Grant Hanley blocked a full-force shot from Raheem Sterling, and couldn’t find his way back to his mark in time to prevent a goal.
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Kyle Walker‘s cross found Daniel Sturridge in traffic, and Scotland defender Hanley could only watch as the Liverpool man headed England into a 1-0 lead.
Hanley, who plays his club ball for Newcastle United, is in a hard-luck position, as he popped a point-blank header over the England goal later in the half.
The underdogs did not have their days on Tuesday in the CONCACAF Champions League.
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MLS side Atlanta United and Liga MX mainstays Cruz Azul cruised to second legs win at home to clinch places in the quarterfinals.
Cruz Azul 4-0 (6-1 agg.) Portmore United
Bringing a pair of away goals from Jamaica, the Liga MX hosts just needed to put this one on ice early.
Orbelin Pineda did that in the 22nd minute, and Cruz Azul struck thrice in the second half to win in a landslide.
Atlanta United 3-0 (4-1 agg.) Montagua
It was all about the Martinezes in Georgia, as Pity sandwiched a pair of goals around Josef’s 61st minute tally to send the Five Stripes into the next stage.
All the goals showed calm under pressure, but Pity’s first was gorgeous football. He also assisted Josef’s goal in Honduras during the first leg.
MARTINEZ!! ⚽️ Goal @ATLUTD! “Pity” Martínez scores the opener after a great combination and gives his team a 2-1 lead on the aggregate. | #SCCL2020 #ATLvMOT pic.twitter.com/dUf9WFg4i1
— Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League (@TheChampions) February 26, 2020
Remaining Round of 16 second legs
NYCFC v. San Carlos (5-3) — 6 p.m. Wednesday
Montreal Impact v. Deportivo Saprissa (2-2) — 8 p.m. Wednesday
Tigres UANL v. Alianza (1-2) — 8 p.m. Wednesday
Club America v. Comunicaciones (1-1) — 10 p.m. Wednesday
Seattle Sounders v. Olimpia (2-2) — 10 p.m. Thursday
LAFC v Leon (0-2) — 10 p.m. Thursday
MILAN (AP) The Italian government could lift its ban on sporting events by Monday in areas affected by the coronavirus if the number of cases stabilizes.
The outbreak forced a number of sporting events to be called off throughout the country this past weekend, including four Serie A matches in the north of Italy.
This week, the ban on sporting events was extended from Lombardy, Veneto and Piedmont – the areas hardest hit by the outbreak – to also include the regions of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Emilia Romagna and Liguria, until March 1.
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“If, as I hope, the statistics don’t give us different signs then maybe already by Monday these measures won’t be continued,” Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora said. “But it’s only Tuesday today and we have to wait and see what happens over the next few days. The health of the Italian citizens is the most important thing.”
Italy reported a 45% increase in the number of coronavirus cases Tuesday, from 222 to 300. Ten people have died, all of them elderly or suffering from other ailments.
“Obviously, I can’t say I’m not worried because I don’t want anyone to think we’re underestimating this emergency,” Premier Giuseppe Conte said before meeting with visiting World Health Organization representatives. “But we trust that with the measures we have implemented, there will be a containing effect in the coming days.”
Italy has closed schools, museums and theaters in the two regions where clusters have formed and troops are enforcing quarantines around 10 towns in Lombardy and the epicenter of the Veneto cluster, Vo’Euganeo.
Serie A matches this weekend are set to be played behind closed doors, including Juventus’ key match against Inter Milan. That game is not only potentially crucial to the title race but also sees the return of former Juventus coach Antonio Conte.
Inter’s Europa League match at home to Ludogorets on Thursday will also take place without any fans allowed in.
Serie C canceled all games in two leagues which have teams in the north. Volleyball and rugby games were also suspended nationwide through next weekend.
The Italian Winter Sports Federation suspended all of its events throughout the country for an entire week, although it said that “for now” next weekend’s World Cup ski races in La Thuile in the Valle d’Aosta region were still set to go ahead. Those races are operated by the International Ski Federation, which has already canceled races this season in China that were slated to test the course for the 2022 Beijing Games.
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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
This season’s Liga MX invasion of MLS continues with Jurgen Damm announcing that he’ll leave UANL Tigres this summer after five years with the club.
TUDN has the destination as Atlanta, though previous reports have linked Damm to the LA Galaxy is the spot.
And MLSSoccer.com scribe Tom Bogert says the Houston Dynamo have his “discovery rights” (which remains the worst concept in the entire league).
Reports emerged over the past 48 hours that the El Tri man was headed for an MLS club.
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The 12-times capped winger has one goal for Mexico, but has not been capped since Oct. 2018. He has spent his entire career in Liga MX.
Damm spent the early part of his career with Tecos and Pachuca, but has been with UANL Tigres since 2015.
He won four league titles with UANL, as well as the 2018 Campeones Cup.
Follow @NicholasMendolaTen minutes after his first, Jurgen Damm bags his second of the night to take Tigres' lead to 3-0. 👀 #LigaMXEng pic.twitter.com/RZMkMeqypR
— Fut Mex Nation (@FutMexNation) April 16, 2017
Ex-Arsenal man Serge Gnabry still has love for the club.
Gnabry tweeted that “London is still red” after he scored twice for Bayern Munich in a 3-0 beating of Chelsea on Tuesday in the first leg of a UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie.
This after scoring four times against Spurs in a previous Champions League group stage match and Tweeting that “North London is Red.”
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So what’s with the London form?
“I’ve got a lot of friends here,” Gnabry said after the game. “A lot of them were in the stands tonight, and it seems they give me a lot of good power.”
Gnabry only scored once during his time in England with Arsenal and West Brom but is a bona fide star in the Bundesliga.
With a three-goal advantage over Chelsea heading to Munich for a second leg, however, he’s not got his head in the clouds.
“Three goals ahead gives us a little bit of confidence, but we need to be prepared for the second leg. We can’t take it not seriously enough. … We’ve seen it last year with Liverpool beating Barcelona, so we have to be careful. We have to go into the second leg with all of our focus.”
Gnabry now has 51 goals and 29 assists in four seasons since returning to Germany from Arsenal. Not terrible production for a player the Gunners offloaded to Werder Bremen for under $6 million in 2016.
What color will London be when Chelsea buys him next year? We kid, we kid…
Follow @NicholasMendolaLondon still red.. #FCB pic.twitter.com/3108THrtzv
— Serge Gnabry (@SergeGnabry) February 25, 2020