Hoesen’s scoring punch lifts Quakes in opener
Danny Hoesen broke a scoreless game with a goal in the 27th minute, then put the Earthquakes firmly in control with a goal in the 59th minute as San Jose held off Minnesota United 3-2 on Saturday night at Avaya Stadium as Major League Soccer’s 23rd season opened.
Valeri Qazaishvili assisted on both of Hoesen’s goals — a shot from the top of the box, and a close-in shot from the right side that found the angle — and scored one of his own in the 28th minute.
But Minnesota turned a laugher into a nailbiter when Kevin Molino scored twice after the 80th minute.
“We controlled this game for 80 minutes,” new Quakes coach Mikael Stahre said. “Then it became a little intense at the end.”
More MLS openers: Federico Higuain and Gyasi Zardes scored to help the Columbus Crew beat Toronto FC 2-0, spoiling the defending MLS champion Reds’ home opener. Toronto, which beat the Seattle Sounders for its first MLS Cup in December, lost just one regular-season game last year at BMO Field . ... Andrew Wenger opened the scoring with a tap-in in the fifth minute as the host Houston Dynamo beat Atlanta United 4-0 . ...
Anthony Fontana and C.J Sapong scored and the host Philadelphia Union beat the 10-man New England Revolution 2-0 to spoil former U.S. World Cup goaltender Brad Friedel’s coaching debut. ... Stefano Pincho tied it in the 93rd minute and 10man Orlando City salvaged a 1-1 draw with visiting D.C. United . ... Real Salt Lake’s Marcelo Silva scored an own goal in the 86th minute and host FC Dallas escaped with a 1-1 draw. EUROPE
Ronaldo fastest to 300 goals
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice and Gareth Bale once as Real Madrid beat 10-man Getafe 3-1.
Ronaldo became the fastest player to reach 300 goals in La Liga, taking his tally to 301 in 286 matches.
Madrid travels to Paris St.-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday, leading 3-1 from the first leg.
In La Liga, Madrid is in a fight for third place with Valencia, which is only four points behind going into its home match against Real Betis on Sunday. Spanish leader Barcelona hosts secondplace Atletico Madrid on Sunday to defend its fivepoint advantage. English Premier League: Liverpool and Tottenham put the squeeze on Chelsea in the race for Champions League qualification next season after chalking up 2-0 victories.
Mohamed Salah struck his 32nd goal in all competitions and Sadio Mane made sure of victory as second-place Liverpool breezed past Newcastle to make it an unhappy Anfield return for former manager Rafael Benitez.
Son Heung-min, vying for the league’s player-ofthe-year honor with Salah, took his goal tally for the campaign to 15 with a double in Tottenham’s triumph over Huddersfield at Wembley Stadium.
They moved the pressure firmly onto fifthplace Chelsea, which is five points adrift of Tottenham, when Antonio Conte’s team visits champion-elect Manchester City on Sunday.
Manchester United is third but can leapfrog Liverpool by winning at Crystal Palace on Monday.
Video replay at World Cup: In one of the most fundamental changes ever to soccer’s 155-year-old rules, FIFA approved video review and cleared the way to use it at the World Cup in June in Russia.
The decision should be finalized on March 16, when the FIFA Council chaired by President Gianni Infantino meets in Bogota, Colombia.