THE SOCCER REPORT
Bayern demolish Dortmund to retake Bundesliga; Hazard moves Chelsea into PL top three
Apr 9, 2019, 6:48 am
THE SOCCER REPORT
A little under two months to go in the European soccer season means plenty to play for and, with the number of games winding down, every match is crucial. Here are the top stories from Europe to North America and South America:
Every goal from Premier League Matchweek 33 | NBC Sportswww.youtube.com
It was a though week for Manchester United and Arsenal, two sides in top six that have dropped dropped out of the four Champions League qualifying spots. Tottenham opened their new stadium, which will house two NFL games this coming season, with a win over Crystal Palace before they host Manchester City in the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday. Eden Hazard scored three goals this week, including a double in the 2-0 win over London rivals West Ham United on Monday. Liverpool extended their undefeated match to twelve straight in the league but it's their last defeat, a 2-1 loss to Manchester City back in January, that could end up deciding the league when all is said and done.
Speaking of City, the defending league champions continue to be eligible for a clean sweep of all available trophies as they advanced to the FA Cup Final thanks to a 1-0 win over Brighton. Watford will be their opponent after their 3-2 win in the semifinal against Wolves.
Top six: 1. Liverpool (82), 2. Manchester City (80), 3. Chelsea (66), 4. Tottenham (64), 5. Arsenal (63), 6. Manchester United (61)
Scoring leader: 19 - Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Assists leader: 12 - Eden Hazard (Chelsea FC)
Highlights FC Barcelona vs Atlético de Madrid (2-0)www.youtube.com
Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi continued their dominance of Spain by scoring in the final five minutes of regulation, turning what would've been a scoreless draw with second place Atletico Madrid into a 2-0 win for FC Barcelona. Messi picked up his 335th La Liga win to pass Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas for most by any player in the history of the league. As far as the top six, Alaves was the biggest loser this week with their drop to seventh place.
Top six: 1. FC Barcelona (73), 2. Atlético Madrid (62), 3. Real Madrid (60), 4. Getafe (50), 5. Sevilla (49), 6. Valencia (46)
Scoring leader: 33 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Assists leader: 12 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
90 in 90: Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund | 2019 Bundesliga Highlightswww.youtube.com
The Bundesliga also had it's own match of one vs. two in the standings. This one with higher implications as the two remain separated by a point after Saturday's match. It didn't look it on the field, however, as Bayern demolished rivals Dortmund in a 5-0 home victory for the edge in the standings. Fans in Houston celebrated this one with one of the biggest watch parties to take place stateside.
📸 We hosted the LARGEST #FCBayern watch party in North America this weekend. 🇺🇸 It was EPIC❗️ 💥🔥 #MiaSanFamily— FC Bayern US (@FC Bayern US) 1554766200.0
Top six: 1. Bayern Munich (64), 2. Dortmund (63), 3. RB Leipzig (55), 4. Eintracht Frankfurt (52), 5. Monchengladbach (48), 6. Wolfsburg (45)
Scoring leader: 21 - Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Assists leader: 13 - Jadon Sancho (Dortumund)
Top six: 1. Juventus (84), 2. Napoli (64), 3. Inter Milan (57), 4. Milan (52), 5. Atalanta (52), 6. Roma (51)
Scoring leader: 21- Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria) / Krzysztof Piątek (A.C. Milan)
Assists leader: 9 - Alejandro Gomez (Atalanta) / Dries Mertens (Napoli)
Top six: 1. PSG (81), 2. Lille (61), 3. Lyon (56), 4. Saint-Étienne (50), 5. Marseille (48), 6. Stade Reims (47)
Scoring leader: 27 - Kylian Mbappé (PSG)
Assists leader: 10 - Angel Di Maria (PSG)
Top three: 1. Ajax (71), 2. PSV Eindhoven (71), 3. AZ Alkmaar (53)
Championship Round: 1. Genk (38), 2. Club Brugge (37), 3. Standard Liege (33), 4. Antwerp (31), 5. Anderlecht (26), 6. Gent (25)
Top three: 1. Benfica (69), 2. Porto (69), 3. Sporting CP (61)
Top three: 1. Celtic (77), 2. Rangers (66), 3. Kilmarnock (58)
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It looks as though this will not be the year for an MLS team to win the regional Champions League after Sporting Kansas City's humbling 5-0 defeat at Monterrey. Tigres UANL defeated Santos Laguna 3-0 in the opening match of the other semifinal series, potentially setting up the Monterrey rivals for an epic home-and-home series in the final.
D.C. United vs. Los Angeles Football Club | HIGHLIGHTS - April 6, 2019www.youtube.com
The two conference leaders faced off in the nation's capital as part of a doubleheader with Bayern Munich vs. Dortmund on national FOX. Unfortunately for D.C. United, LAFC continue to plow through the competition with 19 goals scored through the first six games of the season. Zlatan and LA Galaxy picked up three points to start the weekend, jumping the Houston Dynamo in the standings due to the latter's week off.
East top seven: 1. Columbus (13), 2. D.C. United (10), 3. Toronto (10), 4. Philadelphia (10), 5. Cincinnati (8), 6. Orlando (8), 7. Montreal (7West top seven: 1. LAFC (16), 2. Seattle (13), 3. LA Galaxy (12), 4. Houston (10), 5. FC Dallas (10), 6. Minnesota (9), 7. Sporting KC (8)
Scoring leader: 7 - Carlos Vela (LAFC)
Assists leader: 4 - Nani (Orlando) / Carlos Vela (LAFC)
Scoring leader: 11 - Angel Mena (Leon) / Brian Fernandez (Necaxa)
Assists leader: 8 - Angel Mena (Leon)
¡Dale campeeeeooon! ¡Dale campeeeeooon! 🗣🙌👏🏆🎓 #RacingCampeon #LaFiestaDelCampeon https://t.co/ggdmNLqfXS— Racing Club 🏆 (@Racing Club 🏆) 1554682845.0
Argentina's top division concluded this past weekend with the top two teams facing off in a 1-1 draw. Racing Club then celebrated their league title in front of the home fans.
Final Top Four: 1. Racing Club (57), 2. Defensa y Justicia (53), 3. Boca Juniors (51), 4. River Plate (45)
Scoring Champion: 17 - Lisandro Lopez (Racing)
Assists Champion: 9 - Walter Montillo (Tigre)
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#RoadToFrance 🇫🇷 @USWNT 6 @BelRedFlames 0 What was your favorite goal? Thoughts on the result? We recap Tuesday… https://t.co/KjqVeSq0oF— Glenn Davis (@Glenn Davis) 1554739895.0
The top division of Women's club soccer kicks off in it's seventh season when the defending champion North Carolina Courage hosts the Chicago Red Stars on Saturday (6:00 p.m. CT). The Houston Dash open their season on Sunday (5:00 p.m. CT) when they host Seattle Reign FC at BBVA Compass Stadium. All matches this season will be broadcast on YahooSports.com.
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Tuesday, Apr. 9
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Liverpool vs. Porto (B/R Live, UniMas/Univision Deportes)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Tottenham vs. Manchester City (TNT, Galavision)
7:00 p.m. - [MLS] D.C. United vs. Montreal Impact (ESPN+)
7:30 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] Peñarol vs. LDU Quito (beIN Sports)
Wednesday, Apr. 10
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Manchester United vs. FC Barcelona (TNT, UniMas/Univision Deportes)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Ajax vs. Juventus (B/R Live, Galavision)
7:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Santos Laguna vs. Tigres UANL (YahooSports.com, Univision Deportes)
7:30 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] Boca Juniors vs. J. Wilstermann (beIN Sports en Español)
8:00 p.m. - [MLS] Colorado Rapids vs. Seattle Sounders FC (ESPN+)
Thursday, Apr. 11
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Arsenal vs. Napoli (B/R Live, Univision Deportes)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Slavia Prague vs. Chelsea (B/R Live, Galavision)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Villarreal vs. Valencia (B/R Live, UniMas)
5:00 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] River Plate vs. Alianza Lima (beIN Sports)
8:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Sporting KC vs. Monterrey (YahooSports.com, Univision Deportes)
Friday, Apr. 12
1:30 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Nuremberg vs. FC Schalke 04 (FS2)
1:45 p.m. - [Ligue 1] Nantes vs. Lyon (beIN Sports)
2:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Leicester City vs. Newcastle (NBC Sports)
7:30 p.m. - [MLS] Chicago Fire vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC (ESPN+)
Saturday, Apr. 13
6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Tottenham vs. Huddersfield (NBC Sports)
8:30 a.m. - [Budesliga] RB Leipzig vs. VfL Wolfsburg (FS1, Univision Deportes)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Southampton vs. Wolves (NBC Sports)
9:15 a.m. - [La Liga] Huesca vs. FC Barcelona (beIN Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Manchester United vs. West Ham (NBC Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [Budesliga] Borussia Dortmund vs. Mainz 05 (FS1)
2:00 p.m. - [MLS] Houston Dynamo vs. San Jose Earthquakes (Univision)
4:00 p.m. - [MLS] Minnesota United vs. New York City FC (ESPN2)
9:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Morelia vs. Chivas Guadalajara (Univision)
Sunday, Apr. 14
8:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Crystal Palace vs. Manchester City (NBC Sports)
8:30 a.m. - [Budesliga] Dusseldorf vs. Bayern Munich (FS1, Univision Deportes)
10:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Liverpool vs. Chelsea (NBC Sports)
12:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Pumas vs. Tijuana (Univision)
5:00 p.m. - [NWSL] Houston Dash vs. Seattle Reign FC (YahooSports.com)
6:00 p.m. - [MLS] Sporting KC vs. NY Red Bulls (FS1)
6:30 p.m. - [Liga MX] Cruz Azul vs. Club America (Univision)
Monday, Apr. 15
2:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Watford vs. Arsenal (NBC Sports)
2:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Leganes vs. Real Madrid (beIN Sports)
The latest update from Astros GM Dana Brown on the club's flagship station did not ease anyone's concerns this week. Brown said he was optimistic that Kyle Tucker would be back before September. September?
Which made us wonder what type of injury Tucker is really dealing with? A bone bruise doesn't typically take this long to heal.
Be sure to watch the video above as ESPN Houston's Joel Blank and Barry Laminack share their thoughts on Tucker's health, the Astros' secrecy when it comes to injuries, and much more!