Soccer - Page 856

August 27, 2015

Real Madrid under pressure to win home opener

MADRID (AP) Real Madrid is facing an unusually important home opener in the Spanish league, needing a convincing win over Real Betis on Saturday to avoid talks of an early crisis.

August 27, 2015

Thiago extends contract with Bayern Munich by 2 years

MUNICH (AP) Spain midfielder Thiago Alcantara has extended his contract with Bayern Munich by two years until 2019.

August 27, 2015

Leverkusen beats Lazio 3-0 to advance in Champions League

LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) Bayer Leverkusen advanced to the group stage of the Champions League by beating 10-man Lazio 3-0 on Wednesday.

August 27, 2015

Musa fires CSKA past Sporting, into Champions League groups

KHIMKI, Russia (AP) Ahmed Musa fired CSKA Moscow into the Champions League group stage with a late winner as the Russian team mounted a second-half comeback to beat Sporting Lisbon 3-1 on Wednesday and 4-3 on aggregate.

August 27, 2015

Paris Saint-Germain maintain perfect start with win over Ajaccio

Champion PSG made light work of new Ligue 1 side Gazelec Ajaccio in its first home game of the season on Sunday.

August 27, 2015

Egypt withdraws from soccer competitions at African games

CAIRO (AP) The Confederation of African Football says Egypt has withdrawn both its men's and women's soccer teams from the All Africa Games in Republic of Congo next month.

August 27, 2015

FIFA hosts Israeli, Palestinian football leaders for talks

ZURICH (AP) A FIFA panel aiming to improve Israeli-Palestinian football relations met for the first time Wednesday and agreed a follow-up session in the Middle East next month.

August 27, 2015

Barcelona tops 32-team draw for Champions League groups

The Champions League season takes shape Thursday when UEFA draws 32 teams into groups.

August 27, 2015

Valencia beats Monaco in CL playoff; Malmo ousts Celtic

MONACO (AP) Valencia gave Spain a record five teams in the Champions League group phase after eliminating Monaco on Tuesday, while Swedish side Malmo rallied to oust Celtic in their playoff.

August 27, 2015

League Cup: Sunderland wins 9-goal thriller, Watford ousted

LONDON (AP) On a frenzied, big-scoring night in the League Cup, Jermain Defoe's hat trick settled Sunderland's nine-goal thriller as Premier League teams were given a rough ride by lower-league opponents on Tuesday.