THE SOCCER REPORT
Chelsea host Manchester United in Carabao Cup; Houston Dynamo, USWNT name new managers
Oct 30, 2019, 6:55 am
Christian Pulisic became the second American to score a hat-trick in the Premier League after doing so for Chelsea aginst Burnley. Photo: Getty Images
The Houston Dynamo officially announced the appointment of former U.S. Men's National Team midfielder Tab Ramos as the club's new Head Coach last Friday. Ramos arrived in the Bayou City on Monday and has begun to plan for the 2020 Major League Soccer season.
It’s official Dynamo fans. Tab Ramos is your new head coach! #ForeverOrange— Houston Dynamo (@Houston Dynamo) 1572022723.0
The Dynamo were not the only ones with a new manager as the U.S. Women's National Team announced the appointment of two-time NWSL Championship winning coach Vlatko Andonovski. The 2019 NWSL Coach of the Year takes over for Jill Ellis, who took the USWNT to back-to-back FIFA Women's World Cup titles.
🇺🇸 Officially Official 🇺🇸 @ussoccer hires Vlatko Andonovski as the new head coach of the #USWNT.— U.S. Soccer WNT (@U.S. Soccer WNT) 1572291965.0
The U.S. Men also had positive news of their own to share. Sergiño Dest, the 18-year-old Ajax defender, revealed his intent to play for the United States over the Netherlands. Dest had played with the USMNT earlier this year but is yet to be permamently tied through an appearance in an official encounter. Dest also played with the youth national teams of Team USA, including under Ramos at the 2019 U-20 FIFA World Cup.
All in for the 🔴, ⚪️ & 🔵❗️ After featuring for the @USYNT at the #U17WC and #U20WC, Sergiño Dest will continue in… https://t.co/ReA0CQzNY8— U.S. Soccer MNT (@U.S. Soccer MNT) 1572276042.0
Here is the rest of the soccer ongoings from the past week:
Major League Soccer
The MLS Cup Playoffs have one finalist decided after Seattle Sounders upset LAFC on Tuesday night. Seattle will play for the championship at Atlanta or will host Toronto, depending on the results of Wednesday night's match.
Conference semifinals results
- New York City FC 1-2 Toronto FC
- Atlanta United 2-0 Philadelphia Union
- Los Angeles FC 5-3 LA Galaxy
- Seattle Sounders 2-0 Real Salt Lake
Conference finals results
- Los Angeles FC 1-3 Seattle Sounders
- Atlanta United vs. Toronto [to be played Wednesday]
MLS Cup Final - November 10th 2:00 p.m. CT
National Women's Soccer League
The 2019 NWSL season came to an end as the North Carolina Courage succesfully defended their title with a 4-0 win over the Chicago Red Stars.
English Premier League
After weeks of concern from U.S. Men's National Team fans over the playing time of Christian Pulisic, the 21-year-old American prodigy scored his first goal for Chelsea F.C. - delivering three in the process. Pulisic became the second U.S. player with a hat-trick in the EPL and the first since Clint Dempsey.
The Premier League resumes this coming weekend but first, English clubs are taking part in the League Cup - known also as the Carabao Cup - during the midweek slate.
Top six: Liverpool (28), Man City (22), Leicester City (20), Chelsea (20), Arsenal (16), Crystal Palace (15)
Scoring leader: 9 - Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Assists leader: 9 - Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Spanish La Liga
Updated through October 29 matches
Top six: Barcelona (22), Granada (20), Atletico Madrid (20), Real Sociedad (19), Sevilla (19), Real Madrid (18)
Scoring leader: 7 - Gerard Moreno (Villareal) / Lorenzo Garica (Real Betis)
Assists leader: 4 - Leo Messi (Barcelona) / Santi Cazorla (Villareal)
German Bundesliga
Top six: Monchengladbach (19), Bayern Munich (18), Freiburg (17), Wolfsburg (17), Dortmund (16), RB Leipzig (15)
Scoring leader: 13 - Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Italian Serie A
Top six: Inter Milan (25), Juventus (23), Atalanta (20), Napoli (17), Roma (16), Lazio (15)
Scoring leader: 10 - Ciro Immobile (Lazio)
Assists leader: 5 - Four players tiedFrench Ligue 1
Top six: PSG (27), Nantes (19), Lille (18), Reims (18), Brest (17), Angers (17)
Scoring leader: 9 - Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco)
TV listings (All Times CT):
Wednesday, October 23
1:00 p.m. - [Serie A] Napoli vs. Atalanta (ESPN+)
1:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Valencia vs. Sevilla (beIN Sports)
2:30 p.m. - [English League Cup] Liverpool vs. Arsenal (ESPN+)
2:45 p.m. - [English League Cup] Aston Villa vs. Wolves (ESPN+)
2:45 p.m. - [German Cup] Dortmund vs. Gladbach (ESPN3)
2:45 p.m. - [German Cup] St Pauli vs. Frankfurt (ESPN3)
3:00 p.m. - [Serie A] Juventus vs. Genoa (ESPN+)
3:00 p.m. - [Serie A] Udinese vs. Roma (ESPN+)
3:00 p.m. - [English League Cup] Chelsea vs. Man United (ESPN+)
3:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Real Madrid vs. Leganes (beIN SPORTS)
7:00 p.m. - [MLS Cup Playoffs] Atlanta United FC vs. Toronto FC (FS1, FOX Deportes)
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Thoughts on Rockies-Astros series
After a rough opening loss to the Rockies, where Hunter Brown got knocked around early, the Astros regrouped and took the final two games to secure the series win. Framber Valdez delivered a much-needed dominant outing, a welcome sight after several shaky starts in August. Jason Alexander did his job as well, pounding the zone and keeping Houston within striking distance until the bats broke through.
Christian Walker provided the big swing in the finale with a go-ahead home run late, continuing his red-hot stretch — five homers in his last seven games. On the pitching side, Brian King and Bryan Abreu both turned in strong work to help close the door for Houston.
Yordan’s impact on the lineup
If Walker keeps producing near his career norms and Yordan Alvarez stays healthy, the Astros’ offense has the potential to overwhelm. Yordan’s return was immediately felt against the Rockies, giving the lineup a depth and presence that manager Joe Espada can slot anywhere.
With Jeremy Peña, Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, Yordan, Walker, Jesus Sánchez, and eventually Yainer Díaz forming the top seven, Houston suddenly looks as deep as any contender. Add Jake Meyers once he’s back, and the order stretches even further.
Sánchez, who snapped out of a brutal 0-for-27 slump, has quietly rebounded. Over his last 11 games, he’s batting .294 with a .529 slugging percentage and two home runs, giving Houston a second left-handed bat to pair with Yordan. Combine that with Correa — who leads the team in batting average since rejoining at the trade deadline — and it’s an offense poised for a major finishing kick.
Lance McCullers moves to the bullpen
McCullers has walked as many or more hitters than innings pitched in four of his last five outings, and command remains his biggest issue. A move to the bullpen doesn’t necessarily solve that problem — in fact, it could make it worse. Walks in relief situations are costly, and McCullers hasn’t shown the consistency to trust in high-leverage spots. A piggyback role, where he follows another starter, feels like a more realistic path for him at this point.
Rotation outlook with Luis Garcia
Luis Garcia could return as soon as Monday if elevated from Sugar Land, but Houston may not need to force a sixth starter into the mix.
Luis Garcia is certainly an obvious candidate to start on Monday, which is also the first day rosters expand from 26 to 28 - https://t.co/xBPB4xaog9 https://t.co/k2oSymidc0
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) August 28, 2025
If Spencer Arrighetti can build on his last outing and Cristian Javier starts trending upward, the rotation has enough stability to carry Houston through September. Garcia’s return would be a bonus — not a necessity — for a staff that looks like it may finally be rounding into form.
There's so much more to get to! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode on Thursday!
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