Fragen und Antworten » Its a good start but were only at the beginning

Toronto - Toronto FC and the Columbus Crew will square off at BMO Field on Saturday in the second Trillium Cup match of the season. TFC was victorious in the first meeting between the two sides with a 2-0 win at Columbus, but the result sparked a run of three straight defeats for the Canadian club. You can catch all the action on TSN and TSN Radio 1050 beginning at 5pm et/2pm pt. The Reds appear to back in form though, managing four points from their last two league matches. They most recently came back twice to get a point form a 2-2 draw at Sporting Kansas City. It was a tremendous point for Toronto given that the team was without several key players due to international duty. The Reds were also reduced to 10 men in the match as Steven Caldwell was issued a straight red card in the 63rd minute. "We had three of our starting midfield out, so we had a lot of absences," TFC head coach Ryan Nelsen said after the match. "We had three starting players out in three different positions and (SKC) had two out. So everybodys made (a deal) about their injuries and weve got a few out as well. Since the start of the season weve only had to pick a starting 11, the actual starting 11, once." Toronto will look to get Gilberto going this season. He has logged 10 consecutive starts but is still searching for his first goal with the club. "Weve got to pick (Gilberto) up," Nelsen said. "Weve all been through it as players and weve all been through it in jobs. And when you move to a new country like that its very difficult, and we forget hes only 24. "We know how good of a player he is and its our job to pick him up and obviously get his confidence up and get him going and it will. Maybe we could get a penalty one of these days and he can get on the scoreboard." Like Toronto, Columbus has taken four points from its last two games. After an enthralling 3-3 draw with the Portland Timbers, the Crew ran out to a 2-0 home victory over the Chicago Fire to put an end to an eight-match winless run. "I think weve been frustrated that weve been playing well and not getting the results. Were still trying to focus on the product were creating and how were playing," said Crew head coach Gregg Berhalter. "Its nice when you get results. From that standpoint were happy. I think it was a good effort. Obviously were missing some guys but we did a great job." Federico Higuain played a starring role the Crews defeat of the Fire, but the striker will miss Saturdays clash at Toronto due to yellow card accumulation. "You dont replace Federico, simple as that. We get someone on the field that can play their game and were not going to ask someone to come in and play like Federico that would be foolish of us," said Berhalter. "Were going to ask someone to come in and play to the best of their ability. 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The win puts Arsenal four points clear of Everton in fourth place with two games to play in the Premier League, a position which would qualify the club for Europes top competition for the 17th straight year.ROME -- Last seasons runner-up Napoli impressed in Rafa Benitezs debut Sunday, comfortably beating Bologna 3-0 in its Serie A opener and immediately stating its intent to challenge two-time defending champion Juventus. After former Real Madrid forward Jose Maria Callejon put Napoli ahead in the 32nd, Marek Hamsik added goals in the 45th and 63rd as fans wondered if this might be the year that their squad breaks the northern grip on the Italian league title. Northern squads Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan have won the last 11 Serie A titles, while Napoli hasnt finished top since Diego Maradona led the southern club to its only two championships in 1987 and 1990. Perhaps in anticipation of celebrations, Napoli even had American-style cheerleaders inside the San Paolo stadium. "I expected the squad to do well and we did well but we can do even better," said Benitez, who previously coached in Italy at Inter Milan in the first half of the 2010-11 season. "This squad has a lot of quality in attack." It was also a positive debut for former Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri with Inter, which got late goals from Yuto Nagatomo and Rodrigo Palacio for a 2-0 win over Genoa. And Lazio bounced back from its 4-0 loss to Juventus in the Super Cup by beating visiting Udinese 2-1 with first-half goals from Hernanes and Antonio Candreva. Lazio had to play with one end of the Stadio Olimpico closed as punishment for fan racism in the Super Cup. As a response, the Roman clubs players wore shirts with a message that read "We love football, we fight racism." Lazios rival Roma had a good start, too, with Daniele De Rossi and Alessandro Florenzi scoring two minutes apart midway through the second half for a 2-0 win at promoted Livorno. There was a curious moment in the first half, as new Roma coach Rudi Garcia was seen talking on his cellphone as he sat on the bench. He said afterward that he was discussing tactics with an assistant in the tribune, although it could earn him a fine. Elsewhere, Cagliari beat Atalanta 2-1 in Trieste, where it is playing due to troubles with its stadium; Torino spoiled Sassuolos Serie A debut with a 2-0 win and Parma was held to a 0-0 draw at home by Chievo Verona despite solid play from newly signed Antonio Cassano. On Saturday, Juventus began its bid for a third straight title with a 1-0 win at Sampdoria while Milan was stunned 2-1 by newly promoted Hellas Verona, which got two goals from Luca Toni. The first round concludes Monday with Fiorentina facing Catania. In Naples, the hosts were in control from the start as Callejon hit the post six minutes in then redirected in a rebound of a shot from Hamsik to give Napoli the lead.dddddddddddd Gonzalo Higuain, who has replaced the departed Edinson Cavani at the centre of Napolis attack, had a goal disallowed for offside in the 40th. Hamsik doubled the lead in first-half added time, dribbling by the goalkeeper and finding the target with a sharply angled shot. Higuain again came close in the 51st, sending a free kick around Bolognas wall just wide, and Hamsik capped a classy performance by firing in from the edge of the area after Higuain was denied. At the San Siro, Japan international Nagatomo headed in from point-blank range in the 75th following a deflected cross from Jonathan and Argentina striker Palacio doubled the lead in added time after an excellent through ball from Fredy Guarin. Neither team had an attempt on target until a header from Inter substitute Mauro Icardi was blocked by goalkeeper Mattia Perin in the 53rd. But Inter was in full control by the end and Icardi hit the crossbar with a header in the 82nd while Andrea Ranocchia had a header tipped wide by Perin a minute later. While it didnt come easily, the result was significant for an Inter squad that finished ninth and had 16 losses last season, its worst effort in 65 years. "Its a good start but were only at the beginning. We need to improve a lot of things but were on the right road," Inter midfielder Ricardo Alvarez said. Mazzarri, who managed Napoli the past four seasons, was hired immediately after Andrea Stramaccioni was let go by Inter at the end of last season. "Were improving more than I thought," Mazzarri said. "Weve done a lot in a short amount of time." In Rome, Hernanes put Lazio ahead in the 13th with an impressive shot past two defenders from a sharp angle and Antonio Candreva made it 2-0 in the 16th after Miroslav Klose earned a penalty. Udinese pulled one back on the hour mark when Luis Muriel finished off a counterattack. Its been a difficult start for Udinese, which was beat 3-1 at home by Czech side Liberec in the first leg of the Europa League playoffs Thursday. In Livorno, Romas 36-year-old captain Francesco Totti hit the crossbar with a long shot in the 28th but it wasnt until the 65th that De Rossi broke the deadlock with an effort from long-range to immediately put behind him a season in which he failed to score. Florenzi doubled Romas lead by finishing off a counterattack with a sharply angled shot in the 67th. ' ' '