The Daily Dirt: Underdogs with the upper hand in MLS playoffs

The MLS Cup Playoffs' conference semifinals began on Sunday, and aside from Supporters' Shield champions New York Red Bulls, the favorites find themselves in precarious positions going into the second leg. The biggest upset came in Seattle, where the Sounders defeated Western Conference top seed FC Dallas, 2-1. Dallas took the lead in the 18th minute, but Andreas Ivanschitz scored in the 67th and Clint Dempsey bagged the winner for Seattle in the 86th.

Red Bulls take Leg 1 against D.C. United, 1-0 [Once a Metro]

The Red Bulls take a nice advantage back to New York, and they have the upper hand should the away goals rule come into play. Captain Dax McCarty scored in the 72nd minute to put NYRB in control.

Impact gets crucial 2-1 home win vs the Columbus Crew in MLS Playoffs Semifinal [Mount Royal Soccer]

Montreal continues to stay hot at the exact right time. Columbus opened the scoring with a Federico Higuain goal in the 33rd minute, but the Impact equalized almost immediately thanks to Patrice Bernier in the 37th. Johan Venegas sealed the Montreal win in the 77th.

Portland Timbers Win Possession But Not the Match in 0-0 Draw Against Vancouver Whitecaps [Stumptown Footy]

It's not the worst result in the world for Portland. The Timbers head to Vancouver with the chance to take a big advantage via an away goal.

Europe

Chelsea 1, Liverpool 3: Coutinho Sparks Comeback [The Liverpool Offside]

Jurgen Klopp earned his first Premier League win as Liverpool manager with three points taken from Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. That's not as big of a statement as it would be most years, considering the Blues' struggles, but the victory has the Reds four points out of the top four.

Inter 1-0 Roma: Defense Prevailed [Inter Offside]

In a battle of two teams near the top of Serie A, Inter Milan scored a first-half goal and made it stand up for the win. The loss leaves Roma fans ruing plenty of missed opportunities.

What's happening in The A?

In their final game of the season, the Silverbacks scored an early goal but gave up a second-half equalizer in a 1-1 draw with the Ottawa Fury. The Silverbacks end the season in sixth place with 25 points from 20 games.

The Falcons were seven-point favorites at home against a mediocre Tampa Bay Buccaneers team, but mistake after mistake doomed Atlanta to a 23-20 overtime loss. Even though Atlanta is 6-2, fans over at The Falcoholic are worried about the second half of the season.

The Hawks played a home-and-road against the Charlotte Hornets over the weekend, walking away with two nail-biting wins. Atlanta won at Philips Arena, 97-94, Friday night, then went to Charlotte to get a 94-92 victory. Sunday's game marked the debut of the Hawks' mix-and-match uniforms, which are ... interesting.

Today's uniforms: pic.twitter.com/9H3X5AvmhQ

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 1, 2015