Friday, February 24, 2012

Basel extends Champions run

By STUART CONDIE

updated 6:56 p.m. ET Feb. 22, 2012

Basel keeps upsetting some of European soccer's biggest powers.

Substitute Valentin Stocker scored in the 86th minute, giving the Swiss team a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich on Wednesday night in the first leg of the Champions League's second round.

In the group stage, Basel tied Manchester United at Old Trafford, then defeated the Red Devils to eliminate the three-time champions,

"We have beaten possibly two of the best teams in the world," Basel goalkeeper Yann Sommer said.

Marseille also scored late for a 1-0 home win, with Andre Ayew connecting on a header in the third minute of injury time against 2010 champion Inter Milan, which has lost six of its last seven games.

"We can score two goals, no problem," Inter coach Claudio Ranieri said.

Basel twice hit the frame of the goal before Stocker scored in the 86th minute on a shot through goalkeeper Manuel Neuer's legs. Sommer made a string of fine saves at noisy St. Jakob Park.

"It's very simple ? we have an unbelievable will to win and a great understanding among the team," said 36-year-old Basel coach Heiko Vogel, once a Bayern youth coach.

A four-time winner of Europe's top club competition, Bayern hosts the Champions League final on May 19.

"The alarm bells are going to be ringing," Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said. "We're not in an ideal position for the return game. We need to start winning."

Marseille extended its unbeaten streak to 16 games and has the advantage going into the second leg of the total-goals series, which will be played March 13.

"Nothing's done yet. I'm happy and proud because the players believed in themselves until the end," Marseille coach Didier Deschamps said. "They were up against a team that has seen it all before, with players who are used to playing in quarterfinals, in semifinals, and yet they still won."

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MANCHESTER, England (AP) ? Sergio Aguero opened the scoring just 19 seconds in, and Manchester City eased past defending champion Porto 3-0 Wednesday night for a 6-1 aggregate win that advanced it to the third round of the Europa League.

Edin Dzeko scored in the 76th minute, and David Silva (84th) and David Pizarro (86th) added goals as City advanced to a matchup with Legia Warsaw or Sporting Lisbon in the final 16.

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SIENA, Italy (AP) ? Catania jumped from 16th place to a tie for 10th in Serie A, winning 1-0 at Siena on Francesco Lodi's 23rd-minute penalty kick following a hand ball by Alessandro Gazzi

Catania (7-7-9) had never beaten Siena (5-11-8) in nine previous matches in the top Italian league.

Siena remained in 17th place, just two points clear of the relegation zone.

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PARIS (AP) ? Lille got back into the title race by defeating last-place Sochaux 1-0 to pull within six points first-place Paris Saint-Germain in the French league.

Nolan Roux headed in a corner in the 76th minute.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored three goals to lead Saint-Etienne over Lorient 4-2, and Caen beat Auxerre 2-1.

Those three matches had been postponed earlier this month because of a cold snap.

PSG has 51 points, one ahead of Montpellier, which is followed by Lille (45) and Saint-Etienne (42).

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GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) ? Celtic extended its lead over Glasgow rival Rangers to 20 points in the Scottish Premier League with a 2-0 win over last-place Dunfermline.

Defender Charlie Mulgrew scored his second goal in four days and James Forrest added a late goal to give Celtic its 19th straight win in domestic league and cup competition.

Michael Higdon scored three goals in third-place Motherwell's 4-3 win over Hibernian.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46484630/ns/sports-soccer/

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