The Soccer Report
Man City gets first PL loss since January; Houston Dash to play Tigres Femenil in Mexico
Sep 17, 2019, 6:39 am
The Houston Dash are headed to Mexico to face the Liga MX Femenil Champions. Credit: Houston Dash
With the FIFA international break over, leagues around the world resumed their calendar and with it many interesting results. Major League Soccer didn't have a big pause during the international fixtures so the league just resumed business as usual (although Zlatan was one of the many who disapproved).
“It’s a joke.” - Zlatan Ibrahimovic on MLS teams playing during the international break.— Adam Serrano (@Adam Serrano) 1568310340.0
Here are the top stories from around the globe:
English Premier League
Matchday 5 Results
- Liverpool 3-1 Newcastle
- Manchester United 1-0 Leicester City
- Sheffield Utd 0-1 Southampton
- Brighton 1-1 Burnley
- Wolves 2-5 Chelsea
- Tottenham 4-0 Crystal Palace
- Norwich City 3-2 Manchester City
- Bournemouth 3-1 Everton
- Watford 2-2 Arsenal
- Aston Villa 0-0 West Ham
Top six: Liverpool (15), Man City (10), Tottenham (8), Man Utd (8), Leicester City (8), Chelsea (8)
Scoring leader: 7 - Sergio Aguero (Man City) / Tammy Abraham (Chelsea)
Assists leader: 5 - Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Spanish La Liga
Matchday 4 Results
- Mallorca 0-0 Athletic Bilbao
- Real Madrid 3-2 Levante
- Leganes 0-3 Villareal
- Real Sociedad 2-0 Atletico Madrid
- Barcelona 5-2 Valencia
- Eibar 1-2 RCD Espanyol
- Alaves 0-1 Sevilla
- Celta Vigo 0-2 Granada
- Valladolid 1-1 Osasuna
- Real Betis 1-1 Getafe
Top six: Sevilla (10), Atletico Madrid (9), Real Madrid (8), Athletic Bilbao (8), Barcelona (7), Granada (7)
Scoring leader: 5 - Gerard Moreno (Villareal)
Assists leader: 3 - Ander Capa (Bilbao) / Angel Montoro Sanchez (Granada)
German Bundesliga
Matchday 4 Results
- Fortuna 1-1 Wolfsburg
- Cologne 0-1 Monchengladbach
- Dortmund 4-0 Bayer Leverkusen
- Mainz 2-1 Hertha Berlin
- Union Berlin 1-2 Werder Bremen
- Augsburg 2-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
- RB Leipzig 1-1 Bayern Munich
- Hoffenheim 0-3 Freiburg
- Paderborn 1-5 Schalke 04
Top six: RB Leipzig (10), Dortmund (9), Freiburg (9), Bayern Munich (8), Wolfburg (8), Schalke 04 (7)
Scoring leader: 7 - Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Italian Serie A
Matchday 3 Results
- Fiorentina 0-0 Juventus
- Napoli 2-0 Sampdoria
- Inter Milan 1-0 Udinese
- Genoa 1-2 Atalanta
- SPAL 1-0 Lazio
- Brescia 3-4 Bologna
- Parma 1-3 Cagliari
- Roma 4-2 Sassuolo
- Hellas Verona 0-1 AC Milan
- Torino 1-0 Lecce
Top six: Inter Milan (9), Bologna (7), Juventus (7), Napoli (6), Atalanta (6), Torino (6)
Scoring leader: 5 - Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo)
French Ligue 1
Matchday 5 Results
- Lille 2-1 Angers
- Amiens 2-2 Lyon
- PSG 1-0 Strasbourg
- Montpellier 2-1 Nice
- Dijon 0-0 Nimes
- Bordeaux 2-0 Nice
- Brest 0-0 Rennes
- Nantes 1-0 Reims
- St-Etienne 2-2 Toulouse
- Monaco 3-4 Marseille
Top six: PSG (12), Rennes (10), Nantes (10), Marseille (10), Lille (9), Nice (9)
Scoring leader: 5 - Moussa Dembele (Lyon) / Victor Osimhen (Lille)
Portuguese Liga Nos
Matchday 5 - Top Results
- Setubal 1-0 Braga
- Benfica 2-0 Gil Vicente
- Portimonense 2-3 Porto
- Boavista 1-1 Sporting
Top four: Familicao (13), Benfica (12), Porto (12), Boavista (9)
Scoring leader: 6 - Pizzi (Benfica)
Assists leader: 4 - Bruno Fernandes (Sporting)
Netherlands Eredivisie
Matchday 6 - Top Results
- Ajax 4-1 Herenveen
- AZ Alkmaar 5-1 Sparta
- PSV 5-0 Vitesse
- Feyenoord 3-2 Den Haag
Top four: Ajax (13), PSV (13), Twente (12), Vitesse (11)
Scoring leader: 6 - Donyell Malen (PSV Eindhoven)
Assists leader: 5 - Bryan Smeets (Sparta) / Dusan Tadic (Ajax)
Scottish Premiership
Matchday 5 - Top Results
- Hamilton 0-1 Celtic
- Hearts 2-3 Motherwell
- Rangers 3-1 Livingston
Top four: Celtic (15), Rangers (12), Motherwell (10), Aberdeen (8)
Scoring leader: 4 - Liam Donelly (Motherwell) / Ryan Christie (Celtic)
Assists leader: 3 - James Forrest (Celtic)
Major League Soccer
East top seven: 1. NYCFC (57), 2. Philadelphia (52), 3. Atlanta (48), 4. Toronto (45), 5. D.C. United (45), 6. New York Red Bulls (41), 7. New England (40)
West top seven: 1. x - LAFC (64), 2. Seattle (49), 3. Minnesota (48), 4. Real Salt Lake (46), 5. LA Galaxy (45), 6. San Jose (44), 7. Portland (43)
Scoring leader: 28 - Carlos Vela (LAFC)
Assists leader: 18 - Maxi Morales (NYCFC)
Mexican Liga MX
Matchday 9 Results
- Puebla 1-3 Atletico San Luis
- Veracruz 0-0 Cruz Azul
- Xolos 1-1 Tigres UANL
- Monterrey 0-2 Necaxa
- Guadalajara 1-0 Atlas
- Leon 3-1 Juarez
- Club America 1-1 Pumas UNAM
- Toluca 0-2 Morelia
- Santos 0-0 Pachuca
Top Eight: 1. Necaxa (17), 2. Queretaro (17), 3. Santos Lagua (17), 4. Club America (16), 5. Leon (15), 6. Tigres UANL (14), 7. Atleti San Luis (14), 8. Monarcas (13)
Scoring leader: 7 - Julio Furch (Santos)
Assists leader: 4 - Luis Quinones (Tigres) / Osvaldo Martinez (Atlas)
Argentina Superliga
Matchday 6 Results
- Arsenal 4-1 Union
- Cordoba 1-2 Defensa y Justicia
- Godoy Cruz 0-1 Argentinos Juniors
- Colon 2-1 San Lorenzo
- Huracan 0-4 River Plate
- Gimnasia 1-2 Racing Club
- Banfield 0-1 Talleres Cordoba
- Rosario Central 1-1 Newell's
- Independiente 2-2 Lanus
- Boca Juniors 1-0 Estudiantes
- Aldosivi 1-1 Patronato
- Velez 1-0 Atletico Tucuman
Top four: Boca (10), San Lorenzo (10), Arsenal Sarandi (9), Rosario Central (8)
National Women's Soccer League
The Houston Dash pulled themselves six points behind the fourth and final playoff spot with a 2-1 win over Utah Royals on Friday night at BBVA Stadium. The Dash play Tuesday night with an opportunity to continue to close the gap in a tough test against defending champion NC Courage.
The Dash will also become the first NWSL side to play a friendly in Mexico after announcing an October 5 friendly at Liga MX Femenil Champion Tigres UANL.
Standings: 1. North Carolina Courage (40), 2. Chicago Red Stars (38), 3. Portland Thorns (36), 4. Utah Royals (31), 5. Reign FC (31), 6. Washington Spirit (26), 7. Houston Dash (25), 8. Sky Blue FC (16), 9. Orlando Pride (14)
Scoring leader: 16 - Sam Kerr (Chicago)
Assists leader: 7 - Yuki Nagasato (Chicago)
Upcoming Matches (All Times CT):
Tuesday, September 17
11:55 a.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Inter Milan vs. Slavia Prague (TNT, UniMas, TUDN)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Dortmund vs. Barcelona (UniMas, TUDN)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Napoli vs. Liverpool (TNT, Galavision)
7:30 p.m. - [NWSL] NC Courage vs. Houston Dash (ESPNews)
Wednesday, September 18
11:55 a.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Brugge vs. Galatasaray (Galavision)
11:55 a.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Olympiacos vs. Spurs (TNT, UniMas, TUDN)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Atletico Madrid vs. Juventus (Galavision)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] PSG vs. Real Madrid (TNT, UniMas, TUDN)
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Expectations
The Texans are favored to win the AFC South for a third straight season with a team led by young stars quarterback C.J. Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson. Stroud’s strong first two years helped the Texans turn things around and this year they’ll try to reach the playoffs in three straight seasons for the first time in franchise history. Stroud will be directing a new offense led by first-time offensive coordinator Nick Caley, who took over after Bobby Slowik was fired this offseason following Houston’s loss to the Chiefs in the divisional round. General manager Nick Caserio also beefed up the team’s receiving corps, led by Nico Collins, by adding veteran Christian Kirk and drafting Jayden Higgins in the second round and Jaylin Noel in the third. Coach DeMeco Ryans has vowed the offensive line will be better this season after Stroud was sacked 52 times last season, which was second-most in the league. But it’s difficult to see how his protection will be better after they traded left tackle Laremy Tunsil and didn’t make any big moves to replace him. Defensively, Anderson should take another step forward in his second year playing with veteran Danielle Hunter after the third-overall pick in the 2023 draft had 17 sacks combined in his first two seasons. Cornerback Derek Stingley returns to lead a talented young secondary after earning first team AP All-Pro honors last season when he had five interceptions and defended 18 passes.
New faces
OC Nick Caley, WR Jayden Higgins, WR Christian Kirk, WR Jaylin Noel, LT Cam Robinson, RB Nick Chubb, RT Aireontae Ersery, LG Laken Tomlinson, C Jake Andrews.
Key losses
LT Laremy Tunsil, WR John Metchie III, G Kenyon Green, TE Brevin Jordan, CB Eric Murray, WR Robert Woods, CB Kris Boyd.
Strengths
Stroud and Houston’s stacked receiving group should be the stars of the team this season. The 2023 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year has been great in his first two seasons to bring the Texans back into contention after an awful stretch. His interception rate was up last season but he’s looking for improvement this season in Caley’s offense, which he has described as “exciting.” He’ll have plenty of strong targets to throw to, led by Collins, who had a second straight 1,000-yard season last year despite missing five games with injuries. He’ll be joined by Kirk, who should fill in at the slot with Tank Dell likely to miss all season recovering from an injury he suffered in December. Higgins and Noel come to Houston after combining for 2,377 yards receiving and 17 touchdowns last season at Iowa State.
Weaknesses
It’s hard to see how the offensive line will be improved this season with Tunsil gone to Washington. Though he was penalty-prone, he was the team’s most consistent lineman. They completely revamped the line after his trade and return just one starter from last year’s group. They’ll likely rely on rookie Ersery to protect Stroud’s blind side after taking him in the second round of the draft. He started 38 games at left tackle over three seasons at Minnesota. Veteran Tytus Howard returns at right tackle after starting 16 games there last season. The center is Jake Andrews in his first year in Houston and he returns after missing all of last season with an injury before being released by the Patriots. Left guard Laken Tomlinson and right guard Ed Ingram are also new to the team.
Camp development
Houston’s secondary sustained a big blow in camp when safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson suffered a leg injury. The injury isn’t season-ending but he is likely to miss significant time. Gardner-Johnson is in his first year in Houston after he was acquired from the Eagles in March in exchange for left guard Kenyon Green. He was expected to be the team’s starting free safety after the Texans lost Eric Murray in free agency to the Jaguars. The Texans will also be without backup Jimmie Ward indefinitely after he was placed on the commissioner exempt list Tuesday as he faces a felony domestic violence charge after a June arrest.
Fantasy player to watch
Collins should have another big year after finishing with more than 1,000 yards receiving in each of the last two seasons. He’s had 15 touchdowns combined in the last two seasons despite missing seven games with injuries.
BetMGM Sportsbook
Win Super Bowl: 35-1.