THE SOCCER REPORT

Dynamo lose 0-4 away at Sporting KC, Coronavirus halts Italian Serie A

Victor Araiza
Mar 9, 2020, 9:07 pm
The Houston Dynamo fell in their first road test of the season. Photo: Houston Dynamo

Coronavirus concern has seeped into the soccer world, especially in the Italian Serie A where matches have gone from being played in empty stadiums to the league being postponed altogether. Major League Soccer had a few matches on the West coast that could potentially have been played behind closed doors - all where played with spectators. As of Monday, MLS has joined other U.S. sports leagues in closing access to locker rooms for media members.

Here is the week that was in the beautiful game:

English Premier League

Top six: 1. Liverpool (82), 2. Man City (57), 3. Leicester City (53), 4. Chelsea (48), 5. Manchester United (45), 6. Wolves (43)

Bottom three (relegation): 18. Bournemouth (27), 19. Aston Villa (25), 20. Norwich City (21)

Scoring leader: 19 - Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)

Assists leader: 16 - Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)

Spanish La Liga

Top six: 1. FC Barcelona (58), 2. Real Madrid (56), 3. Sevilla (47), 4. Getafe (46), 5. Atletico Madrid (45), 6. Real Sociedad (43)

Bottom three: 18. Mallorca (25), 19. Leganes (23), 20. Espanyol (20)

Scoring leader: 19 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)

Assists leader: 12 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)

German Bundesliga

Top six: 1. Bayern Munich (55), 2. Dortmund (51), 3. RB Leipzig (50), 4. Bayer Leverkusen (47), 5. Monchengladbach (46), 6. Schalke 04 (37)

Bottom three: 16. Fortuna (22), 17. Werder Bremen (18), 18. Paderborn (16)

Scoring leader: 25 - Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

Assists leader: 16 - Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)

Italian Serie A

Top six: 1. Juventus (63), 2. Lazio (62), 3. Inter Milan (54), 4. Atalanta (48), 5. Roma (45), 6. Napoli (39)

Bottom three: 18. Lecce (25), 19. SPAL (18), 20. Brescia (16)

Scoring leader: 27 - Ciro Immobile (Lazio)

Assists leader: 12 - Luis Alberto (Lazio)

French Ligue 1

Top four: 1. PSG (68), 2. Marseille (56), 3. Rennes (50), 4. Lille (49)

Bottom three: 18. Nimes (27), 19. Amiens (23), 20. Toulouse (13)

Scoring leader: 18 - Kylian Mbappe (PSG)

Assists leader: 14 - Angel Di Maria (PSG)

Major League Soccer

The Houston Dynamo continue winless in their first two matches under new Head Coach Tab Ramos after a 0-4 loss at Sporting Kansas City over the weekend. Offseason signing Darwin Quintero made his debut with the club as a second half substitution while star forward Alberth Elis continues to be out injured.

The Dynamo host Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday at BBVA Stadium.

Liga MX

Clausura 2020

Top eight: 1. Cruz Azul (19), 2. Leon (18), 3. Club America (17), 4. Pumas UNAM (15), 5. CD Guadalajara (15), 6. Juarez (14), 7. Queretaro (14), 8. Pachuca (14)

Scoring leader: 8 - Jonathan Rodriguez (Cruz Azul)

Assists leader: 5 - Roberto Alvarado (Cruz Azul) / Pablo Barrera (Pumas)

Superliga Argentina

Boca Juniors crowned themselves champions of Argentina in dramatic fashion by winning 1-0 over Gimnasia, the team led by BOCA Legend Diego Maradona, and finishing top of the league by one point over archrivals River Plate.

TV listings (All Times CT):

For full info on soccer TV listings and streaming services in the United States, visit worldsoccertalk.com

Tuesday, March 10

3:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] RB Leipzig vs. Tottenham (TNT, UniMas, TUDN)

3:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Valencia vs. Atalanta (Galavision)

7:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Montreal Impact vs. Olimpia (FS1)

7:30 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] Boca Juniors vs. Medellin (beIN Sports en Español)

7:30 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] Palmeiras vs. Guarani (beIN Sports)

Wednesday, March 11

2:30 p.m. - [Premier League] Manchester City vs. Arsenal (NBC Sports)

3:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Liverpool vs. Atletico Madrid (TNT, UniMas, TUDN)

3:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] PSG vs. Dortmund (Galavision)

5:15 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] River Plate vs. Binacional (beIN Sports en Español)

5:15 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] Colo-Colo vs. Atletico-PR (beIN Sports)

6:00 p.m. - [SheBelieves Cup] USWNT vs. Japan (ESPNEWS, TUDNxtra)

7:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] NYCFC vs. Tigres (FS2)

9:30 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Club America vs. Atlanta United (FS2)

Thursday, March 12

1:00 p.m. - [UEFA Europa League] LASK vs. Manchester United (UniMas)

3:00 p.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Olympiacos vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers (UniMas)

9:30 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] LAFC vs. Cruz Azul (FS2)

Friday, March 13

3:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Real Madrid vs. Eibar (beIN SPORTS)

Saturday, March 14

7:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Watford vs. Leicester City (NBC Sports)

10:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Manchester City vs. Burnley (NBC Sports)

12:30 p.m. - [Premier League] Aston Villa vs. Chelsea (NBC Sports)

12:30 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Union Berlin vs. Bayern Munich (UniMas, TUDN)

7:30 p.m. - [MLS] Houston Dynamo vs. Seattle Sounders FC (KUBE57)

Sunday, March 15

9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] West Ham vs. Wolves (NBC Sports)

11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Tottenham vs. Man United (NBC Sports)

Monday, March 16

3:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Everton vs. Liverpool (NBC Sports)

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Houston goes up 1-0 in the series

Altuve, Correa help lift Astros to ALCS Game 1 win over Red Sox

Carlos Correa's go-ahead homer in the seventh inning of ALCS Game 1 helped lift the Astros to a 1-0 series lead. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

Despite one rough loss to the White Sox in the ALDS, the Astros looked like the dominant team they are capable of being, taking that series 3-1 to advance and taking ownership of home-field advantage in the ALCS against the Red Sox, who upset the Rays. In Game 1, despite trailing for the middle portions of the game, Houston would get more highlight moments from the faces of the franchise to start the series with a win.

Final Score: Astros 5, Red Sox 4

ALCS Series (Best of Seven): Houston leads 1-0

Winning Pitcher: Ryne Stanek

Losing Pitcher: Hansel Robles

Houston strikes first, but Boston sends Valdez to an early exit

Both starting pitchers worked in and out of trouble in the early goings of ALCS Game 1, starting with Framber Valdez in the top of the first. After erasing a leadoff single by inducing a double play, he went on to load the bases on a single and two walks but would strand all three runners to keep Boston off the board. The Astros jumped in front in the bottom half, with Jose Altuve working a leadoff walk, moving to second on a one-out single by Alex Bregman, advancing to third on a wild pitch, then ultimately scoring on a sac fly by Yordan Alvarez to put Houston ahead 1-0 after one frame.

They had a chance to extend their lead in the bottom of the second, taking advantage of a shaky inning by Chris Sale, who loaded the bases with one out as Houston would get two singles and a hit-by-pitch. That flipped the order over to the top, but a great diving catch by former Astro Kiké Hernández would end the inning. Hernández led off the top of the third against Valdez, and he would tie things up with a solo homer.

Things went downhill from there for Valdez and the Astros, as a one-out walk followed by a single gave the Red Sox the go-ahead run in scoring position. On a groundball that likely should have been a double play to end the inning, it would get through Altuve's legs, scoring a run and keeping the inning alive for Boston. They took advantage, getting an RBI double to extend their new lead to 3-1. Valdez would get one more out before Dusty Baker would give him the early hook, bringing in Yimi Garcia, who finished the frame.

A battle of the bullpens, Altuve ties it up

Like Valdez, Sale would also not make it through three innings, getting two outs while putting two on base before Boston would start their bullpen's night as well. Both sets of relievers settled the game down, with the Red Sox stranding two of Houston's runners in the third as well as the fifth, maintaining their two-run lead. After Garcia finished the third, Cristian Javier entered to eat up a couple of innings, and he would do just that by getting through two frames with just one hit, four strikeouts, and no runs.

Next, Phil Maton took over in the top of the sixth and erased a leadoff walk to keep things in striking distance for the home team. In the bottom of the sixth, Houston put another runner on base, getting a one-out single by Chas McCormick. Two batters later, with two outs, Jose Altuve provided yet another career postseason highlight, tying the game 3-3 with a two-run home to re-energize the Minute Maid Park crowd.

Astros take ALCS Game 1

Now a brand new ballgame in the top of the seventh, Brooks Raley came in to face three batters, getting two strikeouts while allowing a single before Dusty Baker would move on to Ryne Stanek, who would get the third out. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Carlos Correa continued his march to a monster off-season contract, putting Houston back on top with a solo homer, making it 4-3.

Houston kept the script after Stanek with the new lead in hand, going to Kendall Graveman as the setup man in the top of the eighth. Despite a two-out single, he would get out of the inning with the lead intact, putting Houston three outs away from the victory. After a walk, single, and hit by pitch to start the bottom of the eighth with the bases loaded, Altuve would drive in his third run of the game, getting a sac fly to extend the lead to two runs at 5-3.

That insurance run proved pivotal, as closer Ryan Pressly was met with a leadoff solo home run by Hernandez, his second of the night for Boston, to make it 5-4. Pressly refocused and was able to get the next three batters in order, though, wrapping up the win to start Houston off with a 1-0 series lead and putting them three wins away from advancing to the World Series.

Up Next: The two teams will have a moderately quick turnaround, with ALCS Game 2 scheduled to start at 3:20 PM Central on Saturday ahead of NLCS Game 1 between the Dodgers and Braves getting the night slot. The pitching matchup is expected to be Nathan Eovaldi for Boston, who is 1-0 with a 2.61 ERA in his two starts this postseason, going opposite Luis Garcia, who had a rough outing in the ALDS for Houston, giving up five runs without completing three innings in Chicago.

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