THE SOCCER REPORT
Back-to-back Clásicos, MLS opening weekend highlight upcoming schedule
Feb 26, 2019, 8:16 am
The Houston Dynamo are back at BBVA Compass Stadium with two matches this week.
Different story lines and renewed rivalries await as another busy week of soccer begins with a midweek dose of Premier League beginning on Tuesday. Real Madrid will host FC Barcelona twice this week in two different competitions, capturing the eyes of millions in one of the world's most heated sports rivalries. Finally, MLS is back with it's 24th season kicking off on Saturday.
UEFA Champions League
The first leg matches of the Round of 16 are in the books with plenty to play for when the second leg matches begin next week. In these latter matches, Atletico Madrid grabbed the biggest headlines for their 2-0 home win over Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus.
Round of 16 - first leg results:
- Roma 2-1 Porto
- Manchester United 0-2 PSG
- Tottenham 3-0 Dortmund
- Ajax 1-2 Real Madrid
- Lyon 0-0 FC Barcelona
- Liverpool 0-0 Bayern Munich
- Atletico Madrid 2-0 Juventus
- Schalke 04 2-3 Manchester City
UEFA Europa League
Round of 32 - second leg results:
- Sevilla 2-0 Lazio (3-0 agg.)
- Red Bull Salzburg 4-0 Club Brugge (5-2 agg.)
- Eintracht Frankfurt 4-1 Shakhtar Donetsk (6-3 agg.)
- Villareal 1-1 Sporting CP (2-1 agg.)
- Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 Plzen (4-2 agg.)
- Zenit 3-1 Fenerbace (3-2 agg.)
- Valencia 1-0 Celtic (3-0 agg.)
- Napoli 2-0 Zurich (5-1 agg.)
- Arsenal 3-0 BATE (3-1 agg.)
- Genk 1-4 Slavia Praha (1-4 agg.)
- Inter Milan 4-0 Rapid Vienna (5-0 agg.)
- Leverkusen 1-1 Krasnodar (1-1 agg., Krasnodar wins on away goals)
- Benfica 0-0 Galatasaray (2-1 agg.)
- Real Betis 1-3 Rennes (4-6 agg.)
- Chelsea 3-0 Malmo (5-1 agg.)
- Dynamo Kiev 1-0 Olympiacos (3-2 agg.)
English Premier League
Manchester United and Liverpool played to a nil-nil draw at Old Trafford but the biggest headlines this weekend came from two sides not in league action. Manchester City and Chelsea played the final of the English Football League Cup, known also as the Carabao Cup, in a 0-0 draw that had to be decided in penalties. Drama ensued in extra time as Chelsea goalkeepeer Kepa Arrizabalaga grabbed all the headlines by refusing to sub out prior to penalty kicks. City won 4-3 on penalties.
Your 2019 @Carabao_Cup winners. Congratulations, @ManCity 🏆 #EFL | #CarabaoCupFinal https://t.co/PMOYiofxiD— EFL (@EFL) 1551042254.0
Top six: 1. Liverpool (66), 2. Manchester City (65), 3. Tottenham (60), 4. Arsenal (53), 5. Manchester United (52), 6. Chelsea (50)
Scoring leader: 17 - Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) / Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Assists leader: 10 - Eden Hazard (Chelsea FC)
Spain's La Liga
Highlights Sevilla FC vs FC Barcelona (2-4)www.youtube.com
Lionel Messi continues to have a spectacular season, this week putting up a hat-trick against formidable foes Sevilla. Messi leads the league in goals and assists while Barcelona sit comfortably at the top of the standings.
Top six: 1. FC Barcelona (57), 2. Atlético Madrid (50), 3. Real Madrid (48), 4. Getafe (39), 5. Sevilla (37), 6. Alaves (37)
Scoring leader: 25 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Assists leader: 11 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
German Bundesliga
Top six: 1. Dortmund (54), 2. Bayern Munich (51), 3. Monchengladbach (43), 4. RB Leipzig (42), 5. Wolfsburg (38), 6. Eintracht Frankfurt (37)
Scoring leader: 15 - Luka Jović (Eintracht Frankfurt
Assists leader: 10 - Jadon Sancho (Dortumund) / Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
Italian Serie A
Top six: 1. Juventus (69), 2. Napoli (56), 3. Inter Milan (47), 4. Milan (45), 5. Roma (44), 6. Lazio (38)
Scoring leader: 19 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Assists leader: 8 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) / Suso (A.C. Milan)
French Ligue 1
Top six: 1. PSG (68), 2. Lille (51), 3. Lyon (46), 4. Saint-Étienne (43), 5. Marseille (41), 6. Stade Reims (41)
Scoring leader: 22 - Kylian Mbappé (PSG)
Assists leader: 8 - Nicolas Pepe (Lille) / Angel Di Maria (PSG) / Kenny Lala (Strasbourg)
Dutch Eredivisie
Top three: 1. PSV Eindhoven (58), 2. Ajax (56), 3. Feyenoord (43)
Belgian First Division A
Top three: 1. Genk (58), 2. Club Brugge (50), 3. Standard Liège (46)
Portuguese Primeira Liga
Top three: 1. Porto (57), 2. Benfica (56), 3. Braga (49)
Scottish Premier League
Top three: 1. Celtic (63), 2. Rangers (55), 3. Aberdeen (50)
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Concacaf Champions League
#SCCL 2019 Weekly Recapwww.youtube.com
The Houston Dynamo got their season to a successful start with a 1-0 away victory against Guatemalan side CD Guastatoya. For a few takeaways from that match, click here.
Round of 16 - first leg results:
- Deportivo Saprissa 1-0 Tigres UANL
- Independiente (Panama) 4-0 Toronto FC
- Guastatoya 0-1 Houston Dynamo
- Atletico Pantoja 0-2 New York Red Bulls
- Talleres Cordoba 2-2 Palestino
- Marathon 2-6 Santos Laguna
- Alianza 0-0 Monterrey
- Sporting KC 3-0 Toluca FC
- Herediano 3-1 Atlanta United
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer's 24th season kicks off Saturday with a total of 24 teams now that FC Cincinatti joins the league. The league will also feature a new playoff format where the top seven teams in each conference advance to the playoffs.
Liga MX
Top eight: 1. Tigres UANL (19), 2. Monterrey (18), 3. Leon (17), 4. Santos Laguaa (14), 5. Chivas Guadalajara (14), 6. Pachuca (14), 7. Club Tijuana (13), 8. Club America (12)
Scoring leader: 7 - Rogelio Funes Mori (Monterrey) / Angel Mena (Leon) / Brian Fernandez (Necaxa)
Assists leader: 6 - Angel Mena (Leon)
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Copa Libertadores
Third round - first leg results:
- Melgar 2-0 Caracas FC
- Talleres Cordoba 2-2 Palestino
- Defensor Sporting 0-2 Atletico Mineiro
- Libertad 1-0 Atletico Nacional
Superliga Argentina
Top four: 1. Racing Club (48), 2. Defensa y Justicia (45), 3. Boca Juniors (38), 4. Atletico Tucuman (36)
Scoring leader: 16 - Lisandro Lopez (Racing)
Assists leader: 7 - Walter Montillo (Tigre)
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Upcoming Matches (All Times CT):
Tuesday, Feb. 26
2:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Newcastle vs. Burnley (NBC Sports)
7:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Houston Dynamo vs. CD Guastatoya (YahooSports.com)
Wednesday, Feb. 27
2:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Chelsea vs. Tottenham (NBC Sports)
2:00 p.m. - [Copa del Rey] Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona (beIN Sports)
Thursday, Feb. 28
2:00 p.m. - [Copa del Rey] Valencia vs. Real Betis (beIN Sports)
Friday, Mar. 1
1:30 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Augsburg vs. Borussia Dortmund (FS2)
Saturday, Mar. 2
6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Tottenham vs. Arsenal (NBC Sports)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Nuremberg vs. RB Leipzig (FS1)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Frankfurt vs. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (FS2)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Manchester United vs. Southhampton (NBC Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] West Ham vs. Newcastle (NBC Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. Bayern Munich (FS2)
1:45 p.m. - [La Liga] Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona (beIN Sports)
5:00 p.m. - [MLS] Houston Dynamo vs. Real Salt Lake (KUBE57)
Sunday, Mar. 3
6:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Watford vs. Leicester City (NBC Sports)
8:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Fulham vs. Chelsea (NBC Sports)
10:15 a.m. - [Premier League] Everton vs. Liverpool (NBC Sports)
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Stephen Curry closed his eyes and rested his tired head on Jimmy Butler's right shoulder as the superstars shared another postgame moment.
This time, with Butler injured and wearing street clothes — a full-length fur coat at that.
“Well first, he had a fantastic coat on,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I thought he was going to be way too hot in that thing.”
Sidelined for Game 3 of Golden State's first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, Butler had a front-row seat to watch his teammate take over Saturday night in a 104-93 win that gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead.
Curry scored 36 points with five 3-pointers and had nine assists and seven rebounds in nearly 41 minutes. He had been determined to do more if Butler couldn't play after injuring his pelvis and suffering a deep gluteal muscle contusion in a hard fall during Game 2.
Butler and Curry can compare notes on their injured backsides, given that Curry has dealt with a bruised tailbone multiple times. For now, Curry appreciates the support, whether Butler is in uniform or not.
And the fur Butler was wearing?
“I almost didn't need a hot pack on the sideline sitting next to him. There was plenty of heat emanating from him,” Curry said before adding, “He's a savvy veteran, high-IQ guy, he's got a presence whether he's active or not where his voice matters, and we needed him to lift everybody up on the bench and give us that energy. His presence matched the fit for sure.”
Kerr wasn't ready to guess whether Butler will be able to play in Game 4 on Monday night.
“He’s literally day-to-day. We have tomorrow off. It will be helpful for him to have another day, and then it’s a night game,” Kerr said. “So he gets a few extra hours. So we’ll see. I have no idea right now if he’s going to play.”
Butler had been set to go through his pregame routine, which he does out of sight on the team's practice court and not the playing floor before games at Chase Center. He had an MRI exam Thursday in the Bay Area a day after he was hurt in Houston.
“We had to have Jimmy’s back while he was out,” said Gary Payton II, who scored 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. “Hopefully we get Jimmy back for Game 4 and get back to our regularly scheduled program.”
Jonathan Kuminga, who didn't play for three straight games before rejoining the rotation in Game 2 when Butler got hurt, was in the starting lineup for his fourth career playoff start.
Butler went down hard when he was fouled by Amen Thompson late in the first quarter and then missed the rest of the Warriors’ 109-94 Game 2 loss on Wednesday night.
Butler tried to secure a rebound when Thompson undercut him and sent the Warriors star’s feet high into the air so that he came down straight onto his tailbone. Both players thudded to the floor and Butler grimaced in pain, grabbing at his backside. He stayed in briefly to shoot two free throws before going to the locker room.
Kerr appreciated Butler's insight on the bench.
“Jimmy is so smart. He reminds me so much of Andre Iguodala," Kerr said. “Incredible basketball IQ and then the ability to communicate what he’s seeing to his teammates on the bench. I thought Jimmy was important for us tonight in that regard. He was talking to guys throughout the game, and giving them advice, giving some help, and that was big.”
In the Game 1 win against the Rockets, Butler had 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals in 42 minutes. The Warriors are 26-9 since Butler made his debut at Chicago on Feb. 8, including 23-8 in the regular season, a play-in tournament win over Memphis and the three games against Houston.
“We know they are still dangerous without Butler, so that doesn’t change anything as far as that," Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “We didn’t make them pay, especially with the paint shots.”