Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round

The 3rd Qualifying round ended today with some surprise names going into the Play-off round. The biggest shock was Shakhtar Donetsk's surprise elimination by Romanian Timisoara. Shakhtar lost out on away goals just 3 months after their UEFA Cup win.
Celtic ended their six-year away winless streak by beating Russians Dinamo Moskva 2-0 with Giorgios Samaras scoring in added time.
Debrecen had a 1-0 win over Levadia Tallinn count following last week's 1-0 win.

Elsewhere Latvia may have a team in the Group stage after Ventspils ousted BATE Borisov of Belarus on away goals while Cyprus has hopes of another team making the Group stage after APOEL dumped Partizan from serbia out 2-1. Sheriff from Moldova ended Czech interest with Slavia exiting and Olympiakos, FC Zurich and FC Kobenhavn were all victorious.

Confederations Cup Group B

Brazil were made to work hard for their 4-3 win over Egypt on Monday. Kaká gave Brazil the lead before Mohammed Zidan levelled with a header. Luis Fabiano headed Brazil back in front and Juan made it 3-1 at the break with a header from a corner. Mohamed Shawky pulled on back but just a minute later Mohammed Zidan levelled the scores at 3-3. But Brazil's Kaká had a shot stopped by a handball in the final minute in which Howard Webb awarded the penalty and Kaká converted. 

The USA played well against World champions Italy in Petoria. Despite having Ricardo Clark sent-off it was the USA who took the lead from the spot when Chiellini bough down Altidore in the box. Landon Donovan converted. Giuseppe Rossi, born in the USA levelled the scores with a fantastic strike before Daniel De Rossi made it 2-1 Italy with a long-range shot. Giuesspe Rossi then made sure of the win with a 3rd in injury time. 

European Domestic Leagues Results

Their was a few ey-catching results but the biggest was in Russia. 

Norway: Satruday saw table topping Rosenborg take on Strømsgodset. Rosenborg needed late goals to secure the 3 points. A double from Stefan Iversen and a last minute strike from Rade Prica helping Rosenborg extend their lead at the top. 

Sunday saw Odd Grenland move into 2nd after a thumping 4-0 win over struggling Bodø/Glimt. Elsewhere there was wins for Viking, Brann, Lillestrøm and Stabæk. Tromsø were held by Sandefjord. Molde fell further behind after a 2-2 draw with IK Start on Monday. 

1. Rosenborg 3-0 Strømsgodset 
2. Aalesunds 0-1 Viking
3. Brann 2-1 Lyn Oslo
4. Lillestrøm 4-2 Fredrikstad
5. Odd Grenland 4-0 Bodø/Glimt 
6. Tromsø 1-1 Sandefjord
7. Vålerenga 0-1 Stabæk
8. IK Start 2-2 Molde

Russia: Bottom of the table Khimki narrowly lost 1-0 away to Spartak Moskva. The result keeps them bottom with just 4 points. Elsehwere on Saturday Dinamo Moskva were held by Kuban to a 1-1 draw, Terek Grozny overcame Krylya Sovetov 3-2 which sees Krylya lose 2nd place. But the biggest shock was Rubin Kazan's 2-0 loss at home to Rostov. The result now means Rubin fall into 2nd. 

Sunday saw FK Moskva take advantage of the Rubin loss by winning 2-0 in the Moskva derby against CSKA. Saturn were 2-0 winners over Lokomotiv. Elsewhere Spartak Nalchik held Zenit to a draw and Amkar Perm were victorious over Tom Tomsk. 

1. Rubin Kazan 0-2 Rostov 
2. Spartak Moskva 1-0 Khimki
3. Dinamo Moskva 1-1 Kuban
4. Terek Grozny 3-2 Krylya Sovetov
5. Tom Tomsk 1-2 Amkar Perm
6. FK Moskva 2-0 CSKA Moskva
7. Saturn 2-0 Lokomotiv Moskva 
8. Spartak Nalchik 2-2 Zenit St Petersburg

Iceland: The title race is as-you-were after this weekend with both Fylkir and FH winning meaning the one point advantage for FH still stands. There was a 1st win for Þróttur who beat ÍBV 2-1. 

1. Fjölnir 1-3 Flykir 
2. Grindavík 0-3 FH 
3. KR 4-1 Keflavík
4. Stjarnan 4-1 Fram
5. Þróttur 2-1 ÍBV
6. Breiðablik v Valur

Finland: Just three games this weekend in Finland. MyPa got a 2-0 win away to KuPS to move clear of the relegation zone on Saturday. The other two games took place on Sunday with Jaro 2-0 winners over RoPS and Lahti drew 1-1 with IFK Mariehamn. 

1. KuPS 0-2 MyPa
2. Jaro 2-0 RoPS
3. Lahti 1-1 IFK Mariehamn

Bulgaria: The Bulgarian A PFG ended on Saturday with CSKA Sofia ending the season with a 2-1 win over Lokomotiv Mezdra. Champions Levski ended with a 1-1 draw away to Blagoevgrad. 

1. CSKA Sofia 2-1 Lokomotiv Mezdra
2. Lokomotiv Plovdiv 3-0 Botev
3. Minior 2-2 Cherno More
4. Spartak Varna 0-4 Litex Lovech
5. Blagoevgrad 1-1 Levski Sofia
6. Sliven 0-2 Belasitsa
7. Slavia Sofia 2-2 Lokomotiv Sofia
8. Vihren 3-5 Chernomorets Burgas

Switzerland: AC Lugano went into the 2nd leg of their relegation/promotion play-off with a 1-0 lead but by the end of the day they were battered 5-1 on aggergrate as they stay in the Challenge league. 

1. FC Luzern 5-0 AC Lugano

Confederations Group A

South Africa and Iraq played out a dull 0-0 draw in Johannesburg on Sunday. The result neither wanted to start the tournament with but there was shades of South Africa that could put New Zealand under pressure. Iraq came into the game as underdogs but kept South Africa out. A few good chances for South Africa especially when Steven Pienaar came on. 

Spain made light-work of New Zealand in Rustenburg with a 5-0 rout. The All-Whites came into the game with no real big-name players but once Fernando Torres got his 1st the flood gate opened as the Liverpool striker completed his hat-trick with a fine goal. Francese Fábregas was also on target with a tap-in. David Villa made it 5-0 in the 2nd half when Boyens missed the ball and allowed the Valencia man into score. 

Transfer News

AC Milan have announced the signing of FC Porto defender Aly Cissokho for around €15 million. Cissokho had a short spell with the Portuguese champions and only moved from Ligue 2 side Gueugnon last summer. 

Jérémy Mathieu has join Valencia. The Toulouse man becomes Los Chés 1st signing of the summer. 

Steaua Bucureşti have appointed Cristiano Bergodi as their new manager. Steaua Bucureşti had finished 6th in the Romanian Liga last season which has promted the club to make changes this summer. 

Confederations Cup Group A preview

South Africa play Iraq in Elis Park today with Joel Santana's side improving since he began his role as boss of bafana bafana 14 months ago. Iraq have been a good side and won the AFC Asian Cup in 2007 with a good sqaud. 

South Africa v Iraq: This game could be a good one. South Africa have a point to prove while Iraq will be underdogs throughout the tournament. Younis Mahmoud will be the key man for Iraq. He scored the winner in the Asian Cup two years ago. South Africa's treat will be Steven Pienaar. The Everton man has been tricky in the premiership. 

New Zealand v Spain: Spain are the clear favourites here. Rustenburg is the setting but with a midfield like what Spain has New Zealand will have a tough job to get something out of this game. Shane Smeltz however is a good striker and was the top scorer in the A-League last season. But Marcos Senna could be Spain's force in midfield. With Torres and Villa up front. New Zealand did however almost beat Italy last week. A 4-3 loss was the result but New Zealand deserved a win or a least a draw. 

Man United?

With Cristiano Ronaldo set to exit the club Man United have been looking for a replacement. Some say Franck Ribéry of Bayern Munich is a direct replacement. But Bayern have said a big offer will do. Luis Antonio Valencia of Wigan has long been linked with United as well as Real Madrid but Wigan will want a good offer for the Ecuadorian. 

Some have even suggested Rafael Van Der Vaart. The Dutchman who could be leaving Real due to the arrivals of Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo is an option. Arjen Robben has in the past been linked.