THE SOCCER REPORT

Dynamo stop the bleeding with home draw; La Liga, Bundesliga kick off

Victor Araiza
Aug 20, 2019, 8:26 am
Mauro Manotas scored twice to put a stop to the Dynamo's four-match losing streak. (Credit: Houston Dynamo)

The Houston Dynamo put an end to a four-match losing streak with a 2-2 result at home against the Colorado Rapids last Saturday. It was the first match under Interim Head Coach Davy Arnaud after the firing of the previous manager earlier in the week. In the bigger picture of still making the playoffs, the Dynamo will need to start winning again and see results fall their way as soon as possible. The team's next match is Sunday (7:00 p.m.) at rival FC Dallas.

The Women's local team, the Houston Dash, had a bye week and will be back at home against Sky Blue FC and former Dash Carli Lloyd on Saturday night.

The Leagues Cup tournament continues with Mexican powerhouses Tigres UANL and Club America facing off in the semifinals at BBVA Stadium on Tuesday night. The match has been announced as sold out however tickets are still being sold - the cheapest being a $45 standing room only ticket.

Here are the rest of the top stories from the past week:

English Premier League

Every goal from Premier League 2019/20 Matchweek 2 | NBC Sports www.youtube.com

Matchday 2 Results

  • Arsenal 2-1 Burnley
  • Southampton 1-2 Liverpool
  • Brighton 1-1 West Ham
  • Everton 1-0 Watford
  • Norwich City 3-1 Newcastle
  • Aston Villa 1-2 Bournemouth
  • Manchester City 2-2 Tottenham
  • Sheffield United 1-0 Crystal Palace
  • Chelsea 1-1 Leicester City
  • Wolverhampton 1-1 Manchester United

Spanish La Liga

Highlights Athletic Club vs FC Barcelona (1-0) www.youtube.com

Matchday 1 Results

  • Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Barcelona
  • Celta Vigo 1-3 Real Madrid
  • Valencia 1-1 Real Sociedad
  • RCD Mallorca 2-1 Eibar
  • Leganes 0-1 Osasuna
  • Villareal 4-4 Granada
  • Alaves 1-0 Levante
  • Espanyol 0-2 Sevilla
  • Real Betis 1-2 Valladolid
  • Atletico Madrid 1-0 Getafe

German Bundesliga

Emotional Fan Choreography - Union Berlin's Touching Tribute To Deceased Fans www.youtube.com

Matchday 1 Results

  • Bayern Munich 2-2 Hertha Berlin
  • Freiburg 3-0 Mainz
  • Dortmund 5-1 Augsburg
  • Wolfsburg 2-0 Cologne
  • Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 Paderborn
  • Werder Bremen 1-3 Fortuna
  • Mönchengladbach 0-0 Schalke 04
  • Eintracht 1-0 Hoffenheim
  • Union Berlin 0-4 RB Leipzig

French Ligue 1

Matchday 2 - Top Results

  • Lyon 6-0 Angers
  • Nantes 0-0 Marseille
  • Metz 3-0 Monaco
  • Amiens 1-0 Lille
  • Rennes 2-1 PSG

Netherlands Eredivisie

Matchday 3 - Top Results

  • VVV-Venlo 1-4 Ajax
  • AZ Alkmaar 0-0 Groningen
  • Feyenoord 1-1 Utrecht
  • Heracles 0-2 PSV
Major League Soccer

LAFC became the first club of the 2019 season that has clinched a spot in the playoffs. Atlanta United had a big week, winning the Campeones Cup (MLS vs. Liga MX Supercup) 3-2 over Club America on Wednesday, that finished with a 2-0 away win at Portland Timbers in an MLS Cup 2018 rematch.

This following week features plenty of rivalry games including LAFC vs. LA Galaxy and Dallas vs. Houston in the Texas Derby.

East top seven: 1. Atlanta (45), 2. Philadelphia (45), 3. NYCFC (41), 4. D.C. United (39), 5. NY Red Bulls (38), 6. New England (35), 7. Montreal (34)

West top seven: 1. x - LAFC (58), 2. Minnesota (42), 3. LA Galaxy (41), 4. Real Salt Lake (40), 5. Seattle (40), 6. San Jose (38), 7. Portland (37)

Scoring leader: 24 - Carlos Vela (LAFC)

Assists leader: 16 - Maxi Morales (NYCFC)


Liga MX

Top Eight: 1. Queretaro (13), 2. Club America (13), 3. Santos Laguna (12), 4. Tigres UANL (10), 5. Pumas (9), 6. Monterrey 9), 7. Atlas (9), 8. Cruz Azul (8)

Scoring leader: 4 - 4 players tied

Assists leader: 4 - Luis Quinones (Tigres)

Superliga Argentina

El debut de De Rossi en la Bombonera www.youtube.com

Roma legend De Rossi made his long awaited debut at home for Boca Juniors in the 2-0 league win over Aldosivi. The 18-year Serie A veteran could make his debut in Copa Libertadores on Wednesday.

Matchday 3 - Top Results

  • Newell's 2-0 Union
  • San Lorenzo 2-2 Rosario Central
  • Racing Club 1-6 River Plate
  • Defensa y Justicia 0-3 Arsenal Sarandi
  • Boca Juniors 2-0 Aldosivi
  • Estudiantes 3-0 Independiente

National Women's Soccer League

Standings: 1. Portland Thorns (33), 2. Chicago Red Stars (29), 3. North Carolina Courage (28), 4. Utah Royals (27), 5. Reign FC (27), 6. Houston Dash (22), 7. Washington Spirit (21), 8. Sky Blue FC (13), 9. Orlando Pride (11)

Scoring leader: 12 - Sam Kerr (Chicago)

Assists leader: 5 - Lynn Williams (North Carolina) / Yuki Nagasato (Chicago)

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Upcoming Matches (All Times CT):

Tuesday, August 20

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

7:30 p.m. - [Leagues Cup] Club America vs. Tigres (ESPN2, TUDN)

9:30 p.m. - [Leagues Cup] LA Galaxy vs. Cruz Azul (ESPN2, TUDN)

Wednesday, August 21

5:15 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] LDU Quito vs. Boca Juniors (beIN Sports)

7:00 p.m. - [MLS] DC United vs. NY Red Bulls (UniMas, TUDN)

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

9:30 p.m. - [MLS] LAFC vs. San Jose Earthquakes (UniMas, TUDN)

Thursday, August 22

5:15 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] River Plate vs. Cerro Porteño (beIN Sports)

7:30 p.m. - [Copa Sudamericana] Corinthians vs. Fluminense (beIN Sports)

8:30 p.m. - [MLS] Sporting KC vs. Minnesota United (ESPN)

Friday, August 23

1:30 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Koln vs. Borussia Dortmund (FS2)

2:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Aston Villa vs. Everton (NBC Sports)

3:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Levante vs. Villarreal (beIN Sports)

7:00 p.m. - [MLS] Orlando City vs. Atlanta United (ESPN)

9:00 p.m. - [MLS] Portland Timbers vs. Seattle Sounders (ESPN)

Saturday, August 24

6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Norwich vs. Chelsea (NBC Sports)

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

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

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

11:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Schalke vs. Bayern Munich (FS1, TUDN)

12:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Real Madrid vs. Valladolid (beIN Sports)

6:00 p.m. - [MLS] NYCFC vs. NY Red Bulls (ESPN2)

7:30 p.m. - [NWSL] Houston Dash vs. Sky Blue FC (YahooSports.com)

Sunday, August 18

8:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Bournemouth vs. Manchester City (NBC Sports)

10:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Tottenham vs. Newcastle (NBC Sports)

12:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Leganes vs. Atletico Madrid (beIN Sports)

3:00 p.m. - [NWSL] Portland Thorns vs. Chicago Red Stars (ESPNews)

5:00 p.m. - [MLS] FC Cincinnati vs. Columbus Crew (FS1)

7:00 p.m. - [MLS] FC Dallas vs. Houston Dynamo (FS1)

9:00 p.m. - [MLS] LAFC vs. LA Galaxy (FS1)

premier leagu... football laliga spanish league soccer bundesliga rb leipzig 1. fc union berlin daniele de rossi boca

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THE LEFT TURN

NASCAR: Quaker State 400 preview

Photo via: WikiCommons.

This week, the NASCAR cup series heads to Kentucky Motor Speedway for the Quaker State 400. Built in 2001, this track is a 1.5 mile tri-oval with a dog-leg on the front stretch. The most dangerous part of the track has to be turn three as the corner is flat compared to the other three corners that are banked. This has been a major point of contingency for these drivers as most of the cautions end up being there. Look for turn three to be a hot spot come Sunday. Last year, both the Busch brothers finished 1-2 in one of the most exciting finishes of the season so there will be a lot of hype for this race to live up to.

Last week at Indy, as we all expected the race was a crazy one. Over the course of the race's 160 laps, we saw many horrific accidents including a scary pit road accident involving Corey Lajoe, Ryan Blaney, Justin Allgier, Ryan Preece and others. The wreck started when everyone got stacked up entering the pits and the calamity was on from there. During the wreck Brennan Poole struck Rear Tire Changer Zach Price as he was trying to avoid the wrecking cars in front of him. After the incident fans and media alike all held their breath as they awaited news on his condition. But when the camera panned to him being loaded into the ambulance, there was a huge sigh of relief as he gave everyone a thumbs up signifying he was okay. Another scary moment was both Erik Jones and Alex Bowman's vicious crashes. Both cars had tire failures that sent their cars directly into the wall. Fortunately both drivers were okay but their days were over.

In the end, tire wear would end up claiming one more victim as it took out Denny Hamlin as well. With seven laps to go, the four-time winner this season was in prime position to get his fifth victory until his right front tire blew out, sending him hard into the turn 2 wall. This mishap handed the win to his main rival in the championship, Kevin Harvick, as he went on to claim his third Brickyard 400 victory and fourth win of the year. When it was all over, many questioned why there were so many tire failures and if new owner Roger Penske would make an effort to possibly widen the pit-road after the massive accident on Sunday.

Needless to say, there are a lot of questions on what will be different at Indy in 2021. When I talked to spotter Freddie Kraft on Tuesday, he gave a lot of good insights on both topics. When it came to the tire failures, he talked about how the increasing corner speeds at the racetrack has put a lot of pressure on these Goodyear tires which eventually led to them coming apart. As far as Pit-Road and what they can do to fix that, he talked about how it is difficult to make changes to a track that is so historical. Which makes sense, but he followed this up by saying that maybe it would be wise to give up a little history and move the wall over and make it wider. It will be interesting to see what NASCAR does in the coming months.

On Friday, Associated Press journalist Jenna Fryer revealed a bombshell announcement that 7-time champion and NASCAR's biggest name Jimmie Johnson, had tested positive for coronavirus. As everyone knows, the world is going through the worst pandemic it's ever faced in this lifetime. With the sport coming back and racing again, it was only a matter of time until one of the drivers came down with it. Unfortunately it had to be NASCAR's most recognizable driver. Thankfully, Jimmie made a full recovery and was cleared to return this weekend at Kentucky. This was a big scare for everyone in the NASCAR world, but I have to give a lot of credit to Johnson for being as forthright as he was about his diagnosis with everyone who he works with. It will be good to have Jimmie back on Sunday.

The driver that I have winning this weekend is Kyle Busch. While this season has been a disappointment for the defending champion, Kentucky would be a great place for him to turn it around. Ever since the cup series has started going there, Kyle has always been in contention to win. In fact, he won the first cup series race that was run at this track back in 2011. In his nine starts there, Kyle has finished outside the top ten only once and even then he finished 12th, back in 2016. Last season it appeared that Kyle was on his way to a third victory at this track, but he came up one spot short to his brother Kurt in a fantastic last lap duel. After a late race restart this weekend though, I see Kyle redeeming himself and capturing his first victory of 2020. Look for Kyle to get back on track come Sunday.


All stats and information used in this article are brought to you by the good folks at driveraverages.com and Racing-Reference.com, the best websites for all NASCAR stats.
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