Peñarol upsets Flamengo to reach Copa Libertadores semifinals

Peñarol had a 0-0 draw at home against Brazil´s Flamengo to secure a spot in the Copa Libertadores semifinals for the first time in 13 years. The Uruguayan club won the first leg 1-0 via a Javier Cabrera goal. Peñarol will next play Botafogo, which beat Sao Paulo on penalties in an all-Brazil quarterfinal to reach the last four for the first time since 1973. Five-time champion Peñarol has struggled in the last decade in the Copa Libertadores with group-stage exits in its previous nine appearances.

Álvarez scores late to give Atletico Madrid 1-0 win over Celta Vigo

Atletico Madrid picked up momentum ahead of the derby against Real Madrid with a 1-0 victory over Celta Vigo thanks to Julián Álvarez's 90th-minute winner in the Spanish league. Álvarez poked home a cross by Antoine Griezmann to give Diego Simeone's team the win in Vigo. Atletico remains two points behind second-place Madrid going into Sunday's match at Atletico's Metropolitano Stadium. Both are chasing Barcelona which has won its first seven league games this season. Ayoze Pérez scored twice as Villarreal came from behind to win 2-1 at promoted Espanyol. Last-place Las Palmas drew 1-1 with Real Betis to remain winless after seven rounds.

Tottenham overcomes early red card to post 3-0 win in revamped Europa League

Tottenham marked its return to European competition after one-year absence by overcoming an early red card to beat Qarabag 3-0 in the revamped Europa League. Defender Radu Dragusin was sent off in the eighth minute for bringing down Juninho to prevent the forward from going in alone on goal. But the hosts opened the scoring just four minutes later. Travel disruptions forced the game to start 35 minutes late. Roma allowed a late goal and settled for a 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao. Mika Godts had two goals for Ajax in a 4-0 rout of Besiktas.

Trinity Rodman, Casey Krueger out for Spirit's match at Angel City on Friday night

Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman did not travel with the team for Friday night's game at Angel City because of a back spasm that forced her to leave a match last weekend. Spirit coach Jonatan Giraldez also said that defender Casey Krueger didn't make the trip to Los Angeles. Both Rodman and Krueger were on the U.S. team that won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics this summer. Giraldez said neither injury is serious.

Tottenham home game in Europa League delayed because of 'severe travel disruption'

The Europa League game between Tottenham and Qarabag started 35 minutes late. The Premier League club says it's because of a "severe travel disruption." UEFA says the delay was "due to a late team arrival." The match was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. local time. It was the club from Azerbaijan that had problems trying to reach Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London.

Serbia-Albania joint bid with political history set to win hosting of soccer's Under-21 Euros

Serbia and Albania are set to co-host the men's Under-21 European Championship in 2027 in a soccer project that aims to overcome political tensions. UEFA says only the Serbia-Albania bid met a deadline this week to file detailed plans for the 16-team tournament. Belgium and Turkey had declared interest earlier in the bidding process scheduled to be decided at a Dec. 16 meeting of the UEFA executive committee. There are political tensions between Serbia and Albania including over the independence of neighboring Kosovo. It led to incidents involving fans and players at the 2024 European Championship.

One-year suspended sentence and ban from soccer for fan who racially abused Vinícius

Real Madrid says a Spanish court has given a one-year suspended sentence to a soccer fan for racially abusing its player Vinícius Júnior and Villarreal's Samuel Chukwueze. The incidents occurred at Mallorca's stadium in two games in early 2023 when the defendant insulted the Black players from the stands. The club says the court in Mallorca also ruled that the abuser is banned from attending any games organized by the Spanish league or the Spanish Football Federation for three years. The club says the one-year prison sentenced was suspended after the defendant showed remorse, apologized to Vinícius in a letter, and completed an anti-discrimination program.

Soccer-related arrests have risen in England and Wales and West Ham has the most cases again

The U.K. government says soccer-related arrests are the on rise in England and Wales. The highest number of cases were recorded at West Ham matches for the third year in a row. There were nearly 2,600 football-related arrests in the 2023-24 season. That's a 14% increase on the previous year, figures released by the Home Office showed on Thursday. The government says the rise was driven by arrests relating to the possession of class A drugs and this year's European Championship in Germany.

Violent clashes between rival fans after Genoa derby results in 26 police officers injured

Violent clashes between rival fans after a Genoa derby have resulted in nearly 40 people being treated for injuries at a local hospital. The toll includes 26 police officers. Fans also clashed on a city bridge and outside the stadium before Wednesday night's Italian Cup match. Sampdoria beat Genoa in a penalty shootout. Police in riot gear were targeted as fans threw fireworks, bottles and other objects at each other. Police used water hoses to bring the fans under control. The teams hadn't met in more than two years.

Giroud, Loris propel LAFC to 3-1 extra-time victory over Sporting KC in US Open Cup final

Omar Campos and Kei Kamara scored in extra time and Los Angeles FC won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for the first time with a 3-1 win over Sporting Kansas City. Olivier Giroud scored for LAFC in regulation, which ended knotted at 1-1. It was LAFC's first appearance in the Open Cup championship and snapped a run of four straight title matches without a victory. The team's last trophy came in the 2022 MLS Cup final. Erik Thommy scored for Sporting KC, which won four previous Open Cup finals, with the last in 2017.