UEFA Cup Thursday

Lots of UEFA Cup action today, with Oguchi Onyewu and Standard Liege hosting Sevilla in Group C action. It is an interesting time for both teams: Sevilla are enduring their worst run in over a year, having lost their last three games in all competitions. For Gooch and Standard, they've slipped to fourth place in the Belgian Jupiler League, a position of unusual depth for last season's champions. Both teams are looking for a result tonight, Follow the match live from 2:30 ET on UEFA.com.

Pachuca Ties Tecos

In Mexico's Primera Division, Pachuca played Tecos to a 2-2 draw. Jose Torres started for Pachuca, who next face Chiapas on Nov. 8.

Howard Talks Long Throw-Ins

In case you've missed it the past few weeks, Rory Delap's long throw-ins for Stoke City have been taking the Premier League by storm. Stoke, promoted from the Championship last year, overthrew Arsenal this weekend, beating the Gunners 2-1 at the Brittania Stadium.



Tim Howard and Everton learned about Stoke City's not-so-secret weapon earlier in the year, with Delap's throw-ins leading to two goals when the teams met in September. Everton came back to win that game 3-2, and Tim Howard took time to talk to Everton's website about how tough it is to deal with the long throw. Read the whole article here.

High Level Competition

Thanks to Steven Goff's blog, we were made aware this morning that English magazine FourFourTwo is publishing their list of the top 100 players, and revealed their top 10:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
3. Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
4. Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
5. Kaka (AC Milan)
6. David Villa (Valencia)
7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan)
8. Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid)
9. Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United)
10. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)

("I'd take them on my team," is what Carlos Bocanegra told the Global Blog this morning.)

The list got our intellectual curiosity stirring, and we were able to determine that eight of these ten players have at least one thing in common. We'll save you the suspense.

Since Aug. of 2007, the U.S. national team has played against eight of the players on the list in international competition. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) has not suited up against the U.S., while David Villa served as an unused sub in the match against Spain on June 4 in Santander. In the last two years, the U.S. has played against four teams that were ranked in the top 10 in the world at the time of the matches.

"It's great for us to be playing against such high quality competition," said Bocanegra. "When you get a chance to test yourself, you get a reality check about where you stand, and it provides a great challenge. The fact that we are getting quality games against the best teams around the world also speaks well of the United States and the respect that our team is earning."

Beasley and Rangers Looking for More

DaMarcus Beasley, who came on as a sub in the 5-0 victory over Inverness on Saturday, spoke to Sky Sports yesterday, and you can read the full article here. Beas noted that, while Rangers' demolition of Inverness reflected a good performance, gaining points will always the most important goal in any game. Rangers are in SPL action tonight, taking on Dundee Utd. at Ibrox.

Picture courtesy of SkySports.com

Longer Highlights from Villarreal's Win

Here are some longer highlights from Villarreal's win over Atl. Bilbao this weekend. Jozay Altidore came on as a late second half sub to score his first goal for his club.

Rennes Climbing up the Table

Carlos Bocanegra and Rennes are up to sixth in the Ligue 1 table, after 1 -0 defeat of Sochaux this weekend. Bocanegra went the full 90 minutes for his club, and was booked in the 16th minute. Rennes take on St. Etienne next.

Everton vs. Fulham Highlights

Here are some highlights from Everton's 1-0 win over Fulham on Saturday. In case you missed it as well, former Everton and Fulham player Brian McBride offered his thoughts up to evertonfc.com ahead of Saturday's game.

Bundesliga Results

In Germany, Steve Cherundolo and Hannover 96 pulled off a big 3-0 upset over Hamburg. Cherundolo played the full ninety minutes for Hannover who take on 1.FC Köln on Friday.

Michael Bradley and Borussia Monchengladbach succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday. Bradley entered the game as a second half substitute. Next up for 'Gladbach is Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday, Nov. 8.


1-2 Borussia Mgladbach vs. Eintracht Frankfurt Goa… - MyVideo

In the 2.Bundesliga, Heath Pearce entered the game as a second half sub for Hansa Rostock, but his club eventually lost to RW Oberhauson.

Saturday Results

Tim Howard and Everton continued their good run of form with a narrow 1-0 victory over Fulham. Howard made three saves in the victory, while Clint Dempsey came on as a late sub for Fulham.

In Spain, Villarreal bounced back from their midweek loss in the Copa del Rey, beating Athletic Bilbao 4-1. Jozy Altidore entered the game as a second half sub, and put the finishing touches on Villarreal's win by grabbing his first goal in Europe. Altidore entered the game in the 90th minute, and just seconds later he popped up in the area to finish a good attacking move.



In action from last night, Oguchi Onyewu and Standard Liege succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to SC Charleroi in the Belgian top flight.