, Chester 1

Macclesfield 1, Exeter 4

Notts County 2, Aldershot 1

Shrewsbury 2, Bradford 0.

Defending champion Olympiakos conceded its first points in the league. After a 0-0 draw at OFI Crete on Saturday.

The Piraeus team still leads the standings with 10 points from four games. Ergotelis, Larissa, AEK and PAOK follow with seven points each.

Larissa beat Panserraikos 3-1 in Saturday’s other game.

Olympiakos had an opportunity in the 13th minute when Arkadiusz Malarz saved a blistering shot from Fernando Belluschi.

Five minutes later, it was OFI’s turn to come close when Olympiakos goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis made a one-handed save against a powerful shot by Dame Ndoye.

Nikopolidis also stopped Ndoye’s low shot in the 41st.

Olympiakos’ major chance came in the 67th when Vassilis Torossidis’ header hit Malarz’s crossbar.

Olympiakos launched a series of attacks in the last 15 minutes, but OFI’s sturdy defense resisted well.

On Sunday, it’s: Xanthi vs. Thrasivoulos; Panionios vs. AEK; Iraklis vs. Panthrakikos; PAOK vs. Aris; and Levadiakos vs. Asteras.

Panathinaikos’ match against Ergotelis has been postponed until Oct. 29 because of a Madonna concert at the Athens Olympic stadium.

Hull scored twice in the second half to beat Arsenal 2-1 in the Premier League on Saturday. Frustrating the Gunners with its physical and aggressive style of play.

It was the first home defeat for Arsenal since losing 1-0 to West Ham on April 7, 2007, and only its second loss at Emirates Stadium since the team moved from Highbury in 2006.

“We’re only the second team to come here and win. I’ve got a good group of players,” Hull manager Phil Brown said. “We weren’t fazed by Wembley, we weren’t fazed by St. James’ Park and then all of a sudden you come to the Emirates and I don’t think the players were fazed by it.”

Arsenal took the lead in the 51st minute when Theo Walcott weaved into the area with excellent control and passed to Emmanuel Adebayor, whose flick to Cesc Fabregas saw the ball come off Hull defender Paul McShane into the goal.

Hull equalized 11 minutes later when midfielder Geovanni struck a powerful 30-meter (yard) shot past goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.

Striker Daniel Cousin put the Tigers ahead in the 66th with a header from an in-swinging corner.

“We are all disappointed,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “The dressing room is very, very shocked and quiet, but it’s part of mental strength to deal with that and show how united we are Tuesday night.”

The defeat was bitter for Arsenal fans who believed their team was facing weaker opposition, and many expressed their vitriol when leaving the ground. This is Hull’s first season in the top flight since it was founded in 1904.

Arsenal hosts FC Porto in the Champions League group stage on Tuesday.

Wenger appeared dejected and got confused at one point during the news conference after the game, making a slip of the tongue by naming the wrong opponent.

“After we were 1-0 up, that’s where we were a bit careless instead of pushing on and scoring the second goal. We gave too much room to West Brom and in the end we were caught,” he said.

Hull’s goals were the first scored by an opposing team in the Premier League at Emirates since Arsenal and Liverpool played to a 1-1 draw on April 5.

“I decided to pick a team to come to the Emirates and try to cause them one or two problems,” Brown said. “We played some good positive stuff, some good football, some of the best I’ve actually seen Hull City play.”

Arsenal’s second defeat this season took it from first to fourth in the standings with 12 points, one more than Hull.

“Everything has gone well for us today which is pleasing,” Brown said. “It has to when you’re at the Emirates.”

Hull’s fans erupted into celebration at the final whistle and even Arsenal supporters applauded the Tigers when they walked off the pitch.

Arsenal dominated possession in the first half and created the most chances, but Hull’s solid defense and aggressive play often frustrated the Gunners.

“I was disappointed with the performance of our team in the first half,” Brown said. “So to say I was a little bit harsh in the criticism at halftime would be an understatement.”

It has been more than 20 years since the sides last met, when Arsenal won 5-1 on aggregate in the second round of the League Cup in 1988.

The last time the two clubs were in the same division was in the second tier during World War I. Their last prior league match was when Hull beat Arsenal 1-0 in April 1915, a few weeks before football was suspended because of the war.

Arsene Wenger won’t be celebrating a dozen years as Arsenal manager Sunday. After losing 2-1 to Hull in a shock home defeat in the Premier League.

Wenger has won three league titles and four FA Cups since joining Arsenal in 1996, but the trophy case is gathering dust. The north London club hasn’t won the league since 2004 or a major trophy since the FA Cup in 2005.

The latest defeat to Hull on Saturday, the eve of his 12th anniversary as coach, was another blow to the 58-year-old Frenchman.

“There’s nothing to celebrate (Sunday),” Wenger said. “Even if we had won, there was nothing to celebrate anyway.”

It was the second defeat this season to weaker opposition, with Arsenal losing 1-0 to Fulham on Aug. 23. The Gunners bounced back to win their next three and propel themselves into first place. It was short-lived, however, and they now sit fourth in the league after six matches with 12 points, just behind Aston Villa.

This is Hull’s first season in top flight football since the club from northeast England was founded in 1904 and the Tigers played aggressive football to defeat Arsenal.

Three of the goals Arsenal has conceded this season, including one Saturday, came from poor defending of corners.

“It is a weakness in our team, but it is linked with the level of concentration. You can spend working hours on the training pitch, but if you don’t attack the ball on the day of the game,” Wenger said, cutting off the sentence and moving on to say “I believe it’s down to how much you want the ball.”

Wenger also criticized his team’s concentration, attitude and commitment to winning the match.

Arsenal took the lead in the 51st minute when Theo Walcott weaved into the area with excellent control and passed to Emmanuel Adebayor, whose flick to Cesc Fabregas saw the ball come off Hull defender Paul McShane into the goal.

Hull equalized 11 minutes later when midfielder Geovanni struck a powerful 30-meter (yard) shot past goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.

Striker Daniel Cousin put the Tigers ahead in the 66th minute with a header from an in-swinging corner.

“Hull was committed and it’s a good learning lesson for us because the commitment was on their side,” Wenger said. “We know that from this kind of game in the league, when your attitude from the start on is not good enough, you’re at risk to lose the game.

“After we were 1-0 up, that’s where we were a bit careless instead of pushing on and scoring the second goal.”

Wenger is concerned about lingering aftereffects the loss may have on Arsenal’s domestic campaign. He faces mounting pressure to deliver a first league title since 2004, but is trying to do so on a much smaller budget than his main rivals.

When asked about Tuesday’s Champions League match against FC Porto, he said: “I’m more concerned by the Premier League at the moment. It’s very concerning when you lose a game like we lost it today.”

Villarreal moved top of the Spanish league on Saturday. After winning 1-0 at Sporting Gijon with a goal from Giuseppe Rossi.

The striker struck in the 65th minute at Gijon’s El Molinon stadium as Villarreal maintained its unbeaten record this season and took a one-point lead in the standings.

Villarreal’s stay at the top will only last 24 hours if Valencia wins its home game against Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday to reclaim first place on goal difference.

Villarreal stayed a point clear of Real Madrid, which beat Real Betis 2-1 with goals by Gabriel Heinze and Ruud van Nistelrooy to climb into second place.

The defending champions gained their fourth straight win despite playing with 10 men for the final 35 minutes following the dismissal of left back Marcelo.

In Saturday’s late game, FC Barcelona visited crosstown rival Espanyol.

Villarreal has 13 points from five games. Madrid has 12 and Valencia 10.

Gijon’s defeat was its fifth in five matches - in which it has conceded 20 goals - since it returned to the top flight after a decade’s absence.

However, the home team - which in its previous two games lost 6-1 to Barcelona and 7-1 to Madrid - gave a much more accomplished display against Villarreal and almost scored in the 41st minute when striker Mate Bilic’s header struck the bar.

Rossi, who had entered the field as a halftime substitute, fired the winning goal from a corner by another replacement, Santi Cazorla.

The goal provoked a furious reaction from Gijon players, who claimed Villarreal striker Joseba Llorente handled the ball. Moments later, Gijon coach Manuel Preciado was ordered from the bench for his protests.

Madrid dominated the game at Manuel Ruiz de Lopera Stadium from the start and Heinze leaped to head home in the 18th minute from Rafael van der Vaart’s floated free kick from the left.

Betis goalkeeper Casto Espinosa then came to his team’s rescue on several occasions to prevent Madrid from extending its lead before halftime. However, the home team also went close in the 45th minute when midfielder Achille Emana’s shot was pushed onto the post by Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

Betis, without a win this season, leveled in the 54th when Garcia ran in to fire home the rebound after the striker’s penalty was parried by Casillas. Marcelo’s foul on Damia Abella led to the spot kick and the Brazilian’s ejection.

Garcia was also ejected in the 82nd after receiving a second yellow card and van Nistelrooy won Madrid three points with an injury-time strike following a swift counterattack.

Also on Sunday, it’s: Atletico vs. Sevilla; Malaga vs. Valladolid; Almeria vs. Recreativo Huelva; Athletic Bilbao vs. Getafe; Racing Santander vs. Mallorca; and Numancia vs. Osasuna.

Juventus was held to a 0-0 draw at Sampdoria on Saturday, its second draw in four days.
The closest either club came to scoring at Luigi Ferraris stadium was a shot by Juventus captain Alessandro Del Piero that hit the post in the 20th minute.

“Unfortunately we weren’t able to win or score, but it was a tough game and we had some chances,” Juventus and Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini said.

Juventus also drew 1-1 with Catania on Wednesday. Sampdoria has now drawn four of its first five games, losing the other.

In Saturday’s second game, Alberto Gilardino scored his sixth goal in all competitions as Fiorentina beat Genoa 1-0.

Inter Milan, which faces AC Milan in the first big derby of the season on Sunday, leads the Serie A with 10 points. Juventus moved into a tie for second with Lazio and Atalanta with nine points each. Fiorentina has seven points, Genoa six and Sampdoria four.

Del Piero was paired with Amauri in attack and the Juve captain had the first chance four minutes in from a free kick that goalkeeper Antonio Mirante blocked, with Christian Poulsen missing the rebound.

Del Piero hit the outside of the post from inside the area in the only other decent threat of the first half.

Sampdoria assistant coach Nicolo Frustalupi was sent off in the 36th, apparently for entering the field of play.

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon missed his second consecutive game, with Alex Manninger filling in between the posts.

Sampdoria pressed at the start of the second half and occasional Italy forward Antonio Cassano curved a free kick around the wall in the 48th but the ball went wide.

Vincenzo Iaquinta replaced Del Piero in the 74th but couldn’t add much to Juve’s sagging attack. The Turin power has scored only four goals through five rounds, allowing just two.

Sampdoria midfielder Daniele Dessena put a low shot on goal in added time, but Manninger was ready and dropped down to stop it.

On Tuesday, Juventus travels to Belarus to face FC BATE Borisov in the Champions League. Sampdoria takes a 5-0 first-leg lead into its return game with Kaunas of Lithuania in the UEFA Cup on Thursday.

Fiorentina bounced back from a midweek 3-0 loss to Lazio ahead of its Champions League game with Steaua Bucharest on Tuesday.

Fiorentina controlled most of the first half, with Genoa changing nearly half its team from Wednesday’s 3-1 win over AS Roma.

Adrian Mutu missed a header wide for Fiorentina three minutes in, Riccardo Montolivo’s free kick in the 18th went directly at goalkeeper Rubens Fernando Robinho and Alberto Gilardino missed a long shot high in the 32nd.

Genoa put on joint league scoring leader Diego Milito in the 51st and the Argentine provided an immediate spark, with Ruben Olivera putting a shot on goal a minute later.

Milito had a clear look in the 54th and goalkeeper Sebastian Frey made a tough save on his shot from within the area.

Fiorentina responded three minutes later with a shot from Marco Donadel that Robinho pushed wide.

Gilardino scored in the 65th, using his strength to hold off Genoa’s defenders with his back to goal, turning and shooting from a sharp angle inside the far post. A few minutes later, the Italy forward exited with an apparent left leg problem.

Genoa threatened to equalize in the final minutes and Frey made several key saves.

Belgium midfielder Stijn Wuytens scored to lead PSV Eindhoven over FC Volendam 1-0 Saturday. And back to the top of the Dutch league.

Wuytens headed substitute Otman Bakkal’s cross in the 73rd.

Also Saturday, SC Heerenveen had its first defeat of the season, losing 4-2 at NAC Breda. Matijn Reuser opened the scoring in the 14th and Anthony Lurling doubled the lead in the 36th.

Michael Dingsdag pulled one back for Heerenveen in the 41st before Matthew Amoah’s two goals in the 42th and 45th settled the win for Breda. Danijel Pranjic also converted a penalty kick in the 60th for Heerenveen.

PSV leads the league standings with nine points, beating second-placed NAC on a superior goal difference. FC Twente is third with eight.

Forwards Blaise N’Kufo, Romano Denneboom and Stein Huysegems each scored goals to lead Steve Mclaren’s Twente to a 3-0 over De Graafschap.

Ajax hosts Vitesse Arnhem on Sunday while Feyenoord travels to Groningen.

Also Saturday, Mounir El Hamdaoui’s first half hat-trick helped AZ Alkmaar beat Willem II 5-2.

Midfielder Demy de Zeeuw gave AZ the lead after five minutes and El Hamdaoui got three goals in the 22nd, 27th and 39th.

Moussa Dembele was also on target for AZ in the 37th while Frank Demouge got two consolation goals for Willem II in the 40th and 85th.

Dominic Cervi will become the fourth American in the Scottish Premier League after agreeing to join Celtic.
The 22-year-old University of Tulsa player had been without a team after spurning interest from Major League Soccer’s the Chicago Fire. Cervi will not be playing with the first team for now.

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan said Friday the team’s goalkeeping coach expects Cervi to be a two-year project.

“So don’t expect anything,” Strachan said. “If it is quicker than that then great.”

Cervi’s parents are Italian, meaning he should be able to play in Europe without needing a work permit.

The other Americans in the league are all midfielders - Maurice Edu and DaMarcus Beasley at Rangers and Michael Videira at Hamilton.

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European Championship extended to 24 teams.

The European Championship will be expanded to 24 teams starting in 2016.

UEFA’s executive committee decided Friday to increase the field from its current 16-team format.

UEFA is confident the new format will not diminish the quality of the tournament.

UEFA also ruled that the 2012 championship will remain in Ukraine and Poland.