By Shai Mamou

AJ Auxerre-AC Milan: 0-2 (Ibrahimovic 64′, Ronaldinho, 90′)

It was predictable, AJ Auxerre lost versus AC Milan on Tuesday evening (0-2). However, Jean Fernandez’s players were far from ridiculous despite the edge between the two records of achievements. For example, during almost every game in this European campaign, Auxerre developed a quite interesting soccer and threatened their opponent’s goalkeeper a few times before… conceding a goal. Not so impressed by Massimiliano Allegri’s armada (though Pirlo and Pato were missing), Sammaritano and co. were brave opponents and would probably have surprised the Italians with a little more realism. At this particular game, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (photo) is one of the best strikers in the world.

On one of his first opportunities, the Swedish bombarded the poor Sorin with a shot under the bar. Then, a few seconds before the final whistle, Ronaldinho reminded everyone that he was still a wizard in spite of his situation in Italy and his numerous late-night parties. After a nice move, the Brazilian bended the ball with his left foot with a disconcerting easiness to beat the French goalkeeper. Lucid but not convincing, Milan will have to show a lot more serenity when they will face a more experienced team… If Auxerre abandons the hope of a qualification for the next round, the players of Burgundy still have the possibility to join the Europa League if they manage to win versus Real Madrid two weeks from now.

Auxerre : O. Sorin, C. Hengbart, (K. Chafni 59′), A. Coulibaly, S. Grichting, D. Dudka, D. Oliech, B. Pedretti, D. Ndinga, V. Birsa, F. Sammaritano, (J. Quercia 66′), R. Contout, (A. Traoré 83′)

AC Milan : C. Abbiati, I. Abate, A. Nesta, T. Silva, G. Zambrotta, G. Gattuso, M. Ambrosini, C. Seedorf, (K. Boateng 76′), M. Flamini, Z. Ibrahimovic, (Ronaldinho 85′), Robinho

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Schalke 04-Lyon: 3-0 (Farfan 13′, Huntelaar 20′, Huntelaar 89′)

If some fans had any doubt about it, Lyon is still sick. Completely overwhelmed by a team of Schalke which has just begun to find its cruising speed, the Frenchmen seemed far from their usual level in Champions League (semi-final last year). Forget about the impressive collective force during the Essien, Juninho or Benzéma time years ago. Today, Lyon has no certitude and no real fundamentals to oppose to teams like this Schalke. Aggressiveness, determination and realism were the keys of the German success on Wednesday at the Veltins Arena. And Felix Magath can really be satisfied of his summer recruits. If he did not score, Raul brought all his experience and was a permanent danger for the febrile defense of Olympique Lyon. But if one guy is to praise in this game, it’s definately Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. As a French journalist, I only can regret that no team in France thought about recruiting him (yes offense to Marseille or Lyon). With two opportunist goals, the Dutchman proved his flair was still intact despite his mixed episodes in Madrid and Milan. Jefferson Farfan also played well, reminding he was one of PSV EIndhoven’s top players a few years ago, scoring the first goal of the game. Even if his team worried a lot of observers, Claude Puel can be relieved. His team is already qualified for the next round thanks to the unexpected win of Hapoel Tel Aviv versus Benfica (3-0).

Schalke 04 : M. Neuer, A. Uchida, B. Höwedes, C. Metzelder, L. Schmitz, J. Farfan, (Edu 66′), P. Kluge, J. Jones, (J. Matip 70′), J. Jurado, (C. Deac 84′), Raul, K. Huntelaar

Lyon : H. Lloris, A. Réveillère, P. Diakhaté, D. Lovren, A. Cissokho, M. Bastos, Y. Gourcuff, (M. Pjanic 61′), J. Toulalan, K. Källström, J. Briand, Lisandro, (B. Gomis 46′), (J. Pied 73′)

By William Gray

TORONTO—In their typical scrappy fashion, the Colorado Rapids clawed their way to a 2-1 win in extra time to claim their first MLS Cup.

On Sunday night at BMO Field in Toronto, the Rapids encapsulated their entire season in one physical, gutsy performance that brought the MLS Cup to Colorado.

Early, the game looked as though it would go the way of a pre-written MLS script.

Recently named league MVP, David Ferreira, scored on a well-timed cross from Dallas midfielder Marvin Chavez.

With a win, Dallas would also claim their first MLS Cup with the MVP in tow.

Chavez would of course be named finals MVP, and Colorado would probably look into changing their logo or colors again.

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By Gareth Hopkins

Predicting the Premier League top goal-scorer is never easy. Nobody has dominated the ‘golden boot’ prize like Thierry Henry who won the title 4 times in 8 seasons.

Since the departure of Henry (2007) the award has been won by 3 different candidate’s – Cristiano Ronaldo (2008), Nicolas Anelka (2009) and Didier Drogba (2010).

In fact, the only players, other than Henry, who have won the golden boot more than once…

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By Shai Mamou

Lille-Monaco: 2-1

The striking fact of this 14th week of Ligue 1 is undeniably the win of Lille versus Monaco. The win in itself is not surprising because Lille plays the best football in France for a few weeks whereas Monaco is unable to find cohesion and results. But the ability of Rudi Garcia’s team to keep heading the same way is remarkable. With two assists (for Frau and Obraniak), Eden Hazard destroyed Monaco’s defense and sometimes made a fool of his opponents with such nonchalance that his future promises to be golden. This guy is clearly one of the best prospects in Europe…

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By Rees Linn

FC Dallas landed in Toronto to begin preparations for Sunday’s 2010 MLS Cup Final.  The team seems to be soaring after their 3-0 throttling of LA last week en route to earning their first ever Western conference crown, and today the team also learned of the official announcement that David Ferreira was named the 2010 MLS MVP.
It’s a team that seems to have won over nearly every skeptic, and in reality, there is little reason for anything other than optimism going into this weekend’s final.  The team has already dispatched both of the 2009 MLS Cup finalists from this year’s playoffs.  They were able to take care of Salt Lake, who many had penciled in as this year’s favorites, and they completely dismantled the star-studded LA Galaxy.
Despite having a good feeling about Dallas’s chances of winning their first MLS championship on Sunday, I have several concerns about this particular matchup.
First, Dallas is playing Colorado, and the history between these two clubs is not a pretty one from Dallas’s perspective.  Most recently, Colorado has booted Dallas from the 2005 and 2006 MLS championship race..

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By Rob Deyzel

Any Arsenal fan could have been forgiven at half time for being a little giddy with joy at the prospect of being 2-0 up and looking to add to their advantage. The gunners were a goal to the good after Fabregas put Nasri through on goal, calmly taking it past Gomes in goal and somehow sliding the ball into the net from a seemingly impossible angle.

The second goal was scored after Hutton was caught napping at right back leaving time for Arshavin time to play a perfect ball for Chamakh to poke the ball home from 8 yards. Everything looked good with Spurs rarely threatening and giving Fabianski nothing to worry about.

The second half was somewhat of a shock to all Arsenal fans…

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By Kieran Lovelock

In 2003 Roman Abramovich (photo) took over at Chelsea and less than two years later the club had gone from the verge of extinction to runaway Premiership champions.

Abramovich was reportedly worth $14 billion at the time and was unrestrictive in the wages he would offer Chelsea recruits and the money he would give his managers. There was little strategy in terms of bringing youth through and no player was out of reach hence the immediate success Chelsea experienced whenAbramovich first came in.

But although Abramovich invested serious amounts of his own hard earned cash in Chelsea he has always given his managers freedom in who they hire and who they fire. In a way it was a dream combination with a bottomless pit of money being on call from a man who didn’t care how it was spent.

However in recent seasons things seemed to have changed. Sources at Stamford Bridge…

By Peter Herrnreiter

Tight defending and lackadaisical attacking were on display today as Sweden hosted Germany in an international friendly in Gothenburg.  Germany, who fielded four first time internationals, had a difficult time breaking the Swedish backline, with Toni Kroos coming the closest to any real scoring chance for either side.

German manager Joachim Loew decided to use the match to his advantage, fielding defender Marcel Schmelzer and midfielder Lewis Holtby in the starting XI, while later adding Mario Goetze and Andre Schurrle in the second half.  A host of German regular games was absent for the trip to the north…

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By Kieran Lovelock

England were totally and utterly outclassed in front of a somber Wembley crowd last night as the French strolled to a 2-1 win in London.

All the focus before the match was whether or not Newcastle striker centre forward Andy Carroll would start for England. But if the truth be told it was the same old story for the Tree Lions despite the debut of England’s newly found goalscoring talent.

France were on top from the outset and when Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema…

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By Jennifer Juneau

As an American sports fan living in Europe I would have to argue Yes while many Americans (who strictly watch MLS) may argue No.  So what’s in a name?

When I think of the game in terms of soccer I think of school-age children in the US kicking a ball up and down a field and making endless efforts to roll it into the opponent’s net not only because it’s recreational but simply because it is a popular activity to fit into their over-loaded schedules.  (The ball in this vision by the way is strictly black and white.)

Youth soccer is one of the most widely played sports in the US with an estimated 3 million players between the ages of 5 and 19.  The induction of the term soccer mom into American speech in the late 1990s does not help to remove any stigma about what the game means in the US in the eyes of the rest of the world.  In America…

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