SoccerBlogs

Real Salt Lake got the performance they were looking for to end a four-game losing streak.

In need of a bounce-back performance after a CONCACAF Champions League-opening loss to Herediano and after three straight losses in league play, RSL topped Panamanian side Tauro FC 2-0 behind second-half goals from Alvaro Saborio and Kyle Beckerman.

Skipper Gerrard and full-back Johnson both started the game in Donetsk while Henderson joined Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing on the bench.

James Milner had the first real chance of the game when he rounded Hugo Lloris but couldn't apply the finish. Joe Hart was then called into action to save from Newcastle's Yohan Cabaye.

The Columbus Crew finished ahead of the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night, but did so by the slimmest of margins.

A questionable penalty call against Philadelphia defender Sheanon Williams helped give the Crew a PK, and Union goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon looked to save the ensuing penalty only to see it trickle past him and into the net to help give Columbus a 2-1 victory at Crew Stadium on Saturday night.

Orlando Sa left the club yesterday. His contract was terminated by mutual consent.

Sa made 12 appearances for Fulham, 4 coming in the Europa League. He started three league matches and just one Europa League match. He scored one goal, away at Norwich on New Years Eve. Often injured throughout the season, he played just once in 2012, coming on as a 81st minute substitute on Easter Monday.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

Even though TSG 1899 Hoffenheim was unceremoniously dumped out of the DFB Pokal quarterfinals by second-tier Greuther Furth on Wednesday, the match carried significance for one American.

U.S. Under-23 winger Joe Gyau, made his first-team debut for Hoffenheim, entering as an 80th-minute substitute for U.

szólj hozzá: Porto 1-2 Man City All Goals

The other Manchester club was also in action. They faced Porto and the very impressive Hulk, who wasted no opportunity coasting down the left to sizzle in a cross for Silvestre Varela to turn past Joe Hart. City came back in the second half through an own goal by Alvaro Pereira.

Andrei Arshavin put in a vintage performance for Zenit St. Petersburg on Saturday. Coming on as a 54th-minute substitute against CSKA Moscow, Arshavin helped set up teammate Vladimir Bystrov for the match's first goal in the 63rd minute.

Bystrov threw himself into the goalpost to score with a header and after celebrating a bit, he realized he was hurt (hamstring?

In a game that was begging for a special moment, Thierry Henry stepped up to the task to resume his duties as Arsenal's king.Â

Ten minutes after making his return to the field as a substitute for Arsenal, Henry delivered a game-winning goal to lift the Gunners in the fourth round of the FA Cup via a 1-0 victory over Leeds United in front of a delirious crowd at Emirates Stadium on Monday.

Photo by Bill Barrett/ISIphotos.com

Mexico's Under-23 men's national team will head to the Olympics as CONCACAF's champion.

Mexican-American left back Miguel Ponce scored in extra time to lift Mexico to a come-from-behind, 2-1 victory over Honduras in the final of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament at Livestrong Sporting Park Monday night.

A few weeks after an ominous Leeds United debut, Robbie Rogers is back in action.

The American winger played in a club friendly against Carlisle United and scored on Tuesday, marking his return to the field for Leeds after suffering a concussion in his debut on Feb. 18. After coming on as a 79th-minute substitute, Rogers clashed heads with Doncaster Rovers' Tommy Spurr on a 50-50 ball and had to be taken off in stoppage time.

Two of the big dogs are still alive in the Carling Cup.

Manchester United and Arsenal each advanced to the quarterfinals of the Carling Cup, with the Red Devils beating League Two upstart Aldershot Town, 3-0, and Arsenal came from behind to defeat fellow top-flight side Bolton, 2-1.

After a red-hot start to the season, Jozy Altidore had lost his starting role for AZ Alkmaar and was mired in a bit of a scoring slump.

At the very least, that slump is now over.

Altidore scored twice in a four-minute span as a substitute in AZ's 6-0 rout of ADO Den Haag on Wednesday to break a two-month scoring drought.

By AVI CREDITOR

PHILADELPHIA -- What a difference 10 months have made for Brek Shea.

Last October, Shea appeared unsure, uncomfortable and out of place in his debut for the U.S. men's national team, which came just miles down the road at PPL Park against Colombia.

Photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com

What started as a landmark day for Robbie Rogers quickly turned into a forgettable one.

After making his Leeds United debut as a 79th-minute substitute, the U.S. international winger had to be stretchered off the field after a violent head-to-head collision with Doncaster Rovers' Tommy Spurr, one that delayed the game for multiple minutes during second-half stoppage time.

Seattle had an answer for the few riddles Chicago threw at it. The Fire could have given up 3 or 4 goals as the Sounders hit the post twice on offense. That isn't to say Sean Johnson had a poor night. In fact, he made six saves overall including some lightning fast reflex moves we have come to expect but are still extraordinary.

FIFA Under-20 World Cup host Colombia won't be leaving its own party early.

Colombia defeated Mali, 2-0, on Tuesday to become the first team to seal a place in the knockout stage of the tournament.

Jose Valencia and James Rodriguez scored the goals, and FC Dallas Designated Player Fabian Castillo made his tournament debut, entering as a 61st-minute substitute for Colombia, which is almost assured of winning Group A.