Cabanas Rallies Chiapas to Win
Jaguares Chiapas maintained its four-point lead in the Mexican league’s Clausura tournament, but they had to overcome an early deficit to do it.
Salvador Cabanas scored three second-half goals to help Chiapas to a 4-2 victory over San Luis on Sunday, pushing its point total to 32. UNAM Pumas is second overall with 28 points. Both teams lead their groups.
Chiapas, which has a 17-point lead over Morelia in Group 3, fell behind, 2-0, after 33 minutes on two goals by Marcelo de Faria of San Luis.
Cabanas scored twice on penalty kicks, including one during injury time, and scored the winner in the 87th minute.
Pumas kept pace with Chiapas with a 1-0 victory over Necaxa on an 83rd-minute goal by Ailton Da Silva.
Chivas of Guadalajara, the Group 4 leader with 23 points, got its last two goals from Adolfo Bautista in a 4-3 victory over Cruz Azul.
In a matchup of the top two teams in Group 1, Atlas and Pachuca ended in a 1-1 tie and remained tied for the group lead with 20 points apiece.
Two weekend winners scored six goals, including Puebla, which got four goals from Luis Quinteros in a 6-0 victory over Irapuato. In Club America’s 6-3 victory over Morelia, Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Reinaldo Navia each scored three goals for the winners.
In another high-scoring game, Monterrey and Queretaro battled to a 4-4 tie. Luis Ernesto Perez scored two goals for Monterrey, and Carlos Casaretelli had two for Queretaro.
In all, 50 goals were scored in 10 games this weekend.
Garber’s Thoughts on Adu
Don Garber, Major League Soccer’s commissioner, was one of many to weigh in on 14-year-old Freddy Adu’s debut for D.C. United in a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
Garber remained just as excited as he was in November when he announced that the league had signed the phenom to a contract.
“We’ve had the moment. This moment’s here,” Garber said Saturday. “I’m sure we’ll have it for a few more months, but I’d rather see him score a bunch of goals and get some attention in the back of the sports pages -- in addition to some of the lifestyle press he’s been getting.”
But Garber dismissed any notions that Adu must somehow carry the sport’s burden for popularity.
“This is not the savior for soccer; the sport doesn’t need to be saved,” Garber said. “This is just a young, neat man who’s come onto the scene and captured the attention of the general public.”
San Jose forward Landon Donovan, not long ago the league’s poster child, said it was exciting to play in front of such an enthusiastic crowd.
“We want that to be every week,” Donovan said. “We want 25,000 people screaming every week. I just hope it doesn’t die away.”
Adu’s next game will be at the Home Depot Center on Saturday against the Galaxy. It will be D.C. United’s only scheduled visit to Carson this season, and the game is expected to be a sellout.
AC Milan Stumbles
AC Milan suffered its second consecutive tie and saw its lead in the Italian league drop to nine points over AS Roma with six games left.
Milan, which played without injured forward Andriy Shevchenko, got a goal from Jon-Dahl Tomasson, but earned only a 1-1 tie against Modena.
Meanwhile, Roma defeated Lecce, 3-0, to move into second place ahead of Juventus, which lost to Inter Milan, 3-2.
Valencia Keeps Pace
Late goals by Mauricio Pellegrino and Mista helped Valencia remain one point behind Real Madrid in the Spanish league after a 2-0 victory over Murcia.
On Saturday, Real Madrid won for the 20th time this season on two goals by Roberto Carlos in a 2-1 victory over Albacete. Both goals were on free kicks and deflected off other players into the net.
Millwall Reaches Final
Tim Cahill scored in the 26th minute after taking advantage of a defensive mistake, and Millwall held on for a 1-0 victory over Sunderland to reach England’s FA Cup final.
Millwall, a Division One team, will play defending English Premier League champion Manchester United in the May 22 final at Cardiff, Wales.
Manchester United advanced Saturday with a 1-0 victory over Arsenal.
English Premier League
Liverpool got two goals from Michael Owen and routed Blackburn, 4-0, to move into fourth place in the Premier League.
The top four teams in the Premier League advance to next season’s European Champions League. Liverpool’s victory pushed Newcastle United, a 4-2 winner over Everton on Saturday, into fifth place, one point behind.
Liverpool plays host to Newcastle in its season finale on May 15.
Quick Passes
Brazilian striker Ailton scored his 25th goal of the season, but Werder Bremen had to settle for a 1-1 tie against Freiburg in a German Bundesliga match. Bremen’s lead stands at seven points over second-place Bayern Munich, a 2-0 winner over Kaiserslautern on Saturday.... VfL Wolfsburg fired Coach Juergen Roeber after a 5-1 home loss to VfB Stuttgart and replaced him with Belgian Erik Gerets.
-- Compiled by Jim Barrero
