THE SOCCER REPORT

Atlanta United wins U.S. Open Cup; LA Derby highlight of MLS rivalry week

Victor Araiza
Aug 28, 2019, 5:32 am
Houston Dynamo supporters made the road trip up to Frisco for the Texas Derby match against FC Dallas. Credit: Deporte Total USA

MLS Rivalry Week gave the American soccer fan lots to speak about while the heartbeat of "the beautiful game" kept beating thanks to action from all over the world.

Top Stories

90 in 90: FC Dallas vs. Houston Dynamo | 2019 MLS Highlights www.youtube.com

  • Houston Dynamo lose 1-5 at FC Dallas; playoff possibility virtually over
  • Houston Dash fall 0-2 vs. Sky Blue FC; playoff hopes also bleak
  • Liverpool, Sevilla, Dortmund and Rennes leaders in their domestic leagues
  • Serie A kicks off with Inter, Napoli and Juve all among winners
  • Atlanta United defeat Minnesota United 2-1 in the 2019 U.S. Open Cup final on Tuesday night

Atlanta United down Minnesota to win US Open Cup| ESPN FC www.youtube.com

The rest of the picture from the past week:

English Premier League

Every goal from Premier League 2019/20 Matchweek 3 | NBC Sports www.youtube.com

Matchday 3 Results

  • Aston Villa 2-0 Everton
  • Norwich 2-3 Chelsea
  • Brighton 0-2 Southampton
  • Manchester United 1-2 Crystal Palace
  • Sheffield Utd 1-2 Leicester City
  • Watford 1-3 West Ham
  • Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal
  • Bournemouth 1-3 Man City
  • Spurs 0-1 Newcastle
  • Wolves 1-1 Burnley
Top four: Liverpool (9), Man City (7), Arsenal (6), Leicester City (5)

Scoring leader: 5 - Raheem Sterling (Man City) / Teemu Pukki (Norwich)

Assists leader: 4 - Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)

Spanish La Liga

Highlights FC Barcelona vs Real Betis (5-2) www.youtube.com

Matchday 2 - Top Results

  • Granada 0-2 Sevilla
  • Real Madrid 1-1 Valladolid
  • Celta Vigo 1-0 Valencia
  • Leganes 0-1 Atletico Madrid
  • Barcelona 5-2 Real Betis

Top four: Sevilla (6), Atletico Madrid (6), Real Madrid (4), Valladolid (4)

Scoring leader: 2 - Six players tied

Assists leader: 2 - Ander Capa (Bilbao) / Sergi Roberto (Barcelona)

German Bundesliga

Sancho, Lewandowski, Osako & More - Top 5 Goals on Matchday 2 www.youtube.com

Matchday 2 - Top Results

  • Cologne 1-3 Dortmund
  • Paderborn 1-3 Freiburg
  • Fortuna 1-3 Bayer Leverkusen
  • Werder Bremen 1-3 Fortuna
  • Schalke 04 0-3 Bayern Munich
  • Leipzig 2-1 Eintracht
  • Hertha 0-3 Wolfsburg

Top four: Dortmund (6), Freiburg (6), Leipzig (6), Wolfburg (6)

Scoring leader: 5 - Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

Assists leader: 3 - Marcel Sabitzer (Leipzig)

Italian Serie A

Parma 0-1 Juventus | CR7 goal ruled out by VAR as Chiellini scores winner | Serie A www.youtube.com

Matchday 1 - Top Results

  • Parma 0-1 Juventus
  • Fiorentina 3-4 Napoli
  • Udinese 1-0 Milan
  • Roma 3-3 Genoa
  • Inter 4-0 Lecce

French Ligue 1

Top buts 3ème journée - Ligue 1 Conforama / 2019-20 www.youtube.com

Matchday 3 - Top Results

  • Monaco 2-2 Nimes
  • Strasbourg 0-2 Rennes
  • PSG 4-0 Tolouse
  • Montpellier 1-0 Lyon

Top four: Rennes (9), Lyon (6), PSG (6), Nice (6)

Scoring leader: 3 - Habib Diallo (Metz) / Memphis Depay (Lyon) / Moussa Dembele (Lyon)

Assists leader: 3 - Thiago Mendes (Lyon)

Netherlands Eredivisie

Matchday 4 - Top Results

  • Heracles 1-1 Vitesse
  • Heerenveen 0-0 Twente
  • Utrecht 1-2 VVV

Top four: Willem II (9), Vitesse (8), Sparta (8), Ajax (7)

Scoring leader: 4 - Vangelis Pavlidis (Willem II)

Assists leader: 4 - Bryan Smeets (Sparta)

Major League Soccer

90 in 90: LAFC vs. LA Galaxy | 2019 MLS Highlights www.youtube.com

East top seven: 1. Atlanta (48), 2. Philadelphia (48), 3. NYCFC (47), 4. NY Red Bulls (41), 5. D.C. United (39), 6. New England (38), 7. Toronto (37)

West top seven: 1. x - LAFC (62), 2. Real Salt Lake (43), 3. Seattle (43), 4. LA Galaxy (42), 5. Minnesota (42), 6. San Jose (41), 7. Dallas (40)

Scoring leader: 27 - Carlos Vela (LAFC)

Assists leader: 18 - Maxi Morales (NYCFC)

Liga MX

Top Eight: 1. Queretaro (16), 2. Santos Laguna (15), 3. Club America (15), 4. Tigres UANL (12), 5. Necaxa (10), 6. Leon (10), 7. Atlas (10), 8. Pumas (9)

Scoring leader: 5 - Two players tied

Assists leader: 4 - Luis Quinones (Tigres)

Superliga Argentina

Matchday 4 - Top Results

  • Arsenal 0-2 San Lorenzo
  • Gimnasia 0-1 Defensa y Justicia
  • Velez 3-1 Newell's Old Boys
  • Rosario 1-1 Patronato
  • Independiente 2-0 Colon
  • Godoy Cruz 2-1 Estudiantes
  • Cordoba 0-0 Racing Club
  • River Plate 0-1 Talleres Cordoba
  • Banfield 0-1 Boca Juniors

Top four: Boca (10), San Lorenzo (10), Arsenal Sarandi (9), Rosario Central (8)

Scoring leader: 3 - Three players tied

Assists leader: 2 - Nicolas de la Cruz (River Plate)

National Women's Soccer League

Thorns 3 - Red Stars 0: Midge Purce and Christine Sinclair lead Portland's rout | NWSL Highlights www.youtube.com

Standings: 1. Portland Thorns (36), 2. North Carolina Courage (31), 3. Chicago Red Stars (29), 4. Utah Royals (28), 5. Reign FC (27), 6. Washington Spirit (25), 7. Houston Dash (22), 8. Orlando Pride (16), 9. Sky Blue FC (14)

Scoring leader: 13 - Sam Kerr (Chicago)

Assists leader: 5 - Lynn Williams (North Carolina) / Yuki Nagasato (Chicago)

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Upcoming Matches (All Times CT):

Wednesday, August 28

2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Ajax vs. APOEL (TNT, TUDN)

5:15 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] Boca Juniors vs. LDU Quito (beIN Sports)

Thursday, August 29

12:00 p.m. - UEFA Champions League Group Draw (B/R Live)

5:15 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] Cerro Porteno vs. River Plate (beIN Sports)

6:00 p.m. - [International Friendly] U.S. Women's National Team vs. Portugal (FS1)

9:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Monterrey vs. Pumas (FS2)

Friday, August 30

1:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Sevilla vs. Celta (beIN Sports en Español)

1:30 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Borussia Monchengladbach vs. RB Leipzig (FS2)

Saturday, August 31

6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Southampton vs. Manchester United (NBC Sports)

8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Bayern Munich vs. Mainz (FS1, FOX Deportes)

8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Schalke vs. Hertha Berlin (FS2)

9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Chelsea vs. Sheffield United (NBC Sports)

10:00 a.m. - [La Liga] Osasuna vs. Barcelona (beIN Sports)

11:00 a.m. - [Serie A] Milan vs. Brescia (ESPN+)

11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Burnley vs. Liverpool (NBC)

11:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Union Berlin vs. Borussia Dortmund (FS2, UniMas)

1:45 p.m. - [Serie A] Juventus vs. Napoli (ESPN+)

7:30 p.m. - [MLS] Sporting KC vs. Houston Dynamo (KUBE 57)

Sunday, September 1

8:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Everton vs. Wolves (NBC Sports)

10:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Arsenal vs. Spurs (NBC Sports)

12:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Atletico Madrid vs. Eibar (beIN Sports)

1:35 p.m. - [Serie A] Lazio vs. Roma (ESPN2)

2:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Villarreal vs. Real Madrid (beIN Sports)

5:30 p.m. - [MLS] Seattle Sounders FC vs. LA Galaxy (FS1)

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Third Loss under Arnaud

5 Kicks: Manotas scores but Houston Dynamo fall 2-1 at Vancouver

Courtesy of Houston Dynamo

The Houston Dynamo fell back to second-to-last place in the Western Conference after a 2-1 loss against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday night at BC Place. Mauro Manotas struck for the second consecutive match but it would not be enough as fellow Colombian Fredy Montero notched a 90th minute winner for the Caps.

Here are five observations from the match:

1) A winnable game

Despite Whitecaps FC coming into this match two weeks removed from their last MLS match, the Dynamo were looking at a possibility of picking up their first three points ever in Vancouver. The Canadians simply haven't looked great and that's a big reason why they are still the last place team in the West.

Houston had plenty of opportunities early on with Tommy McNamara missing a golden chance in just the fourth minute of play. The team ended up out-shooting the Whitecaps 18-6 throughout the entire match but they lacked the quality to punish in the final third.

For a team that has been poor on the road (Dynamo have a combined 5 away wins since 2017), this was a great opportunity to pick up a road win.

2) Hard done by a handball

The definition of a handball changed in an update to the Laws of the Game earlier this year. As a result, referees have interpreted the rule to the letter of the law because the evaluation of a "deliberate" handball has been removed.

In this case, the referee awards the penalty even after going to the video review booth. The Dynamo were on the other side of a VAR decision on Wednesday when a Minnesota goal was annulled after video review.

Ultimately, the Dynamo could've avoided the entire controversy by putting their chances away and putting this match out of reach.

3) Manotas scores again

There's not much more that can be said about Dynamo leading scorer Mauro Manotas. Once again, he was well positioned to jump on an opportunistic chance to score. The improvement to his game can only come as he evolves into a scorer that can create his own chances more consistently. Other than that, he's been one of the Dynamo's top players for the past few years.

4) Late goal defeat

Fredy Montero, one of the better scorers in the history of the league, was on a goal drought since June. He ended that drought with a 90th minute winner, taking advantage of a Jose Bizama who put out his worst performance in a Dynamo jersey.

Late goal defeats are probably up there with anything else you'd describe Dynamo play in this decade. Add another to the list.

5) Arnaud's progression continues to be slow

It was always going to be a though ask for Davy Arnaud to provide a complete 180-degree change and make a charge for the playoffs. In his five games in charge, Arnaud has reinvigorated the locker room with a bit of confidence. He has also taken more of a safety net approach and not rushing to make drastic changes in his lineups and during matches.

Dynamo player of the game: Maynor Figueroa

Figueroa's strike from created the clearest opportunity for the Dynamo. It is that type of initiative that get teams back into this type of match. The Honduran national team captain has injected an impact of leadership and is fearless when he is on the field. Signed in the offseason for an annual salary of $70,250.00, Figueroa has been every bit worth every penny and, undeniably, a steal.

Next match:

Saturday, September 21 vs. Orlando City SC (9:00 p.m. CT, KUBE57)

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