THE SOCCER REPORT

De Gea posts 11 saves in Manchester United win; Dynamo mulling offer for Alberth Elis

Victor Araiza
Jan 15, 2019, 8:40 am
Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea came up big in the 1-0 win over Tottenham. (Credit: adidas)

European leagues are past the halfway of their seasons, meaning the stakes are just getting higher. Liverpool, Barcelona and Dortmund all have good leads but not good enough while PSG and Juventus look to cruise in their domestic leagues.

In Houston, the stakes are also being raised as the city looks to secure host city stature for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Houston Sports Authority appointed John Arnold as chairman of the bid committee last Friday, which you can read about here.

For everything else, here is the latest in the soccer world:

English Premier League

Every goal from Premier League Matchweek 22 | NBC Sports www.youtube.com

Liverpool may be sitting at the top of the table with a four-point lead but they know taking the foot off the pedal now would spell trouble. The leaders kept marching forward with a 1-0 win over Brighton thanks to a 50th minute penalty by their goalscorer, Mohamed Salah. Second place Manchester City took care of their own business with a 3-0 win over Wolves to keep pace while Chelsea put away Newcastle with a 2-1 victory to keep the gap between the top four. Arsenal were not so lucky, losing 1-0 against London rivals West Ham United. Everton, Watford, Burnley and Southampton also picked up three points this weekend.

The match circled on everybody's calendar, however, was the heavyweight bout between third place Tottenham and sixth place Manchester United. Heavyweight may be a term people may have been reserved about before the match due to United's fall from grace in recent title races but caretaker Ole Gunnar Solskjær has everyone believing after leading the Reds to five consecutive wins, across all competitons, since the firing of former manager Jose Mourinho. The former United goalscorer has reinvigorated the current squad but many wondered how much of their run has been due to the quality of their opponents. Well, there's nothing to scoff about a 1-0 win over a top four club like Tottenham. Thanks to a standout 11 saves from David De Gea and a 44th minute goal by Marcus Rashford, United are believing again and now stand only six points out of a Champions League spot.

The elation by Houston Manchester United supporters was no different as the beer flowed and the chants were well heard in EaDo.

Top six: 1. Liverpool (57), 2. Manchester City (53), 3. Tottenham (48), 4. Chelsea (47), 5. Arsenal (41), 6. Manchester United (41)

Scoring leader: 14 - Harry Kane (Tottenham) / Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) / Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)

Assists leader: 10 - Eden Hazard (Chelsea FC)

Spain's La Liga

Earlier this season, it seemed that others were primed to knock down the champion Barcelona or at least the hope was alive and well. That hope has since disseminated as one of the best in the world, and considered by some the best ever, took care of that. Lionel Messi stands alone at the top of both the individual standings in scoring and assists and reached another record by becoming the first player to score 400 goals in one of the major European leagues. Despite the two major Madrid clubs picking up wins this weekend, it looks very much like it will be Barcelona's year in La Liga.

Top six: 1. FC Barcelona (43), 2. Atlético Madrid (38), 3. Sevilla (33), 4. Real Madrid (33), 5. Alavés (32), 6. Getafe (28)

Scoring leader: 17 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)

Assists leader: 10 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)


German Bundesliga

Top six: 1. Dortmund (42), 2. Bayern Munich (36), 3. Monchengladbach (33), 4. RB Leipzig (31), 5. Wolfsburg (28), 6. Eintracht Frankfurt (27)

Scoring leader: 12 - Luka Jović (Eintracht Frankfurt) / Paco Alcacer (Dortmund)

Assists leader: 8 - Sébastien Haller (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Italian Serie A

Top six: 1. Juventus (53), 2. Napoli (44), 3. Inter Milan (39), 4. Lazio (32), 5. Milan (31), 6. Roma (30)

Scoring leader: 14 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)

Assists leader: 8 - Suso (A.C. Milan)

French Ligue 1

Top six: 1. PSG (50), 2. Lille (37), 3. Lyon (33), 4. Saint-Étienne (33), 5. Montpellier (31), 6. Strasbourg (29)
Scoring leader: 14 - Kylian Mbappé (PSG)

Assists leader: 7 - Memphis Depay (Lyon) / Nicolas Pépé (Lille)

Dutch Eredivisie

Top three: 1. PSV Eindhoven (48), 2. Ajax (46), 3. Feyenoord (36)

Scoring leader: 14 - Luuk de Jong (PSV)

Assists leader: 8 - Arbër Zeneli (Heerenveen) / Steven Berghuis (Feyenoord)

Belgian First Division A

Top three: 1. Genk (48), 2. Club Brugge (41), 3. Antwerp (38)

Scoring leader: 15 - Mbwana Samatta (Genk)

Assists leader:12 - Hans Vanaken (Brugge)

Portuguese Primeira Liga

Top three: 1. Porto (43), 2. Benfica (38), 3. Braga (37)

Scoring leader: 12 - Dyego Sousa (Braga)

Assists leader: 7 - Pizzi (Benfica)

Scottish Premier League

Top three: 1. Celtic (42), 2. Rangers (42), 3. Kilmarnock (41)

Scoring leader: 12 - Alfredo Morelos (Rangers)

Assists leader: 8 - James Tavernier (Rangers)

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Major League Soccer

The MLS college draft, known as the SuperDraft, took place last week with some clubs placing more priority on the event than others. Clubs are making their final preparations as most would have started their preseason training by this time next week. The Houston Dynamo, along with their five counterparts who will take place in the Concacaf Champions League, begin their preseason training this week.

The news around the Dynamo, however, has most loudly been about the potential departure of one of their most important players in 22-year-old forward Alberth Elis. The Honduran has been linked with a reported $6 million offer to Turkish club Fenerbahçe but the Dynamo don't seem willing to part with one of their young attackers - at least not for that price. The interest seems real, however, and this situation may drag out until the end of the European transfer window later this month. The Turkish club is currently second to last in the league standings and is looking to affordable options to offset their debt situation. Fenerbace do have a Houston tie as Chairman Ali Koç is a Rice University alumnus.

Elis arrived from vacation on Sunday afternoon and has reported with the team for preseason. In an interview I did with the player, he stated he is waiting for the club to make a decision on his future and is ready for whatever that decision may be.

Alberth Elis back in Houston for preseason with the Dynamo www.youtube.com


Liga MX

Monterrey vs. Club Leon | 2018-19 Liga MX Highlights www.youtube.com

Week two in the Clausura 2019 season took place over the weekend in Mexico, with some of the usual suspects immediately surging to the top. Historical club Chivas of Guadalajara, who have seen a downturn during recent seasons are off with two straight wins but time will tell how this season ends. As a famous Mexican song goes, "it's not about arriving first but knowing how to arrive."

Top eight: 1. Toluca FC (6), 2. Chivas Guadalajara (6), 3. Lobos BUAP (6), 4. Monterrey (4), 5. Tigres UANL (4), 6. Club America (3), 7. Necaxa (3), 8. Atlas (3)

Scoring leader: 3 - Enrique Triverio (Toluca)

Assists leader: 3 - Carlos Rodríguez (Monterrey)

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Upcoming Matches (All Times CT):

Wednesday, Jan. 16

11:30 a.m. - [Italian Supercoppa] Juventus vs. Milan (ESPN2, ESPN Deportes)

2:30 p.m. - [La Liga] Leganes vs. Real Madrid (beIN Sports)

Thursday, Jan. 17

12:30 p.m. - [Copa del Rey] Real Sociedad vs. Real Betis (beIN Sports)

2:30 p.m. - [Copa del Rey] Barcelona vs. Levante (beIN Sports)

Friday, Jan. 18

1:30 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Hoffenheim vs. Bayern Munich (FS1)

1:45 p.m. - [Scottish Cup] Cowdenbeath vs. Rangers (ESPN+)

Saturday, Jan. 19

6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Wolves vs. Leicester City (NBC Sports)

8:00 a.m. - [Serie A] Roma vs. Torino (ESPNews)

8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Bayer Leverkusen vs. Monchengladbach (FS1)

9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Liverpool vs. Crystal Palace (NBC Sports)

9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Man United vs. Brighton (CNBC)

11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Arsenal vs. Chelsea (NBC)

Sunday, Jan. 20

7:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Huddersfield vs. Manchester City (CNBC)

10:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Fulham vs. Tottenham (NBC)

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Houston is moving on

Astros advance to ALDS with ALWC Game 2 win over Twins

Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

After rallying in the ninth inning in Game 1 to take the pivotal opener of this best-of-three ALWC series, the Astros were in the driver's seat to try and end the series on Wednesday with another win at Target Field. Here is a quick rundown of Game 2:

Final Score: Astros 3, Twins 1.

Series: HOU Wins 2-0.

Winning Pitcher: Cristian Javier.

Losing Pitcher: Cody Stashak.

Houston gets the first hit and first run in the fourth

Through the first three innings, neither team could get a hit off of Jose Berrios or Jose Urquidy, though the Twins did load the bases in the bottom of the first on two walks and an error, but Urquidy would strand the runners before getting 1-2-3 innings in the second and third.

Meanwhile, the Astros lineup was retired in order in three perfect innings by Berrios. That changed in the top of the fourth when Houston would get back-to-back two-out walks to set up the first hit of the game, an RBI-single by Kyle Tucker to give the Astros a 1-0 lead.

Dusty Baker makes another early call to the bullpen before Twins tie it up

Urquidy was able to keep the 1-0 lead by working around a two-out single in the bottom of the fourth, the first hit for the Twins. He returned in the fifth, allowing a leadoff single before a strikeout for the first out. Dusty Baker would pull another early hook, like Greinke the day prior, dipping into his bullpen early to end Urquidy's day at just 76 pitches in the fifth. His final line: 4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 76 P.

Brooks Raley was who Baker called on to face the top of the Twins' lineup. He would walk his first batter, putting runners on first and second, get a strikeout for the second out, then allow an RBI-double to Nelson Cruz that almost scored a second, go-ahead run. Instead, the runner was out at home thanks to a terrific defensive play by Carlos Correa, bulleting the ball to Maldonado at home, who made a great tag to save the run and keep it tied 1-1.

Correa homers, Astros advance to ALDS

After Raley completed the fifth inning for Urquidy, Cristian Javier was the next reliever out to begin the bottom of the sixth. He would toss a 1-2-3 frame, sending the tie game to the seventh. In the top of the seventh, Carlos Correa broke the tie with a long, loud two-out solo home run to center-field, putting the Astros back in front 2-1.

Javier held on to the one-run lead in the bottom of the seventh by working around a leadoff walk, then returned for the eighth. He would get through it scoreless, despite allowing a one-out walk to Nelson Cruz, who would be pinch-ran for by the speedy Byron Buxton. After a strikeout for out number two, Javier would catch Buxton between first and second base in a rundown, getting the big final out of the inning.

Houston added insurance in the top of the ninth, getting two on base before an RBI-single by Kyle Tucker, his second of the day to make it 3-1. That left things up to closer Ryan Pressly, making his first appearance of the postseason. He would notch the save, advancing the Astros to the ALDS for their fourth-straight year.

Up Next: The Astros will now have a few days off to travel to the west coast before starting their ALDS with the winner of the A's / White Sox ALWC series. Game 1 of their ALDS will be on Monday, October 5th, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, with start time TBD.

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