THE SOCCER REPORT
Back-to-back Clásicos, MLS opening weekend highlight upcoming schedule
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
Assists leader: 10 - Jadon Sancho (Dortumund) / Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
Italian Serie A
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 Recap www.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.
- 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)