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)
The Houston Astros wrapped up yet another series win this week, this time taking two of three from the struggling Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Despite missing several key players and a bullpen that wasn’t fully available, the Astros continued their recent run of success, pushing their record to 52-35.
Manager Joe Espada appeared to be playing the long game in the rubber match on Thursday. After Houston rallied to tie the game in the seventh inning, Espada stuck with reliever Jordan Weems instead of turning to his high-leverage arms. That decision, while frustrating to some fans hoping for the sweep, underscored the team’s cautious approach to workload management as they navigate a long season.
One bright spot continues to be rookie Cam Smith, who delivered again in the clutch with a two-run triple in the seventh inning on Thursday. Smith has been Houston’s most dependable bat with runners on base and is quickly settling into the cleanup role—a rarity for a first-year player but one he’s earned with his poise and production.
Astros cleanup hitter RBIs this season:
Cam Smith: 10 RBIs in 7 games
All others: 28 RBIs in 80 games
— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) July 3, 2025
Off the field, the biggest storyline continues to be Yordan Alvarez’s injury. After reports surfaced that the slugger had experienced a setback in his return from a fractured hand, the team clarified that the issue is inflammation, not the fracture itself. Astros general manager Dana Brown said Alvarez received injections to address the irritation and is expected to rest for now. Encouragingly, the Astros say the fracture is no longer a concern, and while there’s still no definitive timeline for his return, the overall tone from the club was optimistic.
The transparency around Alvarez’s situation is part of a larger shift. After being criticized in recent seasons for vague injury updates, the Astros have begun issuing daily availability reports. It’s a move that signals the front office is trying to regain some trust with the media and fans after a stretch of frustrating ambiguity around player health.
Now, the Astros head to Los Angeles for a marquee matchup with the defending champion Dodgers. Friday’s opener will feature Lance McCullers Jr. making just his second start since returning from the injured list. McCullers gave up eight runs in his return against the Cubs and will be under the spotlight as he looks to settle back into form. Control will be the key, as walks have long been McCullers’ Achilles’ heel.
Saturday sets the stage for one of the most anticipated pitching matchups of the season: Framber Valdez versus Shohei Ohtani. With both teams fighting for positioning in their respective divisions, this weekend in LA should serve as a measuring stick—and perhaps a postseason preview.
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 now on Thursday.
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