Soccer Capsules: Tigres wins 2-1 at America in Mexico
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hector Mancilla scored a stoppage-time winner to give UANL Tigres a 2-1 win at America on Sunday in the third round of the Mexican Clausura championship.
Lucas Lobos gave Tigres the lead after escaping in the box and shooting past Guillermo Ochoa in the 37th minute, but Montenegro equalized five minutes after halftime. Mancilla stole the points with almost the game's last kick.
"I'm very happy and I'd like to thank my teammates for putting in a great effort to earn this important achievement," said Mancilla, who scored his second goal for Tigres since joining from Toluca in the midseason break.
A minute before Mancilla's goal, Angel Reyna had an opportunity to put America ahead but was bundled off the ball amid appeals for a penalty. Replays suggested the contact was minimal.
Elsewhere, Puebla won 2-0 at home against Estudiantes Tecos, while Toluca had a 2-0 home win against Chiapas.
In Friday and Saturday results, it was: Necaxa 0, Atlas 1; Cruz Azul 3, UNAM Pumas 3; Monterrey 1, Atlante 0; Queretaro 0, Morelia 3; Guadalajara 1, San Luis 1; and Santos 1, Pachuca 1.
San Luis is currently the only team with maximum points.
In Toluca, Nestor Calderon opened the scoring against Chiapas with a dipping shot from 30 yards (meters) that flew over goalkeeper Jorge Villalpando and into the top corner in the 61st minute.
A minute later, Jaime Ayovi advanced into the box, cut inside his marker and hit a diagonal shot into the corner to make it 2-0.
Also Sunday, Puebla took the lead against Estudiantes Tecos when Edgar Lugo fired into the roof of the net in the 57th minute.
Felix Borja added a second after racing onto a long ball and heading past Christian Martinez in the third minute of stoppage time.
After three matches, the Primera Division is still taking shape.
In Mexico, the 18 clubs are split into three groups as well as a general table. At the end of the tournament, the top two teams in each group along with the two best-placed teams in the general table that haven't qualified directly contest end-of-season playoffs to decide the champion.
Reigning title holder Monterrey registered its first win of the new tournament with Saturday's 1-0 home win against Atlante.
So far in the Clausura standings, Tigres leads Group 1 with seven points, Atlas tops Group 2 with nine, while Pumas heads Group 3 with five points.
U.S. Soccer
U.S. women beat Canada in Four Nations soccer
BEIJING (AP) — The United States beat Canada 2-1 Sunday at the Four Nations tournament, a warmup for this summer's Women's World Cup in Germany. In the other game, China defeated Sweden 2-1. All four teams in the tournament have a win and a loss.
The top-ranked Americans won on a long shot by Lindsey Tarpley in the 70th minute. Lauren Cheney of the U.S. opened the scoring in the 54th minute.
Canada tied it two minutes later on a hard shot by Melissa Tancredi after a solo run. The Americans ended Canada's 11-game unbeaten streak, a team record.
"You have to look at two things from the game," U.S. coach Pia Sundhage said. "Attitude over 90 minutes, which we emphasized after the Sweden game, and I think we brought that to this game, but also smartness."
Sundhage tinkered with her lineup, changing seven players from the starting lineup that was beaten by Sweden on Friday.
The U.S. team almost added another goal in the 86th minute when Alex Morgan burst up the middle while pursuing a ball and was pulled down from behind near the edge of the penalty area.
In the first game, China's You Jia had the winning goal in the 61st minute. Josefine Oqvist opened the scoring in the 15th minute before Sweden's Lina Nilsson conceded an own-goal.
On Tuesday, China plays the U.S. and Canada faces Sweden. China did not qualify for World Cup and is trying to make the 2012 Olympics.
League News
Blackburn beats West Brom 2-0 in Premier League
LONDON (AP) — Blackburn moved provisionally into seventh place in the Premier League by beating West Bromwich Albion 2-0 on Sunday, courtesy of goals in a seven-minute spell either side of halftime.
A spectacular own goal by Romania defender Gabriel Tamas put Rovers ahead in the 41st minute, and the win was secured in the 47th when Canadian forward David Hoilett thumped a 25-yard drive past goalkeeper Boaz Myhill for his first league goal.
"It means a lot, I've been waiting for it for a long time," said the 20-year-old Hoilett, who made his debut for the club last year but has only previously scored in the cup competitions.
It was the third home victory in a row for Blackburn under new manager Steve Kean.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game, but we really stuck at it and I thought we were excellent," Kean said.
West Brom, which has now lost home and away to Blackburn in the space of four weeks, has won once in seven league matches and is only three points above the relegation zone.
"At 1-0 down at halftime we were still in the game, but the way we came out in the second half was very disappointing," West Brom manager Roberto Di Matteo said.
Twenty-two different nationalities participated in the match at Ewood Park, a Premier League record.
Ninth-place Bolton plays Chelsea, which is fourth, on Monday.
Manchester United is still top of the standings after a 5-0 win at home to Birmingham on Saturday. Arsenal beat Wigan 3-0 to move into second, overtaking Manchester City, which lost 1-0 at Aston Villa.
Arsenal is two points behind United having played a game more, and a point clear of City.
After a slow start, Blackburn made most of the running in the first half and West Brom was indebted to Myhill for keeping the score level before Tamas' gaffe.
The visitors' only chance before the break fell to top scorer Peter Odemwingie, after just 30 seconds. Norway international Morten Gamst Pedersen lost possession in midfield, allowing Odemwingie to pounce and smash a 25-yard volley that was pushed away by Paul Robinson.
Swedish winger Martin Olsson and Christopher Samba, twice, had low shots saved by Myhill as Blackburn started to dominate. But the goalkeeper could do nothing to prevent Tamas' header flying past him.
United States midfielder Jermaine Jones, making his debut for Rovers following his six-month loan move from Schalke, slipped a ball through to David Dunn, whose angled cross was powered into his own net by Tamas from eight yards out.
West Brom has now conceded at least one goal in 21 straight league games.
Hoilett made it 2-0 when he picked the ball up 35 yards out, cut inside and unleashed a swerving effort that powered through the attempted save of Myhill for his first Premier League goal.
West Brom finished the better of the sides, with Robinson saving shots by Jerome Thomas and Chris Brunt, but Blackburn had few problems seeing out the win.
Queens Park Rangers beat Coventry 2-1 on Sunday to extend the London team's lead in the second-tier League Championship to five points.
Winger Wayne Routledge scored the winner in his first game since rejoining QPR on loan from Premier League side Newcastle.
-- Steve Douglas
Benzema answers critics as Madrid beats Mallorca
MADRID (AP) — Karim Benzema answered his critics by scoring the 61st-minute winner as Real Madrid beat Mallorca 1-0 Sunday to stay within four points of Spanish league leader Barcelona.
The France striker gathered a pass in front of the area, shuffled to his left and beat goalkeeper Dudu Aouate with a low shot for his second league goal of the season.
The strike allowed Madrid to keep in close to Barcelona despite a labored performance at Santiago Bernabeu stadium, with Cristiano Ronaldo below par and the ineffective Kaka being replaced by halftime.
Benzema has been a substitute the past two games and endured a week in which both coach Jose Mourinho and Brazil playmaker Kaka criticized his failure to establish himself as the team's No. 1 striker with Gonzalo Higuain out injured.
"He's an introverted character, but he's slowly opening up and he's got the support of every one in the changing room," Madrid captain Iker Casillas said of Benzema. "He's got so much talent, the problem is that so much has been expected of him from the start."
The Bernabeu had little to cheer in a listless first half, with the forward line of Ronaldo, Kaka and Benzema lacking spark and Mallorca nearly scoring.
Emilio Nsue orchestrated the bulk of Mallorca's chances and was unlucky when his shot beat goalkeeper Casillas but came off the far post in the 13th.
Mallorca striker Pierre Webo headed weakly at Casillas in the 39th when the Cameroon international had time to collect the ball and try a shot.
Mourinho has said Madrid lacks firepower, and that was apparent until Mesut Oezil replaced Kaka and Xabi Alonso came on in midfield for Fernando Gago to start the second half.
Mourinho said the Copa del Rey derby with Atletico Madrid had drained the team physically and emotionally coming into the match.
"I put some players on the bench because we have an important game in Seville knowing we can't make 11 changes and that with each one the team is affected," the Portuguese coach said. "Kaka and Gago haven't found their rhythm."
Madrid director general Jorge Valdano said his club is working on signing extra firepower before the close of the January transfer window.
"The whole club is focused on this and we have this week to close a deal," Valdano told Canal Plus TV after the game.
Mallorca came close again in the 48th, Webo volleying on goal but a diving Casillas keeping the shot out.
Benzema responded to a tough few days with a masterful goal set up by Esteban Granero, who was replaced by Lassana Diarra in the 64th as Madrid looked to keep possession and protect its lead knowing it can't risk dropping any points in its chase of Barcelona.
Ronaldo curled a free kick just wide of far post in the 77th, and had a header hit the bar in the 82nd — either side of missed chances by Benzema.
Nsue put Webo clear into the box in the third minute of injury time, but Casillas made an excellent stop from a tight angle to preserve the victory.
Madrid improved to 16-0 at home in all competitions this season and now has 51 points. Barcelona beat Racing Santander 3-0 Saturday for its 14th straight league win to improve to 55 points.
Also, Giuseppe Rossi scored twice as third-place Villarreal beat Real Sociedad 2-1 at El Madrigal stadium.
The Italy striker canceled out Josebal Llorente's 30th-minute opener by firing Santi Cazorla's well-laid pass over 'keeper Claudio Bravo. He scored his 11th goal of the season in the 47th for the winner.
Villarreal stayed two points clear of fourth-place Valencia.
Earlier, Espanyol kept up its chase of Valencia and a Champions League place by rallying to beat Getafe 3-1.
Getafe led after 14 minutes through Venezuela striker Nicolas "Miku" Fedor, but Espanyol went ahead after Luis Garcia, Jose Callejon and Sergio Garcia scored in an 11-minute span in the second half.
Espanyol moved seven points clear of sixth-place Atletico Madrid, which limped to a 1-0 defeat at Sporting Gijon.
Missing striker Sergio Aguero and playmaker Jose Antonio Reyes, Atletico couldn't string together much of an offense and a defensive mix-up between Luis Perea and Raul Garcia allowed David Barral to fire home the 51st-minute winner at El Molinon stadium.
Atletico slipped nine points back of Villarreal.
Sporting moved out of the drop zone places alongside Zaragoza, which secured a 1-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruna with Sad Boutahar's 38th-minute free kick.
Sporting and Zaragoza's victories kept Almeria in the relegation places but the Andalucian club moved off the bottom of the table ahead of Malaga and Levante with a 3-1 win over Osasuna, which is just a point above Almeria.
It was Almeria's first league win of the season at its Juegos Mediterraneos stadium.
On Saturday, Malaga lost 4-3 at Valencia and Sevilla beat Levante 4-1.
Athletic Bilbao plays Hercules on Monday.
-- Paul Logothetis
Elano helps Santos win third straight game in Brazil
SAO PAULO (AP) — Midfielder Elano scored two first-half goals as Santos won 4-2 over Prudente in the Sao Paulo state championship on Sunday, picking up its third straight victory to begin the season.
In Rio de Janeiro's Guanabara Cup, Brazilian champion Fluminense routed Olaria 6-2 after two goals by striker Fred, while Botafogo beat Cabofriense 5-0 thanks in part to two own goals scored by the same defender.
The goals were Elano's first since returning to Santos after six seasons in European football.
He opened the scoring with a right-footed shot from inside the box in the 13th minute at Prudentao stadium, and added to the lead by converting a penalty kick in the 23rd.
Santos, the defending champion in the Sao Paulo tournament, also had goals from former Barcelona striker Keirrison in the 55th and forward Maikon Leite in the 61st. Striker Romulo netted for Prudente in the 74th and 84th.
Elano, a starter for Brazil at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, returned to Santos this year after playing for Shaktar Donetsk, Manchester City and Galatasaray. It was his second match since coming back. He started Santos' 3-0 win over Mirassol on Wednesday.
Santos and Americana are the only teams to start the tournament with three straight wins. Santos is thriving even though it remains without young striker Neymar, who is with Brazil's under-20 team, and missing playmaker Paulo Henrique Ganso, who is recovering from knee surgery.
At Pacaembu stadium, striker Ronaldo again failed to score and Corinthians drew 1-1 with visiting Noroeste.
Striker Dentinho put Corinthians on the board in the 40th, but midfielder Thiago Marin equalized after a defensive mistake by veteran left back Roberto Carlos in the 57th.
Luiz Felipe Scolari's Palmeiras won its second match in a row after a 1-0 victory against Oeste in Itapolis, while Sao Paulo — which has just signed former Brazil and Barcelona star Rivaldo — lost 1-0 to Ponte Preta at Morumbi stadium on Saturday.
In Rio, Fluminense had a pair of goals from Fred and others from striker Rodriguinho and midfielder Marquinho in its 6-2 rout of Olaria at Engenhao stadium. Rodriguinho's goals came after replacing former Chelsea playmaker Deco, who injured his left thigh in the first half.
Botafogo beat Cabofriense 5-0 in Cabo Frio thanks to two own goals by Cabofriense defender Goeber six minutes apart in the first half. Goeber, the team's captain, was replaced at halftime.
Vasco da Gama rallied from two goals down in the first half against Nova Iguacu, but lost the match in Volta Redonda after allowing a 78th-minute goal. It was the team's second straight defeat to begin the season.
Flamengo, still without recently signed playmaker Ronaldinho, defeated America 3-1 at Edson Passos on Saturday for its second win in a row.
The Guanabara Cup is the first stage of the Rio championship, and its winner will play for the state title against the Rio Cup champion later in the tournament.
The Brazilian football season does not follow the European calendar and starts in the beginning of the year. Regional championships in the 26 states take place in the first few months, with the Brazilian league running from May until December.
-- Tales Azzoni
AC Milan downs Cesena 2-0 to open up four-point lead
MILAN (AP) — An own goal plus a late score from Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave Serie A leader AC Milan a 2-0 win over Cesena on Sunday to open up a four-point gap in the standings.
Cesena's Maximiliano Pelligrino scored an own goal in first-half injury time, and Ibrahimovic doubled the lead just before the final whistle.
Milan should have won by a greater margin but Cesena's former Milan goalkeeper, Francesco Antonioli, made a number of crucial saves.
"I got a good pass and saw that the goalkeeper was out of position, and I just tried to keep my shot low," Ibrahimovic said. "We have to keep our rhythm up and keep going as we have been. What we did today gives us a slight advantage, but now we have to work to extend this lead."
Milan leads with 44 points. Napoli is next after a 2-0 win at Bari. AS Roma is third, six points behind the leader, and Lazio is fourth with 37.
Udinese rallied to beat Inter Milan 3-1, inflicting coach Leonardo's first loss and leaving the defending champions nine points behind its city rival in fifth place.
Dejan Stankovic gave the Inter the lead in the 16th minute and it appeared the visitor was in total control when he went close minutes later.
However, Udinese equalized soon after through Cristian Zapata and by halftime was leading 2-1 after Antonio Di Natale scored from a free kick.
In the second half, Maurizio Domizzi added a third after the defense was again unable to clear the danger, snapping Inter's run of five straight wins under Leonardo since the Brazilian took over from Rafa Benitez in December.
"We started the match well and with the right mentality," Leonardo said. "Unfortunately we couldn't come back, but it is a difficult stadium to come to and Udinese is in great form."
At Bari, Napoli forward Ezequiel Lavezzi diverted Edinson Cavani's free kick past goalkeeper Jean-Francois Gillet in the 38th minute.
Bari had to play the last 23 minutes with 10 men after Alessandro Parisi earned a second yellow card for elbowing Napoli defender Christian Maggio in the face.
Edinson Cavani wrapped up the win in the 87th with his 14th goal of the season.
Bologna, meanwhile, won 3-1 at home to Lazio.
Sergio Floccari gave the Rome side an early lead, but Gaston Ramirez and Marco Di Vaio put the hosts in the lead by halftime.
In the second half, Lazio did little to threaten and Di Vaio added his second goal of the game in stoppage time.
Both sides finished with 10 men. Henry Giminez was sent off for Bologna and Lazio's Andre Dias earned two yellow cards.
Also Sunday, it was; Chievo Verona 0, Genoa 0; Fiorentina 1, Lecce 1 and Sampdoria 0, Juventus 0.
At the San Siro, Cesena's Ezequiel Schelotto squandered a chance by shooting straight at goalkeeper Christian Abbiati in the 17th after Luca Antonini's weak back pass had put the striker through on goal.
Milan hit back, but was continually frustrated by Antonioli. First he stopped Robinho's shot after Zlatan Ibrahimovic had played the Brazilian through, then he twice denied Ibrahimovic.
Eventually Milan's pressure paid off. Antonio Cassano chipped over the defense and, as Ibrahimovic shaped to shoot, Pelligrino took the ball off the Swede's toes but sent it into his own net.
In the second half, Antonioli continued to frustrate Milan's strikers. In the 56th, he tipped Ibrahimovic's free kick over the bar, and in the 77th he raced off his line to smother Robinho's shot.
The Swede finally scored in injury time, blasting a low shot past Antonioli.
At Udinese, Inter nearly fell behind in the ninth minute when Maicon went close to lobbing his own goalkeeper Luca Castellazzi after he had miscued a cross by Giampiero Pinzi.
Stankovic's goal appeared to settle Inter's nerves. Thiago Motta laid the ball into his path, and Stankovic shot low into the far corner.
The Serb almost doubled his tally in the 19th. Udinese's defense failed to clear a corner and Stankovic hit a volley from the edge of the area that goalkeeper Samir Handanovic saw late and pushed over the bar.
Two minutes later, Udinese was level as Inter's defensive problems began to show. The ball wasn't cleared and from just inside the area Zapata shot past Castellazzi.
Di Natale then put Udinese into the lead when he curled a free kick over the wall.
After halftime, Udinese maintained the pressure and Di Natale and Domizzi went close to extending the host's lead.
Udinese scored a deserved third in the 69th. Inter's defense was unable to clear Di Natale's free kick, Zapata headed back into the box and Domizzi reached the ball first and flicked it past Castellazzi.
"Physically we are in good shape and playing well," Di Natale said. "It is always difficult against Inter, and it is a team that will be involved in the title race right till the end. That said, we are playing well and deserved to win today."
-- Jeremy Inson
Bundesliga: Leverkusen beats Moenchengladbach 3-1
BERLIN (AP) — Gonzalo Castro scored twice as Bayer Leverkusen won 3-1 at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday to rise to second place in the Bundesliga standings.
Michal Kadlec scored with a perfect free kick in the 37th minute, and Castro doubled the lead before the interval.
Martin Stranzl pulled one back for the hosts in the 65th, but Castro calmly lifted the ball over advancing goalkeeper Christofer Heimeroth in the 73rd to seal Leverkusen's victory.
Leverkusen has 36 points, 11 behind Borussia Dortmund, while Moenchengladbach remains last, six points from safety with 13.
Leverkusen midfielder Michael Ballack made his Bundesliga comeback from injury.
Also Sunday, David Alaba scored a last-minute equalizer to earn Hoffenheim a 2-2 draw against visiting St. Pauli.
The Austrian canceled out Gerald Asamoah's 81st minute strike to move Hoffenheim to eighth in the standings with 26 points. St. Pauli is 16th, level with Cologne on 19 points but with an inferior goal difference.
The 34-year-old Ballack came on as a substitute for Leverkusen in the 55th for his first Bundesliga appearance since picking up a shinbone injury against Hannover in September.
"It's a wonderful feeling to be back on the pitch," Ballack said. "We've fought our way back to second place."
Moenchengladbach missed several chances to take the lead against Leverkusen.
Marco Reus' volley came back off the crossbar after he was set up by Mohamadou Idrissou, and recent signing Mike Hanke had a strong effort saved by Rene Adler minutes later.
Kadlec opened the scoring for Leverkusen with a precision free kick into the top corner which gave the Czech his first goal of the season. Castro doubled the lead in the 45th when he was left unmarked to connect with a cross from Arturo Vidal.
Stranzl scored after Thorben Marx punted the ball forward hopefully and the Austrian — in his second game for the club — volleyed from a tight angle to send the ball inside the far post.
In the 73rd, Vidal played a perfectly timed pass to beat the offside trap and Castro lobbed goalkeeper Heimeroth.
Karim Matmour hit the crossbar again for Moenchengladbach with five minutes remaining.
At Hoffenheim, defender Marvin Compper gave the hosts the lead in the 29th when he was left unmarked to prod in a free kick from Sebastian Rudy.
Max Kruse equalized for St. Pauli in the 50th after Fabian Boll played a through ball to Asamoah, who was brought down by Isaac Vorsah. Kruse then reacted before the Hoffenheim defense to sweep the ball low past Daniel Haas.
Hoffenheim's appeals for a penalty were denied when referee Christian Dingert waved play on after Carlos Zambrano appeared to catch Boris Vukcevic in the face in the 58th.
Charles Takyi was unlucky to see his powerful shot crash off the crossbar with Haas beaten with a quarter of an hour remaining.
Asamoah scored when he controlled a deep cross from Oczipka and fired home from close range for his fourth goal of the season.
"When you're leading 2-1 shortly before the end and you go home with only one point, then that hurts," Asamoah said.
Alaba's equalizer came in the 90th minute when his shot from 20 meters (yards) deflected off defender Ralph Gunesch.
"That was a game we needed to win," St. Pauli director Helmut Schulte said. "Hoffenheim were begging to be beaten."
-- Ciaran Fahey
PSG, Lille and Rennes advance in French Cup
PARIS (AP) — Holder Paris Saint-Germain reached the round of 16 of the French Cup with a 3-2 win at fifth-division club Agen on Sunday.
Following its defeat in the League Cup semifinals at Montpellier earlier this week, Antoine Kombouare's team struggled on a bad pitch but bounced back with goals from Mathieu Bodmer, Peguy Luyindula and Guillaume Hoarau.
Mamoudou Daffe and Anthony Vandersnick scored for Agen.
Kombouare was delighted by Luyindula's performance after the two had an angry exchange this week over the player's role at the club. Luyindula, who had refused to play at Montpellier, started the match against Agen.
"I'm only interested in seeing him play with fighting spirit, with a great state of mind, and I want him to show his qualities," Kombouare said. "He worked hard and was rewarded with a goal. Sometimes there are tensions within the group, but he responded well."
Rennes and Lille also advanced, while Lyon lost 1-0 at Nice in the only match between first-division teams. Nice defender Francois Clerc scored the winner in extra time against his former club.
Lyon finished with 10 men after Dejan Lovren was sent off in the 99th minute for a second yellow card.
"We lifted our game to their level. Lyon is a very good team and we struggled, that's normal, but we fought hard," said Clerc, a former France international who signed a two-year contract with Nice in September after leaving Lyon in bad terms.
Alexander Tettey and Yacine Brahimi scored second-half goals as Rennes beat sixth-division side Vaulx-en-Velin 2-0.
Tettey opened Rennes' account in the 50th minute when he met Jires Kembo's cross in the area before Brahimi beat goalkeeper Eddie Rion from close range in the 74th.
Vaulx-en-Velin, the lowest ranked club left in the competition, matched Rennes' possession and created several chances, forcing goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez to make two decisive saves in the last 30 minutes.
Brazilian forward Tulio de Mello headed the winner from Ludovic Obraniak's free kick in the 40th minute as league leader Lille continued its impressive form with a 1-0 win over fifth-division Wasquehal in a northern derby.
"We knew it could have been complicated," Lille coach Rudi Garcia said. "We reached our goal, we went through and that's the main thing."
Lille has won seven of its last eight games in all competitions.
On Saturday, Brest and Bordeaux joined the list of first-division teams eliminated. Brest lost 4-3 in a penalty shootout to fifth-division side Chambery while second-division Angers defeated Bordeaux 1-0.
-- Samuel Petrequin
Olympiakos beats Asteras 1-0, extends league lead
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — David Fuster converted a first-half penalty to give Olympiakos a 1-0 win at Asteras in the Greek league on Sunday, extending the team's lead to seven points after Panathinaikos was held to a 1-1 draw at Panionios.
Fuster was fouled by Asteras' Daniel Orozco inside the area, and he stepped up to convert the spot kick in the 30th minute.
At Panionios, Costas Mitroglou opened the scoring for Panionios in the 50th before Djibril Cisse equalized with a penalty five minutes later for his league-leading 17th goal of the season.
Olympiakos has 48 points from 19 games, with Panathinaikos second on 41. PAOK, a 2-1 winner over Xanthi on Saturday, is third on 33 points.
Also Sunday, Kavala beat Iraklis 3-0 to climb to fifth place, Atromitos defeated host Panserraikos 1-0 and Ergotelis and Aris played to a scoreless draw.
Olympiakos had several chances in the first half: Vassilis Torosidis' header being saved by goalkeeper Urko Pardo in the third minute, Fuster's 25th-minute shot from the edge of the area just missing, and Adrian Bastia's attempt in the 43rd grazing a post.
Asteras, however, dominated the opening 15 minutes of the second half, missing three scoring chances, two from Bastia and one from Bruno Urribarri's free kick that went just wide.
Olympiakos went on the attack after the 60th minute, also missing three scoring chances through Fuster. Its best opportunities came when Yiannis Maniatis and Marko Pantelic failed to beat Degra from point-blank range in the 86th.
Panathinaikos attacked early, squandering a ninth-minute chance when a shot by Sidney Govou went just wide.
Panionios weathered the storm and missed two major chances within two minutes through Mitroglou, whom Panionios acquired on loan from Olympiakos two weeks ago.
In the 19th and 20th minutes, Mitroglou found himself alone with goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas, who blocked both shots.
In the 44th, Panionios fans threw a number of objects, including a plastic chair, at Panathinaikos midfielder Sebastian Leto, who was taking a corner.
Panionios scored with its first attack of the second half. Jean-Alain Boumsong was poised to intercept Suleiman Omo's cross but fellow defender Cedric Kante headed the ball backward, allowing Mitroglou to pounce and score with a close-range diving header.
Five minutes later, Bernard Kumordji floored Leto inside Panionios' area and Cisse converted the spot kick.
Cisse could have given Panathinaikos the lead in the 75th but his thundering shot hit the post.
Duplan double downs Ajax in Dutch league
UTRECHT, Netherlands (AP) — Edouard Duplan scored twice Sunday to give FC Utrecht a 3-0 win over Ajax, handing new coach Frank de Boer his first Dutch league defeat.
Ajax stayed third with 38 points but lost ground to league leader PSV Eindhoven, which beat VVV-Venlo 3-0. PSV has 44 points, one more than defending champion FC Twente, which dismissed FC Groningen 2-1.
Wilfred Bouma, Jeremain Lens and Atiba Hutchinson each scored in PSV's win at struggling VVV while Marc Janko netted in each half in Twente's comeback win. The lanky Austria forward missed a penalty in the 84th. Tim Matavz had given Groningen a 33rd-minute lead.
After a commanding start, Duplan fired Utrecht ahead from a long-range shot in the 22nd and beat leftback Daley Blind to a Kevin Strootman cross on the far post a minute later to double his tally.
Ajax captain Marteen Stekelenburg twice made diving saves in the first half to keep out Frank Demouge's efforts as Utrecht continued to dominate possession.
"It was really frustrating to see how most of my players underperformed today," said De Boer, a former Ajax and Netherlands defender, who replaced Martin Jol as coach late last year.
Miralem Sulejmani missed Ajax's solitary chance of the game when his shot went wide, two minutes after the break.
Ismo Vorstermans scored the third, converting Michael Silberbauer's cross in the 82rd.
Also Sunday, Jimmy Hempte, Pa Modou Kah, Morten Skoubo were on target as Roda JC beat Exelsior Rotterdam 3-0.
On Saturday, Leon Broekhof's 88th minute goal helped De Graafschap to a 1-0 win at Feyenoord while Willem II ended a 19-game winless streak, edging Vitesse 1-0 for its first win of the season thanks to Rangelo Janga's 26th-minute effort.
Heracles Almelo held AZ Alkmaar to a 0-0 draw and NEC also earned a point against NAC Breda after a 2-2 draw Saturday.
Goals aplenty in weekend A-League football
SYDNEY (AP) — Gold Coast United's Bruce Djite scored three goals, one of three players to score hat tricks on a weekend feast of goals in Australia's A-League.
Djite led Gold Coast to a 5-1 win over Newcastle, while Sergio van Dijk and Marcos Flores had three each to lead Adelaide United to an 8-1 romp over last-placed North Queensland.
Melbourne Victory skipper Kevin Muscat was sent off as Melbourne Heart fought back from two goals down for a 2-2 draw in the city's local derby. Two John Aloisi goals rescued the Heart after they trailed 2-0 after 32 minutes.
In his first match back from another red-card suspension, Muscat was sent off with 12 minutes left for a challenge on Heart midfielder Adrian Zahra that left the Heart player with what was feared to be a serious knee injury.
"In the second half there was only one team playing. The win was not on the scoreboard, but in every aspect we were surely the winner of the game," van 't Schip said. "For the morale of the team and for our crowd, it was a great performance."
Victory coach Ernie Merrick said his team's young players struggled in the atmosphere of the Melbourne derby, especially with so much at stake as both sides battle for top six berths.
"Our younger players have to learn to play under that sort of pressure," Merrick said.
Wellington beat Perth 4-0 to move within a point of the Heart and the final playoff spot, while second-placed Central Coast was held to a 2-2 draw by Sydney.
Brazil into second round; Ecuador wins
MOQUEGUA, Peru (AP) — Brazil drew 1-1 with Boliva on Sunday to reach the second round of South American qualifying for the Under-20 World Cup, and Ecuador defeated Paraguay 1-0 to move closer to clinching a place in the next stage.
Henrique gave Brazil a 1-0 lead in the 41st minute, with Darwin Rios equalizing for Boliva in the 77th. Edson Montano's goal in the 59th gave Ecuador victory.
Brazil improved to seven points on top of Group B. Ecuador has four points in two matches, Paraguay three in three and Bolivia has one in two games. Colombia, which did not play, has one point in two matches.
In Group A, which resumes on Monday, Argentina has reached the second round with seven points in three games. Uruguay is next with four points in three games, Chile with three in two, Venezuela with two in two and Peru without a point in two matches.
The top three teams in each group qualify for the second round, in which all six teams play each other once with the top four advancing to the World Cup later this year in Colombia. The top two qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.
The second round begins Jan. 31.
Elsewhere
FIFA, Russia sign declaration on 2018 World Cup
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — FIFA President Sepp Blatter is certain the 2018 World Cup is in good hands and joined Russian officials in signing a formal declaration Sunday that awards the soccer tournament to Russia.
Russia has never organized a World Cup and has an enormous amount of work to do to get ready. Besides building stadiums and hotels, Russia will need to upgrade airports and roads to transport 32 soccer teams and millions of visitors to 13 cities spread across much of its vast territory.
Blatter was less focused on the organizational challenges than on his greater vision of bringing soccer to largely uncharted territory such as Russia and Qatar, which was awarded the 2022 World Cup.
"Football is more than just kicking the ball," he said at a news conference after the signing ceremony. "It is also important to connect different nations, and our philosophy this time was to give the World Cup to territories that had never hosted it."
Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko picked up on the theme in thanking FIFA for choosing Russia over countries that already have much of the necessary infrastructure in place.
"FIFA is not just a football organization," he said. "It develops the world and it goes to new countries."
Blatter met Saturday with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has promised that Russia would follow through on its commitments to spend tens of billions of dollars on new stadiums and infrastructure.
-- Irina Titova
Sao Paulo signs former Brazil playmaker Rivaldo
SAO PAULO (AP) — Sao Paulo says it has signed former Brazil and Barcelona playmaker Rivaldo until the end of the year.
The 38-year-old Rivaldo arrives on a loan from small Brazilian club Mogi Mirim, where he became the team's president after returning to Brazilian football last year. He had been playing for Uzbekistan club Bunyodkor.
Financial details were not released, but Sao Paulo says it has the option of signing the 1999 world player of the year to a one-year contract extension.
Rivaldo was instrumental for the Brazil side that won the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. He has also played for Deportivo La Coruna, AC Milan and Olympiakos, among others.
Emanuelson signs with AC Milan until 2014
MILAN (AP) — Urby Emanuelson has completed a move from Ajax Amsterdam to AC Milan, signing a contract until 2014.
The Dutch international finalized the signing on Sunday, according to the Milan website.
The 24-year-old Emanuelson, who can play leftback or left midfield, made his debut for Ajax in 2005 after coming through the youth ranks. He has scored 22 times in 260 matches for the Amsterdam club.
He was also part of the Netherlands side that won the under-21 European Championship in 2006 and made his debut for the Dutch senior team in the same year, against Ireland.
