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Pretty goals lead Toronto FC past Philadelphia (video)

By Nicholas MendolaMay 4, 2018, 10:00 PM EDT
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Toronto FC’s unusually slow start to the season took a step toward the norm on Friday, when the Reds kicked off the MLS weekend with a comfortable win over the Philadelphia Union at BMO Field.

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Here are three things of note from TFC’s 3-0 win, as Victor Vazquez, Sebastian Giovinco, and Jay Chapman lit the proverbial lamp.

Vazquez absence might’ve been key to TFC’s slow start

Here’s what I love most about this goal, even more than Sebastian Giovinco’s cutting through ball.

Look at TFC’s Jonathan Osorio and most of Philadelphia’s defense, which thinks the Reds’ hometown midfielder is going to connect with Nicolas Hasler’s cross.

Nope, Vazquez darts into the thick of the 18 to turn the ball inside the near post. Osorio’s even in the midst of winding up for a dig.

Beautiful.

The 31-year-old has scored in both of his MLS matches since returning from a back injury, having scored eight goals with 10 assists in last season’s MLS debut voyage.

He went 71 minutes in the CONCACAF Champions League Final’s second leg, having missed all of TFC’s 2-1 first leg in Canada.

All told, TFC went 2W-4L-1T in the seven matches he missed between MLS and the CCL.

Could Michael Bradley serve a long-term purpose as a CB?

Bradley again went 90 minutes as an emergency center back for Toronto FC, and it has us dreaming of, perhaps, the USMNT captain becoming part of a three-man backline for club and country.

Imagine the ball-playing out of the back from Bradley, whose best assets are reading the game and pinging passes. As part of an American unit with John Brooks and Matt Miazga, holding the center of the field for young buck center mids Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams? Could be worse!

Seba’s still Seba

Giovinco had to wait til his fifth MLS match of the season to score, as he salted away TFC’s much-needed win with 35 minutes to play.

His relative league struggles aside, Giovinco is doing fine this season thanks to four goals and four assists in eight CONCACAF Champions League games.

Still, it’s good to see him on the board.

Red-hot Rebić scores again as AC Milan tops Torino

AC Milan
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Associated PressFeb 17, 2020, 10:22 PM EST
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MILAN (AP) Ante Rebić kept up his scoring form to lead AC Milan to a 1-0 win over struggling Torino in Serie A on Monday.

The Croatia international beat his marker to redirect a cross from the center of the area midway through the first half at the San Siro.

The score raised Rebić’s tally to six goals and an assist in eight matches since he earned his starting spot – a move that coincided with Zlatan Ibrahimović’s return to the Rossoneri.

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Bouncing back from a derby loss, Milan moved up to eighth and just beyond the Europa League places. The seven-time European champion is hoping to return to continental competition after voluntary withdrawing from this season’s Europa League to pay for UEFA financial fair play breaches.

Torino, meanwhile, lost its fifth straight, with new coach Moreno Longo still unable to turn things around in his second match in charge.

Ibrahimović narrowly missed a curling shot shortly after the break.

—

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Simeone: Liverpool intensity “makes me admire it as a rival”

UEFA Champions League
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By Nicholas MendolaFeb 17, 2020, 9:33 PM EST
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The UEFA Champions League returns at long last on Tuesday, and two of the greatest managers in the game will match wits for the first time.

No we’re not talking about Lucien Favre and Thomas Tuchel, the meeting of the minds in Tuesday’s other kickoff between Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain in Germany.

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Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp will go head-to-head with Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone in Spain, and the fiery German thinks it will be “absolutely interesting.”

From The Liverpool Echo:

“People say I emotional on the sideline,” Klopp said. “I am only on level 4, Diego is level 12. Really I am the kindergarten cop against him. He is so impressive after all these years, after so many years at the club – eight years. That is really long and having still this emotional level, still, wow. So impressive. I say, his teams are always organized world class.”

The admiration is mutual.

Simeone expects a huge challenge from a Liverpool team he regards on a historic plane.

“We are facing a magnificent team, really well-trained by a coach who is different and has different alternatives in his team,” he said, via The Independent. “We have always spoken about great teams throughout time and I have no doubt this Liverpool is going to go down in history as a great team because it is different to teams that we have admired. This team is much more intense, more adaptable, and it makes me admire it as a rival.”

The bettors say Liverpool is the heavy favorite in the first leg despite the match’s location at the Wanda Metropolitano. With football geniuses like Klopp and Simeone, however, either could have a plan to throw the other for a loop.

CONCACAF Champions League preview: Five MLS sides eye history

CONCACAF Champions League preview
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By Nicholas MendolaFeb 17, 2020, 8:47 PM EST
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Once the Premier League and La Liga had taken their final bows of the day on Saturday, there felt was a particular absence, one soon-to-be filled by domestic soccer.

Yes, MLS is coming soon, and the CONCACAF Champions League is even closer.

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Five MLS sides begin their Round of 16 ties over the next three evenings, some with easier paths than others to elusive CCL glory.

The competition may not have burned itself onto the mainstream, lagging behind continental competitions in Europe and South America, but those who’ve embraced it (hint: this guy) love the thing.

For all the progress Major League Soccer has made in its quarter-century, it’s yet to find much success in dealing with Liga MX powers in the fight to qualify for the Club World Cup.

MLS sides have not won the competition since it was rebranded the CCL. Only three MLS sides have made the CCL final this decade, with Real Salt Lake (2011), Montreal Impact (2015), and Toronto FC (2017) all coming up short at the last step.

The CCL provides everything you love and hate about World Cup qualifying, and those dicey pitches with sometimes worse lighting mean the favorites aren’t guaranteed much.

The top half of the bracket sees three MLS teams — Montreal, Seattle, and NYCFC — and just one Liga MX side, while the bottom half gives us a Liga MX v. MLS match-up straight away.

That’s Leon v. LAFC, and it begins Tuesday night in Mexico. That tie carries the added intrigue of MLS superstar Carlos Vela bringing his act back to his home country for the first time… ever.

Bracket

Saprissa (Costa Rica) v. Montreal — 8 p.m. ET Weds.
Olimpia (Honduras) v. Seattle — 10 p.m. ET Thurs.

San Carlos (Costa Rica) v. NYCFC — 8 p.m. ET Thurs.
Alianza (El Salvador) v. UANL Tigres — 8 p.m. ET Weds.

Leon v. LAFC — 10 p.m. ET Tues.
Portmore United (Jamaica) v. Cruz Azul — 8 p.m. ET Tues.

Comunicaciones (Guatemala) v. Club America — 10 p.m. ET Weds.
Montagua (Honduras) v. Atlanta United — 10 p.m. ET Tues.

The 2 Robbies podcast: VAR carnage at Stamford Bridge

By Nicholas MendolaFeb 17, 2020, 8:00 PM EST
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Robbie Mustoe and Robbie Earle dissect a crazy game at Stamford Bridge that saw Chelsea on the wrong side of several VAR decisions (00:45).

The gents also recap the big moments from the weekend; Liverpool beat Norwich (18:30), Son’s late winner against Aston Villa (24:45) and Arteta‘s attackers thrash Newcastle United (30:15).

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To listen to more lively conversations and passionate debate from Robbie Earle and Robbie Mustoe, subscribe to The 2 Robbies Podcast on Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

And you can follow them on Twitter @The2RobbiesNBC here.

[ Click here for The 2 Robbies archive ]