Toronto FC kicked its CONCACAF Champions League group stage off to a great start on Tuesday night after registering an impressive 2-1 victory against Mexican powerhouse Cruz Azul at BMO Field.
Martin Saric and Mista scored first-half goals for TFC, which dominated the normally strong Mexican visitors for stretches and looked like a team intent on advancing beyond the group stage.
Goalkeeper Jon Conway got the nod in goal and delivered a handful of quality saves to help Toronto erase some of the bad memories of last year's failed CONCACAF Champions League campaign by scoring the first victory in the tournament in club history. Here are match highlights from Toronto FC's historic victory.
Toronto's win will put pressure on pre-tournament Group A favorites Real Salt Lake and Cruz Azul. Real Salt Lake opens its tournament campaign tonight against Arabe Unido.
Here are some other stories to get your Wednesday going:
CANNON OUT WITH BROKEN ANKLE
San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon enjoyed a standout performance last weekend after regaining his starting role, but he will be heading to the sidelines yet again after suffering a broken ankle in training on Tuesday.
Cannon was instrumental in San Jose's 1-0 shutout victory against Kansas City, but now the Earthquakes must once again turn to veteran goalkeeper Jon Busch, who had been steady in net before an awful blunder two weeks ago.
The injury is the latest to a San Jose side struggling to stay healthy. The club is already dealing with injuries to starting defenders Ramiro Corrales, Chris Leitch and Ike Opara, and will also face first-place Los Angeles on Saturday without starting defender Jason Hernandez, who is suspended after receiving a red card in the win against Kansas City.
Cannon is expected to miss two months, which means he could be back for the final two weeks of the regular season.
YOUNG BOYS SHOCK TOTTENHAM
Swiss side Young Boys Berne didn't figure to cause English power Tottenham much trouble in their Champions League playoff series, but trouble is exactly what Spurs got in the form of a 3-0 first-half deficit on Tuesday.
Tottenham ralled back to score two goals in a 3-2 loss, but the pressure is on Spurs to win their return leg next week.
Here are the rest of the scores from Tuesday's UEFA Champions League playoff matches:
Young Boys 3, Tottenham 2
Dynamo Kiev 1, Ajax Amsterdam 1
Zenit St. Petersburg 1, Auxerre 0
Sparta Prague 0, MSK Zilina 2
Rosenborg 2, FC Copenhagen 1
The second five Champions League playoff series begin today, featuring Sacha Kljestan's Anderlecht against Partizan Belgrade, as well as the highly-anticipated Werder Bremen-Sampdoria clash.
WEDNESDAY FREE KICKS
Puerto Rico's CONCACAF Champions League group stage began with a home draw against CD Olimpia.
Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri will miss a month after knee surgery.
Nigerian striker Peter Odemwingie is set to sign for West Brom.
Joe Cole's week keeps getting better. First, he earns his first career red card, now he's been found guilty of speeding.
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What did you think of Toronto's performance last night? See San Jose overcoming its injuries to reach the playoffs? Still trying to come up with good "Young Boys" jokes?
Share your thoughts below.