Fernando Torres - what a player. Here is his superb hat-trick from today's game at Anfield.
First goal
Second goal
Third goal
Two great assists from Yossi Benayoun too. As I've argued for ages - start Benayoun and he will invariably score or create goals.

The US did not play particularly well, but three points is three points. After the loss at Azteca, the most important thing the US needed to do was put a W up on the board, and they did that. There passing was poor, their link-up play was stilted, and their defense of the wings was a constant worry, but they got that vital win.

By definition, the Richie Award goes to the most underrated player on the United roster. The award's namesake Richie Williams was probably the hardest working player on our championship teams in the 90s, but flew mostly under the radar when compared to the better known players.
Last year's winner by a wide margin was Clyde Simms, earning over 50% of the vote.

By definition, the Convey Award goes to DC United's rookie of the year. The award's namesake is Bobby Convey, who coincidentally is on the other side today. Convey was very promising in his short time here in DC, and started 18 matches his rookie season, which sounded like a lot until this year.
Last year's Convey Award went to Ryan Cordeiro with a huge 76% margin.

Yossi Benayoun's creative contribution over the last year proves that it is in Liverpool's best interests to start him as often as possible, but despite this, he is STILL in and out of the first team. What more does Benayoun have to do to join the list of automatic starters?
I know I've made this point before, but I feel it needs to be made again.

Dos Santos set up 2 tap-ins and scored another in the 3-0 rout
Seven years ago, almost to the day, Mexico was in Kingston, losing in the worst possible way: an early own goal was the difference. Mexico was a little over than 20 minutes from seeing their world cup hopes fade away.

There are numerous recaps of the game to be found on the interwebs so I'm not going to attempt to compete with them. Steve Davis is here, Grahame Jones is here, Goal.com is here...

But I will note that Landon Donovan had the two assists on the USA's goals vs. El Salvador at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, UT.

We'll shortly announce that the club has signed defender Lawson Vaughn. The 25-year old has been training with the team for several days and will take the place of defender Greg Janicki, who has been put on the disabled list with back spasms.

Vaughn spent three and a half seasons as a member of Chivas USA, before being waived earlier this year.

Top 5 teams in the English Premier League Table: Chelsea, ManU, Liverpool, Man City, Aston Villa. Sounds familiar right? It seems the few surprises that we got in the start of the season, were just that, surprises.
This weeks most impressing win was took by Arsenal, after 2 weaker games, team resumed to their level and took 4-0 over Wigan.

Robin van Persie's new role at the tip of the Arsenal front three is sought to bring more variety to side's attacking play.
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Few would have had Thomas Vermaelen as Arsenal's top scorer in the early stages of the season, not least because he is a defender but the Belgian had also yet to kick a ball in the Premier League before his £10million move from Ajax and who others decided against signing because of his height.

Thank god for the three points.
Amid a crazy awesome weekend of college football, I was very nervous/anxious for some World Cup qualifying.
And thankfully, the USMNT was able to overcome a crazy frustrating start (and a goal allowerd) to beat El Salvador 2-1.
Can't wait to get Gooch back.

Jermaine Defoe

All hail Jermaine Defoe. The burner is among the joint-lead in goals scored with four goals in four matches and the key Spurs player also has his club at the top of the league table and tied for the most Premier League goals with eleven.

Wayne Rooney

Many doubted that Rooney could fill the void left behind by Carlos Tevez and Christiano Ronaldo, but the striker has proved early on in the year that with more touches and attention directed his way the forward will thrive under his new role (4 goals).

The United States managed a 2-1 win over El Salvador at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah after falling down 1-0 in the first half. Both of the U.S. goals came from assists by captain Landon Donovan who found the heads of teammates Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey. However, the El Salvador side put up a good fight and challenged the home team right up until the final whistle.

July 4, Kamara scored for Houston at CAB and pulled out a white glove as a tribute to the late Michael Jackson.
Today, we acquired striker Kei Kamara from the Houston Dynamo for striker Abe Thompson and allocation money. Kamara comes to the Wizards with 14 career goals and three career assists in 80 MLS games (50 starts) over four seasons.

Rafa Benitez's rather dubious explanation for Yossi Benayoun's perennial bench status over the last two seasons is (arguably) as ludicrous as it is inaccurate.
In a recent interview, Rafa made the following observations:
'I was talking to Yossi about how he has always been fantastic coming off the bench and he told me he could do even more if I gave him a chance from the start'.

Inter took on Atletico-MG last night, a match from the 11th round that had been postponed. After a good first-half of the visitors, a trio took Inter to the victory. Edu, ex-Betis, D'Alessandro and Kleber, ex-Brazil International. Edu scored twice. D'Alessandro scored and handed assists. And Kleber handed even more assists.

Liverpool misfit Andriy Voronin played a big part in Ukraine's easy win over minnows Andorra by laying on a couple of assists. Andriy Shevchenko was also on the score sheet.

Don't forget to check out Online Football Manager!

On Tuesday night the USF men played a scoreless 90 minutes of regulation time against the visiting Valparaiso University, out shooting the Crusaders 14-7. The crowd of 881 at the USF Soccer Stadium settled in for overtime, but the Bulls (3-0-0) made quick work of Valpo in the extra time. Bernardo Anor [right] scored off a Javed Mohammed free kick less than a minute into the first overtime.

When: Tonight, 8pm
Where: Virginia Tech Soccer Stadium, Blacksburg, VA
The Bulls (3-0-0) take their undefeated record on the road tonight to be tested by Virginia Tech (1-1-1). South Florida lost on its only previous trip to Blacksburg, but the NSCAA eighth ranked Bulls are hoping to defend that ranking and come away with a win.

10am, live in the US on espn2
Last 4 head-to-head:
0-1 Burnley (a; FA Cup) 01.18.05
1-0 Liverpool (h; FA Cup) 01.04.97
1-0 Liverpool (h; League Cup) 02.07.95
0-0 (a; League Cup) 01.28.95
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 3-2 Bolton (a); 1-3 Villa (h); 4-0 Stoke (h)
Burnley: 0-3 Chelsea (a); 2-1 aet Hartlepool (a); 1-0 Everton (h)
Goalscorers (league):
Liverpool: Torres 3; Gerrard, Johnson 2; Kuyt, Ngog 1
Burnley: Blake, Elliott 1
Referee: Lee Mason
Guess at a squad:
Reina
Johnson Carragher Skrtel Insua
Benayoun Gerrard Lucas Riera
Kuyt Torres
I'd love to write ‘Same as against Stoke please,' because there's a good chance the game could play out similarly, but I doubt the international break will allow it.

There is a pattern developing. St Leo's men have three wins, all shutouts, all multiple goal efforts. The Lions (3-1-o) beat Georgia Southwestern State University (0-6-0) on Friday at home in front of a crowd of 112. In their three wins, St Leo has outscored those opponents 13-0, their only blemish being a 2-1 loss against West Florida.

In response to my esteemed colleague Sam Beans claim that United and City were going to be fighting it out for third and fourth respectively, leaving Liverpool conspicuously out of the picture, I wanted to remind everybody that at this moment, we have more points in our first five (9) than United had last year in their first five (8).

San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Darren Huckerby has told an English newspaper he is "99% sure" that he has played his last competitive game, likely forced into an early retirement because of a hip injury that required surgery last week.
Bursting onto the American scene last July, Huckerby went on to total six goals and four assists in 14 appearances, earning 2008 MLS Newcomer of the Year honors along the way.

So, five games into the league, which players have begun as if their lives depended on it? Who are the early contenders for player of the year, or golden boot winner? Who has surprised you the most? Here are a few names to consider, based on what we've seen so far.

Thomas Vermaelen
Hands up who knew about this chap before Arsenal signed him?

When: Today, 4pm
Where: Stetson Soccer Complex, Deland, FL
After dropping their Big East Conference opener 2-1 to Marquette on Thursday, the Bulls (2-4-1) face a non-conference opponent in Stetson this afternoon. This will be South Florida's final non-conference match. These schools drew 1-1 last season in Tampa.

Houston Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis is Major League Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 27. Davis had a goal and two assists in Houston's 3-2 win over Real Salt Lake. The Dynamo remain top of the Western Conference, leading Los Angeles by two points on an extra game played. 2009 MLS Player of the Week Winners WEEK 1: Fredy Montero (Seattle Sounders FC) WEEK 2: Kasey Keller (Seattle Sounders FC) WEEK 3: Conor Casey.

Rapids defender Ugo Ihemelu, one of the fastest players in Major League Soccer, throws the ball in during a scrimmage last month against the Colorado School of Mines. (photo by George Tanner/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)

The Colorado Rapids have traded defender Ugo Ihemelu to Dallas for Drew Moor, the club announced Monday.

Bom dia! Day Four of the Soldados Bootcamp and the Argentinean Spiderman welcomes you with open arms! Yes, the fans went out in full force to buy tickets yesterday. A few succeeded, the rest didn't but who cares when you have Spiderman in your queue?

Anyway, the Argentineans have been very calm about the prospect of facing their biggest football rivals so far.

Tonight the Arthurs, Hildas and Lionels of the football world will play each other and when the games are over our players will come back in wheelchairs, on crutches and with stitches in their groins and everything shall return to normal once again.

Russia play Wales and there are still some doubts over the fitness of Andrei Arshavin.

A pair of extremely good value signings.

Portsmouth v Everton tickets still available Click Here

Tim Cahill & Mikel Arteta may well be the best bargain signings that the Toffees have ever made but David Moyes seldom gets the credit for these two bargain signings that together cost a bargain £3.

Veteran striker Jeff Cunningham had two goals and two assists last night as FC Dallas routed David Beckham and the L.A. Galaxy 6-3 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. The loss leave the Galaxy in 2nd position in MLS' Western Conference with 38 points. FCD are in 7th and currently out of playoff contention.

On the final day before MLS teams' rosters are frozen for the remainder of the season, the Houston Dynamo have traded forward Kei Kamara to the Kansas City Wizards in exchange for forward Abe Thompson and allocation money.
"We would like to thank Kei for his contributions to the Dynamo, both in 2008 and this year," said Dynamo Chief Operating Officer Chris Canetti.

When: Tonight, 8pm Eastern
Where: Valley Fields, Milwaukee, WI
South Florida (2-3-1) starts its Big East Conference schedule tonight, on the road, against Marquette (5-2-0). The Golden Eagles are currently undefeated at home and the Bulls are win less in two road games. To overcome Marquette, the South Florida offense will have to get more shots on goal and better shots.

When: Tonight, 8:30pm Eastern time
Where: UWF Soccer Complex, Pensacola
Tonight' match features two nationally ranked Division II schools in a test for the Spartans' perfect record. UT (4-0-0) is the NSCAA number one ranked school coming into this game and the Argos (4-1-1) are ranked number twenty-two.

The St Leo women (2-0-1) made a statement in their opening match of Sunshine State Conference play on Saturday. The message was that the votes they received in the NSCAA poll last week were deserved.
The Lions dominated the Tritons (0-3-1), by out shooting them 30-6 during the match. St Leo spread the goalscoring around, with six different players getting on the score sheet.

Josh Wolff's goal was his 10th in league play, tying a career high.
It was also Wolff's 82nd in all competitions, tying him with Cobi Jones for 14th on that list.
Wolff's goal was his 40th in league play for the Wizards, breaking a tie with Chris Klein for second on that list.
It was also Wolff's 43rd in all competitions for KC, tying him with Chris Klein for 3rd on that list.

Before the Serie A season started, AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi forced Ronaldinho to stand on a table and promise his teammates he would lead them without question, and that he would help AC Milan recover from the loss of Kaka through good playing. With Kaka and Ancelotti gone, AC Milan is left with Leonardo, Ronaldinho, and Pato.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

In one of the tougher races to call this season, Houston winger Brad Davis earned MLS Player of the week honors for his one-goal, two-assist performance in the Dynamo's 3-2 win vs.

When: Today, 5pm
Where: AT&T Field, Savannah, GA
The Spartans need to break a two game losing streak, but Armstrong Atlantic (5-1-2) is ranked number nineteen in the country and will be a tough nut to crack on their home park. The Pirates are undefeated at home; outscoring opponents 21-2 in the process.

Ligue 1 offered us 36 goals last weekend -- a huge improvement over the last few weeks.
Lisandro Lopez: "I am not a star."
Auxerre tied St Etienne to a draw last week and seem to gain confidence. Meanwhile, no sign of Grenoble getting a point yet.