Bilbao, Sep 16 (AP/UNB) — Real Madrid dropped its first points in the Spanish league after being held at Athletic Bilbao to 1-1 on Saturday.

Madrid needed Francisco "Isco" Alarcon to come off the bench and score three minutes later in the 64th to salvage a point from the visit to the Basque Country club. Isco slipped into the area unmarked and headed Gareth Bale's cross down off the turf and into the corner of the net.

Bilbao went ahead in the 32nd when right back Oscar de Marcos made a run into the area, and squared the ball for Inaki Williams to finish off. Iker Muniain took the goal when he tapped in Williams' shot that was about to cross the goal-line.

Bilbao avoided giving Madrid chances to counterattack with long balls forward to Williams, and did well to pressure the visitors when they tried to go forward with passing buildups.

Before Isco's equalizer, Madrid was limited to an excellent chance by Sergio Ramos after Bilbao goalkeeper Unai Simon fumbled a free kick by Bale into the defender's path, only to also save Ramos' point-blank attempt.

Muniain had to be substituted early in the second half for what appeared to be a non-serious leg injury.

"We knew this was one of the toughest grounds to visit in the league," Ramos said. "We needed to circulate the ball more quickly, but they defended us very closely and worked well as a group. A draw is never good."

Madrid won in the first three rounds under new coach Julen Lopetegui. It trails defending champion Barcelona by two points at the top of the table.

Madid hosts Roma in their Champions League opener on Wednesday.

Toronto, Sep 16 (AP/UNB) — Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his 500th worldwide goal Saturday night in the Los Angeles Galaxy's 5-3 loss to Toronto FC.

The 36-year-old Swede joined Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the only active players with 500 goals for in club and international play, cutting the Galaxy's lead to 3-1 in the 43rd minute. Jonathan dos Santos chipped the ball into the box, and the 6-foot-5 Ibrahimovic twirled to get an angle at the ball between two defenders, flicking his right leg up high to deflect it past goalkeeper Alex Bono for his 17th of the season.

Victor Vazquez, Jozy Altidore, Sebastian Giovinco, Jonathan Osorio and Jay Chapmanalso scored for Toronto (8-14-6). Ola Kamara and Rolf Feltscher added goals for Los Angeles (10-11-8).

ATLANTA UNITED 3, RAPIDS 0

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (AP) — Miguel Almiron scored twice in the first 18 minutes and assisted on another goal to help Atlanta United beat Colorado.

Almiron opened the scoring in the 10th minute, settling Julian Gressel's wide cross and finishing with a left-footed shot from inside the upper left corner of the 6-yard box.

Almiron slotted home Josef Martinez's layoff to double the lead in the 18th and sent a long ball forward to Gressel, who crossed it to Hector Villalba for Atlanta's third in the 37th minute.

United (17-5-6) moved two points ahead of the New York Red Bulls in the Supporters' Shield race.

The Rapids (6-16-6) lost their fourth in a row.

DYNAMO 4, TIMBERS 1

HOUSTON (AP) — Mauro Manotas had two goals and an assist and set a franchise record for goals in a calendar year, helping Houston beat Portland to snap a 10-game winless streak.

Manotas gave the Dynamo a 2-1 lead in the 39th minute, tapping in Alberth Elis' low cross. It was Manotas' 17th goal in all competitions this year. Manotas added another goal to his tally in the 71st minute, volleying home goalkeeper Steve Clark's botched attempt to punch away Elis' cross.

Houston's Alejandro Fuenmayor scored an own goal to give the Timbers (12-8-8) the lead in the ninth minute. Elis headed home Tomas Martinez's free kick to tie it at 1 for the Dynamo (8-13-7) in the 32nd minute.Fuenmayor capped the scoring in the 81st minute with a right-footed shot to finish Manotas' pass.

CREW 0, FC DALLAS 0, TIE

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Zack Steffen saved Tesho Akindele's chip shot in the 92nd minute and Columbus played to a scoreless draw with FC Dallas.

Steffen finished with two saves in his ninth shutout of the season. The Crew (12-8-8) extended their unbeaten streak to three games.

Jesse Gonzalez made a leaping effort to stop Federico Higuain's shot in the 26th minute for his only save. Gonzalez recorded his fourth shutout of the season for FC Dallas (14-6-8).

IMPACT 4, UNION 1, TIE

CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — Alejandro Silva scored twice off assists from Ignacio Piatti and Montreal beat Philadelphia.

Saphir Taider and Quincy Amarikwa also scored for Montreal (12-14-3).

Auston Trusty scored for the the Union (12-12-4).

Dhaka, Sep 15 (UNB) -Maldives lifted their second regional football title beating India 2-1 in the final of the SAFF Suzuki Cup at the Bangabandhu National  Stadium on September 15, Saturday.
 
It is Maldives’ second title after 2008 when they co-hosted the tourney with Sri Lanka.
 
As with all finals, both the teams were taking the proceedings cautiously, this one was not an exception. Short passes, trying to hold the ball was the order till first quarter of the hour. India opted a 4-4-2 formation while Maldives fielded their team in the 4-3-3 shape.
 
Among a number of sporadic attacks India was more threatening as the match slowly opened up. Maldives waited for their chances and they were first to laugh.
 
A quick counter attack in the 20th minute saw the Indian Ocean islanders take the lead. It was a good build up that consequentially ended in a goal. Hasan Naiz broke free in the midfield and cut a nice through in the path of onrushing Ibrahim Hussain whose inswinging placing shot beat Indian goalie Vishal Kaith in the far post net (1-0).
 
India widened their game in pursuit of the equalizer and Manvir Singh came close to that in the 30thminute. Maldives skipper Akram Abdul Ghanee’s miscued clearance landed at the feet of unmarked Manvir who shot into the outside net from the middle of the box.
 
Indian winger Nikhil Pujary made a number of runs down the right flank and cut some crosses but none of them reached their destiny. In the 39th minute Nikhil saw his effort miss the crosspiece by a whisker.
 
In the dying minutes of the first half Maldives forward Ali Fasir was cursing his luck as his curving free kick from the edge of the box landed on the roof of the net.   

India intensified their attack after the change of ends and Manvir Singh headed the ball past Maldives goalie Md. Faisal but it was off target.
 
The fate of the final was decided in the 67th minute with Maldives forward Ali Fasir scoring a beautiful goal. In a build up from their own yard Maldives midfielder Hamza Mohammed spun a neat through pass through the defence and Ali Fasir generated some notable speed to go past his marker and cut an angular placed shot in the far post (2-0).
 
India squandered a chance in the 80th minute with Manvir missing the line of a cross curved by Ashik Kuruniyan from the left flank. It just needed a tap but Manvir reacted late.
 
India scored their consolation in the stoppage time with Sumeet Passi scoring off a cross of Nikhil Pujari (2-1). The goal suiddenly brought life back to the game but Maldives managed to hold their fort and emerged as the champions.
 

Sao Paulo, Sept 15 (AP/UNB) — Often reticent to become embroiled in Brazilian politics, soccer players are making rare interventions as a far-right candidate's presidential campaign polarizes the country.

Felipe Melo, a fiery former Juventus midfielder who is back in Sao Paulo playing for Palmeiras, has been openly campaigning for Jair Bolsonaro ahead of the October election.

A former army captain, Bolsonaro has taken the lead in the polls after appealing to concerns about public security, religious conservativism, homophobia and anti-left politics. Just a month before the elections, Bolsonaro was stabbed while campaigning on Sept. 6. His attacker claimed to be upset about racial slurs made by the candidate and was "sent by God" to attack Bolsonaro.

After undergoing two surgeries, Bolsonaro is recovering at a hospital in Sao Paulo, but he can rely on soccer players to promote his platform.

Melo, who played at the 2010 World Cup for Brazil, posted a video online this week wishing Bolsonaro a speedy recovery. Another message was sent on social media to Lucas Moura after the winger, who plays in the English Premier League for Tottenham, was met with praise — and criticism — for endorsing Bolsonaro.

"Good one, Lucas," Melo wrote. "Let's go Bolsonaro, it doesn't matter what they say."

The backlash is not deterring other stars of the national sport from voicing support. Bolsonaro's list of backers also features 2002 World Cup winner Cafu and Corinthians midfielder Jadson.

But they are facing resistance from players they have previously shared a field with.

Elias, a midfielder at Belo Horizonte club Atletico Mineiro, said he would never vote for the far-right candidate, but argued footballers have to be more tolerant with those who will.

"I don't vote for Bolsonaro, but we have to tolerate who do," Elias said. "That tolerance is also in a low in soccer."

Brazil and Lyon midfielder Juninho has entered into several spats with Bolsonaro's supporters on Twitter.

"I didn't know Bolsonaro voters followed me," Juninho said. "Please, don't. I don't want a high number of followers, I want those that are human beings of character."

One month before the vote, it is still unclear whether footballers that dislike Bolsonaro are convincing their teammates the candidate is not a good option.

Walter Casagrande, a European Cup winner with Porto in 1987 who is now a pundit on Brazilian TV, had to change his phone number after criticizing players who would not explain in detail why they endorsed Bolsonaro.

"We live in a democracy and everyone has the right to their opinions. But they have to know what they are talking about," Casagrande said. "They can endorse any candidate, but once they go public they have to tell why. It is not enough to say 'I endorse this guy.' As soccer heroes they influence a lot of people."

The national team's biggest star, Neymar, has steered clear of making any public statements about the election. Four years ago he endorsed right-leaning Aecio Neves, who narrowly lost to the re-elected president, Dilma Rousseff.

The world's most expensive footballer was busy playing for Brazil for the first time since the World Cup.

Here is a look at some talking points from the international fixtures over the last week:

DIVING AGAIN

Neymar was handed the captaincy by Brazil coach Tite for matches against the United States and El Salvador, but his conduct on the field remains divisive.

Just like at the World Cup, where Brazil was eliminated in the quarterfinals, a dive by Neymar has prompted criticism. The booking in the 2-0 win against the U.S. could be a wake-up call for Neymar to cut out the theatrics.

Brazil had a scoring rival during the international break. Richarlison of English side Everton also scored twice wearing the No. 9 jersey. Barcelona's Arthur impressed as a playmaker and Eder Militao was robust in central defense as Brazil scored six and conceded no goals in the two friendlies.

"One of the best things I saw is the return of a team that plays with joy," Tite said after the 4-0 win against El Salvador in Washington D.C. "We were aggressive and created opportunities, regardless of the opponent's form. This team has a goal-scoring DNA."

ARGENTINA'S MESSI WAIT

Argentina played without a No. 10 in a 3-0 victory over Guatemala and a 0-0 draw with Colombia because Lionel Messi opted against linking up with the squad. It's unclear if the 31-year-old, five-time world player of the year will retire from international duty. Argentina's next game is in October against Brazil in Saudi Arabia.

Paris, Sept 15 (AP/UNB) — Paris Saint-Germain's margin is so big that the reigning champions don't even need Kylian Mbappe and Neymar to thrash rival French teams.

PSG got ready for next week's Champions League opener at Liverpool with a 4-0 win over Saint-Etienne at the Parc des Princes on Friday, extending its perfect record to five league games.

Mbappe served the first of his three-match ban while Neymar was rested by coach Thomas Tuchel after playing with Brazil in a friendly game against El Salvador midweek in the United States.

Without his two star players, Tuchel gave Julian Draxler a start, a move that paid off as the German international put the hosts in front with a header in the 22nd minute after a long pass by Marco Verrati.

Edinson Cavani made it 2-0 in the 51st after being fouled in the area for his third goal this season, and Angel Di Maria added the third near the end with a powerful left-footed shot from a tight angle. Substitute forward Moussa Diaby completed the win with his first goal in the top tier in the 84th.

PSG handed 10-time champion Saint-Etienne its first loss this season and extended its lead over second-placed Dijon to six points. Dijon hosts Angers on Saturday.

Tuchel, who was appointed this summer as a replacement for Unai Emery, set a new club record by becoming the first coach to win his five opening league matches in his first season.

Earlier, Nice defeated Rennes 2-1 with goals by Allan Saint-Maximin and Pierre Lees-Melou.