International Champions Cup 2013 Results: Breaking Down 1st-Round Scores

The 2013 International Champions Cup is officially underway, as eight of the world's elite clubs compete for supremacy. With two games already in the books, we've been granted with a rare opportunity to evaluate the landscape as the tournament transpires.

The question is, how has the first round gone down so far?

AC Milan represented Italy's Serie A in the first of two games, taking on Valencia of Spain's La Liga. In the second leg, Everton of England's Premier League went to battle with Juventus of Italy's Serie A.

Here's how it all transpired.

AC Milan 2, Valencia 1

In the opening game of the 2013 International Champions Cup, AC Milan defeated Valencia by a score of 2-1. The score is deceiving, however, as Valencia outplayed Milan in almost every statistical area of the game.

Except for the one that matters most—the score.

AC Milan, representing Italy's Serie A, used two first-half goals to build up the necessary lead to fend off a furious rally from Valencia in the second half. Fortunately for Milan, their contributions came from their stars, which suggests they aren't slowing down.

Unfortunately for Valencia, one goal wasn't enough.

Brazilian star Robinho got the action started early, scoring a goal in the 21st minute to create a 1-0 lead. 17 minutes later, Nigel de Jong of Netherlands found the back of the net at the 38-minute mark to extend the advantage to 2-0.

Entering the half, that's where we stood—but not without some controversy:

Valencia fans will likely hold on to what could have been, and rightfully so.

Valencia was the more aggressive of the two, and there's a case to make that they played a better all-around game. Despite losing by a count of 2-1, they owned the edge by controlling the ball for 62 percent of the game.

In the 53rd minute, they finally broke through.

Coming off of an assist from Paco Alcacer, Daniel Parejo managed to find the back of the net to make it 2-1. Unfortunately, that was the only time that Valencia was able to register a goal, and they lost by that very score: a shocking truth.

Not only did Valencia own 62 percent of the possession, but they outclassed Milan in every area but on the scoreboard. They had 21 shots, including eight on goal, to Milan's eight with four on net.

Valencia also had 14 tackles to AC Milan's 10, while the Italian squad had 22 fouls to the Spanish team's 14.

By studying those statistical facts, it becomes clear that Valencia was the better team on this day. With that being said, how well you play is irrelevant when you're unable to score more than the other team.

That was the case for Valencia, who experienced a heartbreaking loss to an opportunistic AC Milan squad that dramatically alters their future in the tournament:

All eyes will be on AC Milan, who will need to play better to advance to the Finals.

Everton 1 (6), Juventus 1 (5)

In what can only be described as a memorable game, Everton defeated Juventus in penalty kicks. While the goals scored may take the headlines, this game was all about the goaltenders.

Specifically, Everton ace and Team USA superstar Tim Howard:

Let's explain.

Howard made a series of outstanding saves, including multiple on shots from point-blank range. Not to be sold short, Marco Storari had an impressive game in his own right for Juventus.

In the end, it was about when the saves were made.

After 60 minutes of silence, 25-year-old Belgian midfielder Kevin Mirallas found the back of the net to give Everton a 1-0 lead. This set the wheels in motion for an Everton win, as Howard defended the net with elite precision.

With countless attempts that should have gone through meeting Howard, the Premier League squad held their ground.

Just when it seemed as if nothing could get past Howard, Kwadwo Asamoah of Ghana stepped up. The Juventus midfielder put his foot on the ball and found the net with a quality strike.

Neither team managed to break the tie, and thus we were headed to quite a weird set of penalty kicks.

Fortunately, there was a bigger story to tell.

Both teams stepped up when they needed to, providing thrills for those in attendance and the fans watching from home. In the end, we were left using the one phrase that American soccer supporters are so used to saying.

Tim Howard stepped up:

That's the story of the game.

With the win, Everton will move on to play the winner of the Los Angeles Galaxy-versus-Real Madrid match. Juventus will draw the loser of that clash.

Until then, celebrate a marvelous performance by Howard and Everton.