THE SOCCER REPORT
Dynamo tie LA Galaxy in sold out opener; Real Madrid take El Clasico and La Liga lead
Mar 3, 2020, 6:33 am
THE SOCCER REPORT
MLS is back with its 25th season and the opening weekend had plenty of big goals and special moments. Over in Europe, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona met in the sport's most talked about rivalry worldwide.
Here is a recap of last week's top action:
UEFA Champions League
Round of 16 - First Leg
Round of 16 - Second Leg
Liverpool FC's bid for an undefeated season ended at the hands of Watford, who jump out of the relegation zone with a 3-0 victory.
Top six: 1. Liverpool (79), 2. Man City (57), 3. Leicester City (50), 4. Chelsea (45), 5. Manchester United (42), 6. Wolves (42)
Bottom three (relegation): 18. Bournemouth (27), 19. Aston Villa (25), 20. Norwich City (21)
Scoring leader: 17 - Jamie Vardy (Leicester City) / Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)
Assists leader: 16 - Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
With goals from Vinicius and Mariano, Real Madrid took a 2-0 win in El Clasico and the lead at the top of the table in La Liga.
Top six: 1. Real Madrid (56), 2. FC Barcelona (55), 3. Sevilla (46), 4. Getafe (45), 5. Atletico Madrid (44), 6. Real Sociedad (43)
Bottom three: 18. Mallorca (22), 19. Leganes (20), 20. Espanyol (20)
Scoring leader: 18 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Assists leader: 12 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Top six: 1. Bayern Munich (52), 2. RB Leipzig (49), 3. Dortmund (48), 4. Monchengladbach (46), 5. Bayer Leverkusen (44), 6. Schalke 04 (36)
Bottom three: 16. Fortuna (21), 17. Werder Bremen (17), 18. Paderborn (16)
Scoring leader: 25 - Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Assists leader: 16 - Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)
Top six: 1. Lazio (62), 2. Juventus (60), 3. Inter Milan (54), 4. Atalanta (48), 5. Roma (45), 6. Napoli (39)
Bottom three: 18. Genoa (22), 19. Brescia (16), 20. SPAL (15)
Scoring leader: 27 - Ciro Immobile (Lazio)
Assists leader: 12 - Luis Alberto (Lazio)
Top four: 1. PSG (68), 2. Marseille (55), 3. Rennes (47), 4. Lille (46)
Bottom three: 18. Nimes (27), 19. Amiens (22), 20. Toulouse (13)
Scoring leader: 18 - Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Assists leader: 14 - Angel Di Maria (PSG)
The 25th season of MLS got underway with a soccer game with American football lines... just like the good old days (thanks to XFL at D.C. United's Audi Field).
The Houston Dynamo hosted LA Galaxy and the signing of the offseason in Mexican superstar Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward stole the spotlight but it would be the South American goalscorers who would get on the scoresheet. Cristian Pavon opened the scoring for LA while Mauro Manotas earned the point for the Dynamo - match ended in a 1-1 tie. Alberth Elis and offseason signing Darwin Quintero were among the players who missed the sold out home opener due to injury.
Over 59,000 packed Nissan Stadium in Nashville for the expansion side's opening match against Atlanta United, with the visitors taking a 2-1 victory. David Beckham's Inter Miami, the other expansion team this year, lost 1-0 at LAFC on Sunday.
¡PERO QUÉ 🐕 GOLAZO DE GIGNAC! La chilena que nos acaba de regalar el francés es de otro planeta. SIN PALABRAS 🤩 🐯… https://t.co/NAgUPke49d— TUDN USA (@TUDN USA) 1583036937.0
Top eight: 1. Cruz Azul (16), 2. Club America (16), 3. Leon (15), 4. Juarez (14), 5. Pumas UNAM (14), 6. Santos Laguna (14), 7. Queretaro (13), 8. CD Guadalajara (12)
Scoring leader: 7 - Jonathan Rodriguez (Cruz Azul) / Andre-Pierre Gignac (Tigres UANL)
For full info on soccer TV listings and streaming services in the United States, visit worldsoccertalk.com
Tuesday, March 3
1:45 p.m. - [English FA Cup] Chelsea vs. Liverpool (ESPN+)
1:45 p.m. - [German Cup] Schalke 04 vs. Bayern Munich (ESPNU, ESPN Deportes)
4:15 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] Defensa y Justicia vs. Santos (beIN Sports)
6:30 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] America de Cali vs. Gremio (beIN Sports Connect)
Wednesday, March 4
1:45 p.m. - [English FA Cup] Sheffield Wednesday vs. Man City (ESPN+)
1:45 p.m. - [English FA Cup] Spurs vs. Norwich (ESPN+)
Thursday, March 5
1:45 p.m. - [English FA Cup] Derby vs. Man United (ESPN+)
6:00 p.m. - [SheBelieves Cup] USWNT vs. England (ESPN2, TUDN)
Friday, March 6
8:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Pumas UNAM vs. Club América (TUDN)
Saturday, March 7
6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Liverpool vs. Bournemouth (NBC Sports)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Wolfsburg vs. RB Leipzig (FS1, FOX Deportes)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Arsenal vs. West Ham (NBC Sports)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Wolves vs. Brighton (CNBC)
9:00 a.m. - [La Liga] Atletico Madrid vs. Sevilla (beIN Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Burnley vs. Spurs (NBC Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [La Liga] FC Barcelona vs. Real Sociedad (beIN Sports)
7:30 p.m. - [MLS] Houston Dynamo at Sporting KC (KUBE57)
9:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Atlas vs. Chivas (Univision)
Sunday, March 8
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Chelsea vs. Everton(NBC Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Man United vs. Man City (NBC)
3:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Real Betis vs. Real Madrid (beIN Sports)
Monday, March 9
3:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Leicester City vs. Aston Villa (NBC Sports)
The Houston Astros open a three-game set Tuesday night against the struggling Colorado Rockies, with Hunter Brown set to take the mound at Daikin Park.
Houston (72-59) enters the matchup atop the AL West despite dropping six of its last 10 games, during which the offense has sputtered to a .204 average and the pitching staff has been tagged for a 5.69 ERA. The Astros will look to steady things at home, where they’ve gone 38-27 this season, and lean on Brown, who has been one of their most consistent arms. The right-hander owns a 10-5 record, a 2.36 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 2025.
Colorado (37-94) comes in losers of four straight and carrying the worst road record in baseball at 16-49. The Rockies have struggled mightily to contain the long ball, going 17-77 in games when allowing at least one home run. Starter Tanner Gordon (4-5, 7.11 ERA) will try to buck that trend in just his 10th appearance of the season.
Yordan Alvarez will make his long-awaited return to the lineup Tuesday, starting in left field for the opener against Colorado. It will be his first game action since May 2 after being sidelined with a hand injury.
Jose Altuve continues to lead the Astros’ offense with 22 home runs and a .456 slugging percentage, while Carlos Correa has been one of Houston’s most reliable bats of late, collecting 13 hits in his last 39 at-bats. On the Rockies’ side, Hunter Goodman has piled up 52 extra-base hits this season, and Brenton Doyle enters the series swinging a hot bat with 15 hits and 11 RBIs over his past 10 games.
The matchup is the fourth meeting between the two clubs this year, with Houston heavily favored to pick up another win as it looks to build momentum in the stretch run.
Betting odds
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -341, Rockies +270; over/under is 8 runs
Roster moves
RHP Shawn Dubin has been claimed by the Orioles.
pic.twitter.com/Mte5EPYUCq
— Houston Astros (@astros) August 26, 2025
Starting lineup
What stands out? With Yordan back in the lineup, manager Joe Espada has decided to deploy him in the cleanup spot, leaving the Top 3 of Pena, Correa, and Altuve (DH) unchanged.
A surprising twist
However, Alvarez playing left field is not something we were expecting.
Image via: MLB.com/Screenshot.
With Yordan hitting fourth, Christian Waker slides back to the five spot, followed by Jesus Sanchez (RF), Victor Caratini (C), Mauricio Dubon (2B), and Jacob Melton (CF).
Interesting to see Yainer Diaz with the night off. He was hit in the wrist by a pitch from Craig Kimbrel on Sunday. Perhaps he needed an extra day to recover.
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