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SAO PAULO (AP)—Ronaldinho converted a second-half free kick for Flamengo to beat Boavista 1-0 on Sunday to win the Guanabara Cup, the first stage of the Rio de Janeiro state championship.

Ronaldinho lifted his first trophy with Brazil’s most popular after curling in a right-footed shot over the wall in the 71st minute at Engenhao stadium. The goal gave Flamengo its 19th Guanabara Cup title and a chance to play for the state title against the winner of the Rio Cup, the tournament’s second stage.

It was only Ronaldinho’s sixth match with Flamengo, which dominated but had difficulties creating scoring opportunities against lowly Boavista, a team that reached the final after stunning Brazilian champion Fluminense in last week’s semifinals.

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“I’ve always dreamed about this,” Ronaldinho said. “These fans are wonderful.”

The two-time world player of the year joined Brazil’s most popular club in the beginning of the year, transferring from AC Milan after 10 years in European football.

He said he wants to keep winning titles with Flamengo to secure a spot in Brazil’s national team.

“My goal is to return to the national team as soon as possible,” the 30-year-old forward said. “I’ll keep working hard.”

Ronaldinho has a chance to help Flamengo win its 26th overall state trophy. It will clinch the title automatically if it also wins the Rio Cup.

Ronaldinho scored into the left upper corner of the goal, then celebrated near the sideline as several Flamengo players lined up behind him, dancing.

Boavista played a man down from the 78th after Argentine-born striker Carlos Frontini was sent off after an altercation with Flamengo midfielder Renato.

Boavista advanced to the semifinals with a last-round victory in the group stage before shocking Fluminense in a penalty shootout to reach the Guanabara Cup final for the first time. It has never beaten Flamengo since being founded in 2004.

The top Rio de Janeiro clubs—Flamengo, Fluminense, Vasco and Botafogo— have won the Guanabara Cup every time since 2005, when Volta Redonda clinched the title.

In the Sao Paulo state championship, Palmeiras drew 1-1 with 10-man Sao Paulo at Morumbi stadium to drop from first place in the standings. Forward Fernandinho opened the scoring with an angled left-footer in the 25th, and substitute striker Adriano equalized with a low shot in the 85th. Adriano is known as “Michael Jackson” in Brazil as he performs a dance similar to that once performed by the dead star.

Fourth-place Sao Paulo dominated the match until defender Alex Silva shoved Adriano to the ground and was sent off in the 58th.

The result kept alive Sao Paulo’s nine-year unbeaten streak against Palmeiras at the Morumbi.

Former Brazil star Rivaldo came on in the match in the final minutes for Sao Paulo, and Palmeiras played without World Cup-winning goalkeeper Marcos because of health problems with a family member.

The match was delayed for an hour because of heavy rains in South America’s biggest city.

Palmeiras was passed in the standings by Mirassol and Corinthians, which routed last-place Prudente 4-0 at Pacaembu stadium on Saturday, remaining the competition’s only unbeaten team after 10 rounds.

Former Sporting striker Liedson, replacing recently retired Ronaldo, scored his sixth and seventh goals in the last five matches with Corinthians.

Mirassol grabbed the lead by beating Paulista 2-0 in Jundiai, extending its winning streak to four matches.

Santos was held to a 1-1 draw by minnow Sao Bernardo at Vila Belmiro stadium on Saturday, a result that dropped the team to fifth in the standings and caused club directors to fire coach Adilson Batista after less than five months since hiring him.

Brazil midfielder Elano scored a penalty for the two-time Brazilian champion, which hasn’t won in three matches.

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Labels: Flamengo, Guanabara, Ronaldinho, scores

MILAN (AP)—Mario Gomez scored a 90th-minute goal Wednesday as Bayern Munich won 1-0 at Inter Milan in the last 16 of the Champions League that doubled as a rematch of the 2010 final.

Bayern winger Arjen Robben hit a low shot that goalkeeper Julio Cesar failed to hold, and Gomez hooked the loose ball into the empty net for a record-equaling seventh goal in the competition this season.

“That was certainly my most important goal in the Champions League,” Gomez said. “When you score a goal just before the end which seals an away win, that is, of course, very nice.

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“We fought for everything. Everything at the back, everything up front and we were rewarded at the end.”

Until then it appeared that the match was set to finish 0-0. Both sides struggled to find a way to break the deadlock, with Bayern goalkeeper Thomas Kraft denying Inter on a number of occasions.

“I am very happy with our performance tonight,” Munich coach Louis Van Gaal said. “It was a very entertaining match and Inter played very well. It could have been a different result, but we deserved to win after the way we played in the second half.”

Munich wingers Franck Ribery and Robben were the visitors’ main danger, while Inter’s Wesley Sneijder and Samuel Eto’o linked up on a number of occasions to get through the defense.

“Scoring an away goal is useful, but Inter is a good team and could easily score in Munich,” Van Gaal said. “We deserved to win after our second-half performance. But in the last 10 minutes, Inter created a lot of chances. That is a sign of its quality. We were slightly lucky to score in the last minute, but we could have scored before.”

The second leg is on March 15.

Inter nearly scored in the first minute. Sneijder clipped a free kick into the box, and defender Andrea Ranocchia hooked the ball wide from close range.

After the opening exchanges the game took time to pick up as both sides struggled to find their rhythm.

Munich midfielder Luiz Gustavo hit a low shot narrowly wide of the post in the 20th. A minute later, Eto’o appealed for a penalty after going shoulder to shoulder with Anatoliy Tymoshchuk in the box, but referee Viktor Kassai waived away the appeals.

Gustavo again went close with a shot from distance that Lucio deflected for a corner. Kraft then stopped Esteban Cambiasso’s shot from close range after the Argentine had been set up by Eto’o.

Munich hit back and twice went close to breaking the deadlock in a matter of minutes. First, Ribery headed Robben’s cross onto the bar, then Gomez scooped Philipp Lahm’s clever cutback into the stands.

Kraft again came to Munich’s rescue in the 33rd, flinging himself to his left to push a shot by Eto’o away after the Cameroon striker had battled through the defense to shoot.

“He was fantastic,” Inter coach Leonardo said of Kraft. “He stopped Eto’o in the first half after he cut in from the left and he made a number of other saves, such as the header from Thiago Motta at the end. But there is some bitterness that we conceded the goal at the point of the game when we did.”

Robben continued to cause problems on the Munich wing. He picked out Muller in the box shortly after halftime, but the German international headed wide of the far post.

The Dutchman then went close himself, hitting the post following a flowing move across the face of Inter’s area.

Sneijder’s temper got the better of him in the 56th. He was booked after taking his protests too far after Eto’o went down under Tymoshchuk’s challenge.

Chances continued to go begging. After Bayern midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger gave the ball away, Inter defender Maicon picked out Eto’o, who created space for himself in the box. Kraft blocked his shot, the ball ran free and Cambiasso smashed it over the bar.

At the other end of the field, Robben cut in off the right wing on to his favored left foot but also shot high.

With 10 minutes left, Inter substitute Houssine Kharja brought another save out of Kraft. Five minutes later, the goalkeeper reacted quickly to stop Thiago Motta’s header.

Eto’o then drilled a shot through a pack of Munich defenders, but watched in despair as it took a last-minute deflection wide.

His despair was doubled moments later as the ball fell for Gomez to join Eto’o and Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka as the leading scorers in the Champions League this season.

“I don’t think we need to make major changes before we go to Munich,” Leonardo said. “It is only 1-0. There are 20 days before the match and we could have a completely different performance. Of course we can lose, but on the other hand we can also win.”

Agences de presses

Labels: Bayern, Inter, Milan, scores, winner

Thomas Hitzlsperger scored on his debut to start off a torrent of goals which saw Championship Burnley knocked out of the FA Cup at the hands of West Ham.

Carlton Cole scored two in two minutes – the first being rather dubious - at the start of the second period which quickly took the wind out of the Burnley sails, who looked as if they could get back in to the game until that point.

Winston Reid made it four for the Hammers with a headed goal from a Hitzlsperger corner, a goal and an assist for the midfielder marking a successful first game for the east Londoners.

Jay Rodriguez pulled one back for the Clarets, but it was too little too late as Burnley crashed out of the cup.

Freddie Sears made it 5-1 to the Hammers, capping off a night that Burnley would rather soon forget.

Cole made a storming run down the right wing just after the five minute mark and put in a cross which found Germany international Hitzlsperger in the Burnley penalty, who scuffed his attempt which was easily collected by Lee Grant.

Scott Parker has the next attempt on goal, finding himself in possession a yard outside of the Claret’s 18-yard box. Under pressure from Chris Eagles, the Hammers captain missed his mark by some distance.

Rodriguez had Burnley’s first shot on goal, taking a looping shot close in to the West Ham goal after some poor defending from Winston Reid – who failed to make safe the football – and forcing Rob Green to tip the ball over the cross bar.

Ross Wallace managed to turn Wayne Bridge on the edge of West Ham’s area and thundered a low shot which Green parried well. Mere seconds later Green’s reaction saved the Hammers again, scrambling the follow up away – though the assistant referee’s had all ready flagged for offside.

The Clarets then enjoyed a spell of dominance until a wonder strike from Hitzlsperger saw the Hammers go 1-0 up. West Ham were content to sit back and play counter-attacking football, using the pace of their front men to catch Burnley on the break. Scott Parker slid a simple pass through to ‘Der Hammer’, who hit the ball from 20 yards out – beating Grant in the Burnley goal who got a hand to it, but could do little to stop the net from rippling.

Eagles then had a chance to level the game for the Clarets with just over ten minutes remaining in the first half with a strike from distance of his own. He was put in by Daniel Fox in the D on the outskirts of the West Ham area and drove a low shot directly at Green, who failed to hold the ball – luckily for the Hammers there were no Burnley players in the box for the follow up.

Wallace put a ball into the channel on the right wing for Burnley, Tyrone Mears got on the end of it and managed to put a dangerous drilled ball across the home team’s six-yard box which was hastily cleared, seemingly by both of the West Ham centre halves.

The first half ended with a higher tempo West Ham. Fred Sears in possession was held up by Fox down Burnley’s left flank, and passed to Lars Jacobsen before finding himself some space just inside of the Claret’s area, but screwed a low shot across the opposition goal which passed the wrong side of the post and out for a goal kick.

Cole put the Hammers 2-0 up just two minutes in to the second half. Cole received the ball in what appeared to be an offside position before losing control with his second touch. Grant got to the ball, but couldn’t hold and there were suspicions of handball by Cole, who went to ground alongside the ‘keeper, as he poked the ball into the net with his left foot.

And it was two in two minutes for Cole as he received a long ball from Noble. There was nothing dubious about this goal however as Cole controlled the ball well and calmly side footed a lobbed shot over Grant in the Burnley goal making it 3-0 to West Ham.

Eagles had Burnley’s first decent chance of the half, creating space for himself a yard out of the Hammers’ box but dragging the shot wide to the left of Green’s goal.

The game was quickly turning into a rout and just before the 60 minute mark as Reid nodded home through the arms of Grant in the Burnley goal from a Hitzlsperger corner.

It could have been five just two minutes later as Sears, who had drifted in to a more central position than he had been previously playing in to set up Demba Ba who had gone wide on the right. Ba took a touch in to the Claret’s area and blasted a shot along the ground which Grant managed to get his finger tips to and out for a corner.

When Hitzlsperger left the field on 66 minutes he received a standing ovation after scoring the Hammers’ opening goal on the night of his debut, having been sideline since the summer due to picking up an injury in a pre-season international friendly.

Confusion between Bridge and Green saw Burnley awarded a consolation in the 70th minute. Bridge failed to clear a ball rolling parallel to the dead ball line and Green’s clearance rebounded off of Tyrone Mears at point blank range, leaving the ball to be nodded in by Rodriguez two yards out into an open goal.

Grant was called upon again with ten minutes left when Demba Ba, breaking into the Burnley box, took a shot on the half volley which the Claret’s keeper did well to turn over the bar.

It was made 5-1 by Fred Sears in the 92nd minute after picking up the ball from the feet of teammate Spector and making a run in to the Burnley box and blasting the ball to the left of Grant and in to the Burnley net, capping off an embarrassing evening for the Championship side.

West Ham will now be taking a trip to the Britannia Stadium to take on Stoke in the next round.

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Agences de presses

Labels: Burnley, debut, Goalcom, Hitzlsperger, LongAwaited, scores

Wayne Rooney's first-half double guided unbeaten Premier League leader Manchester United to a convincing 3-1 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Tuesday. The England striker opened the scoring after just 48 seconds and added a second on the stroke of halftime to set United on its way to a 12th win in 13 home matches this campaign.

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Labels: beats, Rooney, scores, United, Villa

LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - On-loan Bolton Wanderers striker Daniel Sturridge scored his third goal in three games to wrap up a 2-0 victory over Everton in the Premier League on Sunday.

The pacy target man, signed from Chelsea last month, latched on to a knockdown from Lee Chung-Yong to volley powerfully home midway through the second half and maintain his impressive start with his new team.

Defender Gary Cahill opened the scoring early in the match when he found space in the area to head a Stuart Holden free kick into the back of the net with the help of a deflection off Johnny Heitinga.

In driving rain and difficult playing conditions, the game proved to be a damp squib with little goalmouth action.

Everton’s best chance came in the first half when Australian Tim Cahill volleyed into the ground and wide from close range.

The hosts thought they had added a third when Holden smashed the ball into the roof of the net in the dying minutes but the linesman ruled that it had gone out of play in the buildup.

Bolton remained in eighth place in the standings on 36 points while Everton are struggling in 13th on 30, just three points clear of the relegation zone

(Reporting by Toby Davis; editing by Ed Osmond)

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Labels: Again, Bolton, Everton, Reuters, scores, Sturridge

Gaizka Toquero scored twice to give Athletic Bilbao a 2-0 win over 10-man Atletico Madrid on Sunday to strengthen the Basques' claim on a Europa League spot in Spain. Toquero raced unmarked into the area to volley home Andoni Iraola's cross on halftime, and then stabbed in another cross by Iraola to double Bilbao's lead in the 64th.

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Labels: Atletico, beats, Bilbao, Madrid, scores, Toquero

Gaizka Toquero scored twice to give Athletic Bilbao a 2-0 win over 10-man Atletico Madrid on Sunday to strengthen the Basques' claim on a Europa League spot in Spain. Toquero raced unmarked into the area to volley home Andoni Iraola's cross on halftime, and then stabbed in another cross by Iraola to double Bilbao's lead in the 64th.

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Agences de presses

Labels: Atletico, beats, Bilbao, Madrid, scores, Toquero