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David Ayala scored on a first-time volley from a corner kick in second-half stoppage time and the Portland Timbers rallied to a 2-1 victory over visiting St. Louis City on Sunday.
Antony pulled Portland (8-4-5, 29 points) level with his team-leading sixth goal in the 55th minute, setting the stage for the Timbers to seal a dramatic, second consecutive 2-1 home win following a May 28 triumph over Colorado.
James Pantemis finished with seven saves and was particularly exceptional during the first half, when the Timbers struggled to match City's pace and aggression.
Akil Watts put St. Louis (3-9-5, 14 points) in front in the 50th minute. But after a strong showing on an unseasonably hot day in Portland over the first hour, the flow of the match seemed to reverse in the final 30 minutes plus stoppage time, resulting in a first defeat for City under interim head coach David Critchley.
Antony's leveler was a spectacular individual goal.
After receiving a pass from Jimer Fory at the midfield stripe, Antony popped the ball over the head of pressing defender Tomas Totlund to put himself into space dribbling toward the penalty area.
As the rest of the St. Louis' back line retreated, the Brazilian eyed up the goal, then curled a right-footed shot from right at the edge of the area beyond Roman Burki's dive and inside the far right post.
About 37 minutes later, the Timbers got their winner on a well-diagrammed set piece.
While other Timbers attackers pushed in toward the 6-yard box awaiting Santiago Moreno's corner, Ayala remained at the edge of the 18. Then just as Moreno approached the ball, Ayala made a darting run to the penalty area and met Moreno's in-swinging ball in stride, guiding into the bottom left corner past Burki, who was looking through traffic.
Pantemis had already made several key stops before Watts gave St. Louis a deserved lead in the 50th minute.
Watts himself was denied moments before. But he was first to the loose ball seconds later after Totlund's cross from the right was just partially cleared, hammering his finish low and hard through Pantemis for his first goal of the season.
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Report: Jose Mourinho eyeing audacious Liverpool swoop after losing patience with Man City chase
According to reports from Turkey, Jose Mourinho is eyeing an audacious swoop for one Liverpool stalwart this summer. Last Minute Tickets to the Community Shield – Click Here! The current Fenerbahce head coach has often been something of a pantomime villain among Kopites, infamously shushing Reds fans during the 2005 League Cup final when he was Chelsea manager and swanning down the touchline in his gilet after the Blues won at Anfield nine years later. He also went on to manage our fiercest rivals Manchester United for two-and-a-half seasons before a comprehensive defeat in L4 prompted his sacking in December 2018, but despite his chequered history with LFC, he seemingly wants to sign one of our main players. Mourinho eyeing audacious swoop for Alisson Turkish outlet Sabah have reported (via Sport Witness) that, in his search for a goalkeeper, Mourinho has turned his attention to Alisson Becker. Fenerbahce are in pursuit of a new number 1 amid the prospective departure of Dominik Livakovic and are now targeting a move for the Liverpool colossus after growing frustrated in their attempts to land his compatriot Ederson from Manchester City. The Cityzens’ asking price of €20m (£17.4m) has also deterred Galatasaray, and the report claims that the Reds netminder has been offered to Mourinho’s side, although it’s added that no transfer talks or offers are being lined up at present. You’ll have to look elsewhere, Mr Mourinho! It’s safe to say that these reports can be taken with a pinch of salt, for the chances of Liverpool sanctioning the exit of their world-class, first-choice goalkeeper to a club managed by someone with ties to two of our biggest rivals are remote. Even with the Reds adding three ‘keepers to their squad this summer (Giorgi Mamardashvili, Freddie Woodman, Armin Pecsi), the starting berth is Alisson’s to lose, and that simply won’t be happening unless he endures an unthinkable deterioration in form or a long-term absence through injury. The 32-year-old has endured a few fitness issues in his time on Merseyside, so his Georgian understudy could viably see plenty of game-time in the upcoming season, but our number 1 will undoubtedly be starting any Premier League fixture for which he’s available. No explanation is needed as to why Mourinho would want to sign the Liverpool stalwart (he’d also reportedly been targeting Federico Chiesa earlier this year), but surely the Fenerbahce boss will know deep down that the possibility of such a transfer is meagre and he’d realistically have to turn to more attainable alternatives. Barring a seismic turn of events, we can discount any chance of Alisson ending up with the Istanbul club in the near future!
Green Bay Packers: 2 Notable Former Wide Receivers Labeled as Surprise Cut Candidates
As the Green Bay Packers deal with their own crowded wide receiver room, multiple former Packers pass-catchers are also embroiled in position battles across the league. Notably, two veterans that turned in many successful seasons in Green Bay now find themselves battling to make rosters and have been labeled as big names that could become surprise cuts when rosters are trimmed down. New York Jets May Soon Be Done With Former Green Bay Packers Receiver Allen Lazard Former Packers receiver Allen Lazard was always a favorite of Aaron Rodgers during their time together in Green Bay. When Rodgers left the franchise, Lazard ended up following the quarterback to the New York Jets. While the Rodgers era for Gang Green has gone up in flames, Lazard remains on the roster – for now. Lazard entered camp as the presumed second receiver behind Garrett Wilson, but so far, fellow veteran Josh Reynolds has seemingly beaten out Lazard for the second spot. A former Detroit Lion, Reynolds has reportedly been building a good rapport with new signal-caller Justin Fields, leaving Lazard potentially relegated to slot duties. Although the Jets have receiver depth problems, some experts don’t believe that Lazard will survive cuts. The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt has stated that he does not expect Lazard to be on the 53-man roster. Some names behind Lazard on the current depth chart include veteran Tyler Johnson and rookie Arian Smith, both of whom have had flashes of ability in camp so far. Several of the younger players also offer one thing that Lazard notably doesn’t – the ability to play on special teams. If Lazard is cut by the team, it would mean the team would have moved on from another former Packer after dumping both Rodgers and Davante Adams this summer. Can Former Green Bay Packers Receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling Stick in Seattle? Marquez Valdes-Scantling was a member of the Green Bay Packers from 2018 to 2021, playing out his rookie contract with the team while being a big part of the offense. He had over 2,000 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns for the green and gold before leaving for Kansas City in free agency. In 2025, Valdes-Scantling was with the New Orleans Saints until he signed a one-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks worth around $4 million. Despite the 29-year-old being a proven veteran and solid deep threat, Valdes-Scantling currently finds himself near the edge of the Seahawks roster. Rookie receiver Tory Horton has already surpassed Valdes-Scantling on the depth chart and has been the fourth receiver in the team’s first-team rotation so far. Valdes-Scantling has been relegated to the second unit in training camp practices as of early August. Respected NFL writer Brady Henderson has said that Valdes-Scantling has “barely made any” plays throughout camp so far, whereas Horton has continued to catch eyes and has been nicknamed “Jerry Rice Jr.” by teammate Tariq Woolen. Like Lazard, Valdes-Scantling does not offer much on special teams either, and although the Seahawks would love to have a deep threat to compliment Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp, if Valdes-Scantling does not show up in camp, the team could move on from the former Green Bay Packer with little financial consequence.
Brewers righty deserves consideration as dark-horse Cy Young candidate
The Milwaukee Brewers' trade with the Boston Red Sox early in the season flew under the radar. The Brewers acquired former top prospect Quinn Priester from the Red Sox, sending outfield prospect Yophery Rodriguez to Boston on April 7. Pitching prospect John Holobetz was sent to the Red Sox on May 5 to complete the trade. Priester had been expected to be a top-of-the-rotation arm, lauded for his athleticism and plus fastball and curve. However, he struggled during his time in the majors in 2023 and 2024, posting a combined 6.23 ERA and a 1.555 WHiP over 99.2 innings, striking out 69 batters with 41 walks while serving up 19 home runs. Despite a solid outing in his only appearance for the Red Sox, Priester remained in Triple-A as nothing more than pitching depth. That changed with his arrival in Milwaukee. He has exceeded expectations, either as a traditional starter or following an opener. Priester has posted a 3.15 ERA and a 1.190 WHiP over his 114.1 innings for the Brewers, striking out 93 batters with 38 walks. Opponents have mustered a meager .228/.294/.382 batting line in 471 plate appearances with just 13 homers. The Brewers' 64-48 record entering Tuesday is the best in the majors despite a nondescript rotation. While Freddy Peralta is a top-of-the-rotation arm in his own right, staff ace Brandon Woodruff missed all of 2024 and most of the first half of 2025. Pitchers such as Chad Patrick, Tobias Myers and Jose Quintana are back-of-the-rotation arms at this point. The Brewers needed someone to step up with Priester being the unlikely hero. Pitchers Paul Skenes and Zack Wheeler are the prohibitive favorites to win the National League Cy Young Award. BetMGM does not have Priester listed as one of the 10 most likely candidates to take home the hardware. However, Priester's performance, coupled with the Brewers' success this season, is worthy of attention. If he can continue to perform at this level, Priester deserves at least some consideration on the ballot.
Cubs president admits trade-deadline gamble 'not looking like a good bet'
The Chicago Cubs were in the market for a starting pitching upgrade prior to the 2025 trade deadline. However, instead of trading top prospects for a top-shelf pitcher, they made a smaller bet on former Washington Nationals pitcher Mike Soroka. So far, it is not looking like a great bet. Even president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is admitting that it is not. Soroka is already on the injured list after being removed from his first start with the Cubs due to shoulder discomfort. What makes it even more concerning is that the Cubs knew Soroka had experienced a slight dip in his velocity in his starts leading up to the trade deadline. Soroka underwent an MRI just to rule out anything problematic, with all of the results coming back clean. Still, the Cubs were aware of the drop in velocity — usually a big indicator of some sort of arm problem — and decided to go forward with the trade anyway. Hoyer admitted on Tuesday that the move was a risk and that it's not looking like a good bet right now. He also added that if it does not work out, it all falls on him. "We knew the velocity was trending down," Hoyer said Tuesday afternoon, via ESPN's Jesse Rogers. "We talked through that extensively. Given the market, given the asking price ... we felt like it was a good bet to make. Right now, it's not looking like a good bet." The fact that Soroka is having injury issues should not be much of a surprise. Much of his career has been sidetracked by injury issues, costing him all of 2021 and 2022, and limiting him to just 49 appearances over the past two-and-a-half seasons. That track record, along with the drop in velocity, should have set off major alarm bells for the Cubs. The good news is they did not trade any of their elite prospects for Soroka, but it still does not absolve Hoyer and the front office of blame. The 65-47 Cubs are in a position where they have a chance to make a serious run at the National League pennant this season, and they are facing pressure to win given the uncertain future of star outfielder Kyle Tucker. Tucker is likely to test the free-agent market this offseason and leave for the highest bidder, making him a very important one-year rental. There should have been incentive to make a big move at the trade deadline to not only keep up with the other teams in the league, but better position themselves to win. They did not want to pay the top prospect capital and went for a cheaper option. It is not looking like a promising path and could have the Cubs, and their fans, asking "what if" at the end of the season.
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