Soccer Capsules: America draws against Atlas
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Chilean defender Fabricio Fuentes scored an equalizer in the second half as Atlas salvaged a 1-1 draw against America on Sunday in the fourth round of the Mexican Apertura season.
Defending Clausura champion Toluca was held to a 1-1 draw at home against Tigres, while Puebla and Atlante had a 1-1 draw.
Santos leads the Mexican league with a four consecutive wins and is two points clear of Monterrey, which has 10 points from a draw and three wins, including Saturday's 5-2 win over Pumas.
In other matches Saturday, Cruz Azul destroyed Pachuca 4-1 and Necaxa played to a 1-1 draw with Queretaro 1-1.
Other League Roundups
Reina blunder hands Arsenal 1-1 draw at Liverpool
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina accidentally pushed the ball into his own net to hand Arsenal a 1-1 draw at Anfield in their Premier League opener on Sunday.
The ball rebounded off Reina after Marouane Chamakh's header hit the goal post in the 90th minute to cancel out David Ngog's powerful strike.
"We defended very well and it's unfortunate to give a goal away at the end," Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said. "It doesn't matter if you've got 10 or 11 (players), and we're very disappointed it's not even a goal where they've used their man advantage."
The equalizer came after Liverpool overcame Joe Cole's sending off at the end of the first half to take the lead at the start of the second when Ngog beat Manuel Almunia at his near post.
Laurent Koscielny, who was the victim of Cole's red-card lunge, was sent off himself in second-half injury time after being shown a second yellow card for handling.
"I believe we got a deserved equalizer because I couldn't see Arsenal losing a game like this without being deeply hurt," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said.
This was Roy Hodgson's first significant challenge as Liverpool manager, having replaced Rafa Benitez after last season's disappointing seventh-place finish.
Hodgson's mission to build confidence was helped by pledges of loyalty from captain Steven Gerrard and Spain striker Fernando Torres, who replaced Ngog in the 74th minute having recovered from the groin injury sustained in the July 11 World Cup final.
Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano made Liverpool's starting lineup despite telling the club he wants to leave.
Arsenal's main offseason success was rejecting Barcelona's continued pursuit of Cesc Fabregas, but the captain missed the opener with a chest infection.
Despite Fabregas' absence, Arsenal initially looked more confident at a sunny Anfield. In a first-half with limited goal-scoring chances, Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen unleashed a fierce 30-meter (yard) strike after five minutes that Reina pushed clear.
Wenger's youthful squad is chasing the club's first Premier League title since 2004 and the Frenchman handed Wilshere his first Arsenal start — four days after the 18-year-old midfielder made his England debut.
Wilshere's main talking point before being replaced in the second half was a lunge on Mascherano in the 40th which earned him a booking.
A similarly reckless challenge saw Cole red-carded with half time approaching, with referee Martin Atkinson punishing the free recruit from Chelsea for a mistimed challenge on Koscielny, who was stretchered off but re-emerged at the start of the second half.
"There was certainly no intention from Joe Cole to foul the player, that's out of the question," Hodgson said. "He's throwing himself to try to block the ball."
Far from jolting Liverpool, the unchanged Reds pushed forward from the whistle at the start of the second period.
Mascherano sent the ball through to Ngog and the French striker, who had a 40th-minute header cleared off the line by Gael Clichy, dispatched a shot that Almunia was powerless to block.
For all Arsenal's attacking exuberance, the failure to sign a new goalkeeper could again prove costly for the team. Almunia missed the ball completely in the 32nd when he flapped at a corner.
Wenger rang in the changes at the hour-mark, with Theo Walcott coming on for Eboue, while Wilshere was replaced by Tomas Rosicky.
Before Reina's gaffe, the Spanish goalkeeper had produced a superb save, tipping over Rosicky's shot that was heading into he top corner.
Chelsea is the early front-runner by virtue of goals scored, after thrashing West Bromwich Albion 6-0 in its opener on Saturday.
Leader Fluminense routs Inter 3-0 in Brazil
SAO PAULO (AP) — Fluminense defeated Internacional's second-stringers 3-0 on Sunday to extend its unbeaten stretch to 11 matches and open a four-point lead in the Brazilian league.
Mariano, Washington and Emerson each scored for Fluminense, which reached 32 points from 14 rounds. Internacional rested most of its regular starters ahead of the second leg of its Copa Libertadores final against Mexico's Chivas Guadalajara on Wednesday.
Under the command of three-time Brazilian champion Muricy Ramalho, Fluminense hasn't lost since a 1-0 setback against Corinthians on May 23. The 1984 national champion has won five of its last six matches.
Right back Mariano opened the scoring at Maracana stadium with a left-footer from the top of the area in the 19th minute. Striker Washington added to the lead with a header in the 22nd and forward Emerson finished it off with a shot from close range in the 60th for Fluminense, which was playing without injured striker Fred and recently signed players Belletti and Deco.
Internacional, which dropped to seventh in the 20-team standings, played the final minutes a man down after striker Rafael Sobis was carded for a hard sliding tackle.
Internacional beat Chivas Guadalajara 2-1 in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores in Mexico last week and needs a draw on Wednesday to clinch its second Latin American title in four years.
Second-place Corinthians missed a close the gap on Fluminense in the league standings by losing 3-2 away to Avai, which jumped to third place but remains 10 points off the lead and six back from Corinthians.
Cruzeiro had a chance to overcome Avai for third but allowed a late equalizer in a 2-2 draw with six-time champion Sao Paulo at Morumbi stadium in Sao Paulo. Former Real Betis striker Ricardo Oliveira saved Sao Paulo from the loss with a goal from close range in the 90th in reply to Cruzeiro's 85th-minute goal.
Also Sunday, ninth-place Vasco scored late in a 2-1 win at Prudente for its fourth victory in six matches, while Gremio defeated Goias 2-0 to win for the first time in eight matches and leave relegation zone.
In Salvador, Santos fell 4-2 to Vitoria after going two men down in the second half. Defender Edu Dracena was red carded in the 25th and midfielder Marquinhos in the 40th. It was a rematch of the Brazilian Cup final, which Santos came out on top on Aug. 4.
On Saturday, 10-man Palmeiras beat Atletico Paranaense 2-0 to give World Cup winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari his first win since taking charge of the four-time national champion six matches ago. Scolari was sanctioned late in the match at Pacaembu for complaining with the referee.
Defender Danilo and substitute striker Ewerthon scored a goal each for Palmeiras, which played a man down from the beginning of the second half after striker Tadeu was sent off for elbowing an opponent.
Seeking its first Brazilian league title since 1994, Palmeiras is only 10th in the standings.
"It's not a victory that is going to make everything better all in a sudden," Scolari said. "We want to be near the top of the table, fighting for the title and a spot in the Copa Libertadores."
The top four clubs in the end secure a spot in the Copa Libertadores.
Before the match, Chile midfielder Jorge Valdivia was officially introduced to Palmeiras fans, but he still isn't fit enough to play.
Also Saturday, defending champion Flamengo, eighth in the standings, got past Ceara 1-0 with a first-half penalty kick goal by Serbian midfielder Dejan Petkovic.
In Goiania, Joel Santana's Botafogo beat last-place Atletico Goianiense 2-0 in Goiania to win its third in a row and move to fourth in the standings.
In Ipatinga, Brazil striker Diego Tardelli scored twice to help Atletico Mineiro defeat Guarani 3-1. The team led by Vanderlei Luxemburgo hadn't won in five Brazilian league matches and remains in relegation zone with only 13 points.
-- Tales Azzoni
Bordeaux, Lyon remain winless in French league
PARIS (AP) — Bordeaux and Lyon lost Sunday to remain without a win after two rounds of the French league and cast doubt on their title hopes.
Toulouse defeated Bordeaux 2-1 to top the standings on six points level with promoted Caen, which stunned last season's runner-up Lyon 3-2. Lyon has one point and Bordeaux is last without a point.
"The top spot is just a detail. We can't draw any conclusion after two rounds," Toulouse coach Alain Casanova said. "Maybe the big teams are not ready yet. In the long run, Bordeaux will quickly become competitive."
Paris Saint-Germain drew 0-0 with Lille to slip to fourth place with four points.
Last week, Caen beat defending champion Marseille, which also lost 3-2 at Valenciennes on Saturday to drop to 18th place.
"We know that those two big teams are not yet at their top, physically," Caen defender Thomas Heurtaux said. "That's why we said we were lucky to play them in the beginning of the season."
Also Saturday, it was: Nancy 0, Rennes 3; Brest 1, Auxerre 1; Lorient 1, Nice 2; Saint-Etienne 3, Sochaux 2 and Arles-Avignon 0, Lens 1.
The match between Monaco and Montpellier was postponed to Tuesday due to a damaged pitch from heavy rain.
Toulouse midfielder Moussa Sissoko charged down the right flank to feed Norway international Daniel Braaten, who buried the ball past goalkeeper Kevin Olimpa in the 45th minute.
Bordeaux midfielder Jaroslav Plasil leveled with a backheel flick off a pass from Fernando Cavenaghi in the 48th.
Toulouse midfielder Etienne Didot took advantage of some poor marking in the 82nd to collect a pass from Fode Mansare and beat Olimpa for the winning goal.
"There's a real psychological problem in terms of self-confidence," Bordeaux coach Jean Tigana said.
Caen forward Youssef El-Arabi beat the offside trap and chipped goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to score in the second minute.
Lyon striker Bafetimbi Gomis headed in a cross from Jimmy Briand, signed from Rennes in the offseason, to equalize four minutes later.
Caen forward Sambou Yatabare shot past Lloris from close range to give his team a 2-1 lead in the 16th. But Gomis redirected an off-target shot from Brazil left back Michel Bastos to level at 2-2 in the 23rd.
The Lyon defense failed to mark up properly on a free kick from Yohan Mollo, giving Caen midfielder Ismaila N'Diaye enough time to control the ball and fire home in the 77th.
Lyon was down to 10 men when Anthony Reveillere was sent off in the 45th. Reveillere had struggled to contain Mollo and earned two yellow cards for fouls on the Caen winger.
"We must be more consistent," Lyon coach Claude Puel said. "We're aware that we need to raise our game. We mustn't let our opponents have so many opportunities."
Lyon center back Cris and Bastos were replaced in the second half after picking up thigh injuries.
PSG could not find its finishing touch in Lille. Striker Guillaume Hoarau was clean through on goal in the 72nd but shot wide when goalkeeper Mickael Landreau quickly came off his line.
Landreau also saved Lille in the 59th by stopping the ball on the line from a corner by new signing Brazilian midfielder Nene.
"Tonight, we were solid defensively," PSG coach Antoine Kombouare told Canal Plus television. "But we missed the little thing that would have helped us to be efficient offensively."
Tulio de Melo missed a good chance for Lille in the 64th, shooting wide from six yards after the PSG defense had failed to clear a corner.
Nene had PSG's best first-half chance with a strike from the edge of the box that was stopped by Landreau in the 41st.
"The positive today is that we did not concede a goal against a good PSG team," Lille defender Adil Rami said. "They have a lot of attacking options but we managed to contain them."
"Still, a draw at home is never a very good result."
-- Trung Latieule
Melbourne Heart picks up 1st point in A-League
SYDNEY (AP) — Melbourne Heart picked up their first-ever A-League point, courtesy of a late own goal by the Newcastle Jets, in the second round of the new Australian season.
After losing 1-0 last week to Central Coast in the new team's first match, the Heart looked to be heading to their second defeat by the same score.
But a swift counterattack in the 79th minute finished with Newcastle player Ben Kantarovski deflecting a clearance over his own goalkeeper from the edge of the penalty area and into the net.
The Jets dominated the match and took the lead in the 60th minute through New Zealander Jeremy Brockie's strike — set up by a cross-field ball from Kantarovski.
Heart coach John van 't Schip said there was room for improvement with his team.
"There was some periods we played a bit of football but this evening, with the qualities we have in this team, we should play more football," the former Dutch international said.
"The positive thing was we showed that we were a team ... we got a result that we were very pleased with, and that's the first point."
The Wellington Phoenix, playing their first match of the season after a first-round bye in the now 11-team league, had a 3-3 home draw with Gold Coast United.
Chris Greeancre scored twice for the hometown Phoenix, while New Zealander Shane Smeltz had two for United before Gold Coast captain Jason Culina scored the equalizer with three minutes left.
The draw extended Wellington's home unbeaten streak to 20 matches on a rain-sodden pitch in the New Zealand capital that prevented any play at pace.
North Queensland Fury beat defending champions Sydney 2-1 with Chris Grossman and Dyron Daal scoring goals for the home side.
Perth's Jamie Harnwell scored in the 23rd minute and Mile Sterjovski in the 49th as the Glory beat the Melbourne Victory 2-0.
Central Coast striker Matt Simon scored in the 84th minute Sunday to give the Mariners a 1-1 draw with Adelaide United. Adelaide took the lead two minutes into first-half stoppage time when defender Iain Fyfe scored.
Brisbane had a second-round bye.
Excelsior stuns Feyenoord 3-2 in Dutch league
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Guyon Fernandez scored in injury time Sunday to give promoted Excelsior Rotterdam a 3-2 win over Feyenoord 3-2 in the Dutch league.
Fernandez put the ball in the net after collecting a rebound in the third minute of stoppage time to give Excelsior its first win of the season. He also hit the opening goal in the 29th minute in the Rotterdam derby.
Daan Bovenberg scored in the 77th for Excelsior, while Ron Vlaar and Miquel Nelom responded for Feyenoord.
Also Sunday, NEC Nijmegen beat Willem II 5-3, FC Utrecht downed NAC Breda 3-1 and Roda JC defeated ADO The Hague 3-1.
Mads Junker, Laurent Delorge and Jimmy Hempte scored for Roda, with Frantisek Kubik pulling one back for ADO in the first half.
PSV Eindhoven and NEC lead the standings with six points. Ajax and Roda are next with four.
On Saturday, Ajax secured its first win of the season by beating Vitesse Arnhem 4-2 and PSV maintained its perfect start with a 6-0 hammering of newcomer De Graafschap.
Defending champion FC Twente played its second straight 0-0 draw, this time against SC Heerenveen.
Also Saturday, AZ Alkmaar drew 1-1 with FC Groningen and VVV Venlo defeated Heracles Almelo 1-0.
Tasaka scores in Frontale's 2-0 win over Sanfrecce
TOKYO (AP) — Yusuke Tasaka got his first goal of the season to lead Kawasaki Frontale to a 2-0 victory against Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the J-League first division on Sunday.
Tasaka scored in the 54th minute and helped Kawasaki improve to fourth place.
"We have plenty of games left so we can't let up just yet," the 25-year-old Tasaka said.
Vitor Junior scored in the 66th with a close-range header.
Frontale is unbeaten for the last five games and has 32 points — six points behind league leaders Nagoya Grampus. Frontale and Grampus play each other on Wednesday.
Grampus beat Urawa Reds 3-1 on Saturday to take the top spot for the first time this season.
Kyoto Sanga lost its sixth straight match, edged out 1-0 by Cerezo Osaka.
Cerezo climbed to fifth spot, boosted by former Japan midfielder Akihiro Ienaga's solitary goal.
Lee Chun-soo, who played for South Korea in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. made his debut for Ardija in its 0-0 draw against Jubilo Iwata.
Benfica opens campaign with loss to Academica
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Defending champion Benfica lost 2-1 to 10-man Academica in the Portuguese league Sunday after rivals FC Braga and FC Porto made winning starts to their campaigns.
Miguel Fidalgo scored from Diogo Valente's free kick to put Academica ahead in the 26th minute, before Benfica equalized through Franco Jara in the 62nd.
Academica secured all three points when substitute Laionel scored in injury time.
Academica's Addy was sent off not long after halftime after receiving a second yellow card.
On Saturday, Hulk scored in the 84th minute to give Porto a 1-0 win at Naval under new coach Andre Villas-Boas.
Braga, league runner-up to Benfica last season, won 3-1 at home against promoted Portimonense on Friday.
On Saturday, Sporting Lisbon lost 1-0 at Pacos Ferreira and Setubal won 1-0 at Maritimo. On Sunday, Nacional beat Rio Ave 1-0 and promoted Beira Mar drew 0-0 with Leiria.
River claims 2nd straight win
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Facundo Affranchino scored an early goal as 10-man River Plate held on for a 1-0 win at Huracan in the Argentine Apertura tournament Sunday, recording a second win in as many games.
Affranchino forced the ball over the line after a run and pass from Gabriel Funes Mori in the 12th minute. River captain Ariel Ortega was sent off with 20 minutes left to play.
Velez Sarsfield and Estudiantes also claimed second wins of the tournament to join River, Racing Club and Banfield on six points atop the table. Velez had a 2-1 victory at newly-promoted All Boys, while Estudiantes beat Quilmes 2-0.
Also Sunday, Olimpo won 1-0 against Gimnasia La Plata in a match delayed by a 30-minute power outage in the second half.
Riordan inspires Hibs to 3-2 win at Motherwell
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Derek Riordan created all three goals as Hibernian came from behind to beat Motherwell 3-2 in their Scottish Premier League opener on Sunday.
John Sutton put Motherwell ahead in the 13th minute by flicking home Tom Hateley's cross, but Anthony Stokes latched onto Riordan's free kick in first-half injury time and forced the ball into the net to level.
Another precision delivery from Riordan in the 64th enabled Paul Hanlon to put Hibs in front, but the ball appeared to come off his arm.
Riordan fed the ball into Liam Miller's path in the 73rd for the midfielder to slot in the visitors' third.
Jamie Murphy pulled one back from the penalty spot two minutes later after substitute Nick Blackman's shirt was pulled by Colin Nish.
Hamburg, Wolfsburg advance in German Cup
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Ruud van Nistelrooy scored three goals to lead Hamburger SV to a 5-1 win over fifth-tier Torgelower SV Greif and a place in the second round of the German Cup.
Paolo Guerrero and David Jarolim added the other goals for the Bundesliga side in new coach Armin Veh's first official game.
Steve McClaren had a winning start as the first English coach of a Bundesliga side when Wolfsburg beat fourth-division Preussen Muenster 2-1 in another Sunday game.
Wolfsburg needed late goals from Cicero and Grafite and survived a scare when Edin Dzeko hit the ball into his own net in the 86th, before Grafite notched the winner two minutes later.
Elsewhere
FA wants English successor to Capello
LONDON (AP) — England's Football Association wants an English coach to succeed Fabio Capello.
While the Italian remains contracted until the 2012 European Championship, discussions have already begun about the next coach.
"Beyond Fabio's contract, the view of everyone that has been involved in these discussions so far is that we should have an English manager moving forward," Club England managing director Adrian Bevington told BBC radio on Sunday.
Capello has been under pressure following England's second-round exit at the World Cup. The former Real Madrid coach was criticized this week for announcing on television the end of David Beckham's England career — without first speaking to the 35-year-old former captain himself.
Ahead of England's 2-1 victory over Hungary in a friendly on Wednesday, Capello's plans to rebuild the team were undermined by Wes Brown and Paul Robinson announcing their international retirements less than a day after being recalled to the squad.
"A lot of people have a very different view of Fabio Capello to the one they had before the World Cup," Bevington said. "Our job is to support him as best we can. Maybe we can help him, and maybe now is the time to improve communications between manager and players."
The 64-year-old Capello appeared exasperated with the media scrutiny.
"Every time I speak I have to think 10 times because you want to find something wrong when I speak," he told reporters.
England hired its first foreign coach in 2001, with Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson leading the team to quarterfinal finishes at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.
But Steve McClaren — Eriksson's English assistant — was promoted to the top job in 2006 and England failed to qualify for Euro 2008. He was fired in 2007 and replaced by Capello, whose team won nine out of ten World Cup qualifiers before underperforming in South Africa.
Liverpool owners will not be rushed into sale
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool's owners will not be rushed into selling the team and will carefully review the undisclosed number of bids, managing director Christian Purslow said Sunday.
The financially troubled club was put up for sale by Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. in April, but Purslow said that none of the prospective bidders had provided proof of funding.
"We have had a number of bids for the club. We will take time to examine those extremely carefully," Purslow told BBC radio. "Second to that is (the need) to sell the club as soon as possible ...
"I am not going to put a time limit on it. The challenge now is to sort the wheat from the chaff."
The two publicly known bidders are Kenny Huang, who heads a China-based investment group, and Syrian Yahya Kirdi, who is the frontman for Middle Eastern and Canadian investors.
Liverpool's Premier League campaign was beginning Sunday with a home match against Arsenal. The team finished seventh last season, causing the 18-time English champions to miss out on one of the four Champions League spots.
"We think our club and players belong in the Champions League — so that is where we would like to be," Purslow said. "I think there will be one or two more (player) ins and outs. There are a few people who will move on."
Villa owner hits out at City's pursuit of Milner
LONDON (AP) — Aston Villa's owner has criticized Manchester City over its attempts to sign midfielder James Milner.
Randy Lerner, who also owns the NFL's Cleveland Browns, claims City broke Premier League rules in its pursuit of Milner.
"Big, bad Manchester City came along and asked for Milner and we said, 'No, he is not for sale.' And under the rules you have to respect that," Lerner was quoted as saying in The Mail on Sunday newspaper. "Manchester City respected that for two whole days and then they violated the rules and came in for him again."
Milner scored Saturday as Villa began the new league season by beating West Ham 3-0 despite being without a permanent manager following Martin O'Neill's resignation on Monday.
British media reported that O'Neill quit because of his frustrations with the lack of resources to take the club forward.
"We are not a selling club," Lerner said. "A selling club is when you let it be known that you want to sell a player, through an agent or whatever. That didn't happen with Gareth Barry (who was sold to Manchester City last year) and it didn't happen with James Milner either."
Ferdinand faces another month on sidelines
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson says defender Rio Ferdinand faces at least another month on the sidelines.
The England captain has spent more than two months recovering from the left knee injury sustained ahead of the World Cup.
Ferguson was quoted as saying in Sunday newspapers that Ferdinand "is nowhere near fitness. He's doing little bits of jogging and things like that. He's at least a month away."
Ferdinand will miss England's opening qualifiers for the 2012 European Championship against Bulgaria and Switzerland at the start of September as well as the start of United's Champions League campaign.
Ferguson says that "you have to take time with knee ligaments."
Bance leaves Mainz
MAINZ, Germany (AP) — Burkina Faso striker Aristide Bance has left Bundesliga club Mainz to join Al Ahli FC of Dubai.
Mainz managing director Christian Heidel says Bance wanted to leave the club for "economic and family" reasons and signed a four-year contract in Dubai.
Bance scored 24 goals in 62 games for Mainz over two seasons.
