THE SOCCER REPORT
Manchester City win the Premier League, Bundesliga down to final day
May 14, 2019, 3:46 pm
Leroy Sané is a back-to-back Premier League champion with Manchester City. Credit Nike, Inc.
UEFA Champions League
🏆 The 2019 #UCLfinal is set! 🏆 Tottenham 🆚 Liverpool #UCL— UEFA Champions League (@UEFA Champions League) 1557350034.0
FC Barcelona and Ajax were in the driver's seat after their first leg leg semi-final wins but it will be Liverpool and Tottenham who headline the final in Madrid. Liverpool, without top attacking players in Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, overcame an 0-3 deficit with a four-goal win at Anfield - shocking Lionel Messi's Barcelona who had an embarrassing night. Young Ajax, meanwhile, were up on the scoreboard at home before Tottenham fired up a comeback to take the series on away goals and advance to their first UCL final.
Semifinals - second leg results:
- Liverpool 4-0 FC Barcelona (4-3 agg.)
- Ajax 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur (3-3 agg., Tottenham advance on away goals)
UEFA Europa League
🏆 The 2019 #UELfinal is set! 🏆 Chelsea 🆚 Arsenal #UEL https://t.co/7GRc8uErR5— UEFA Europa League (@UEFA Europa League) 1557438625.0
The Europa Legue final will also be headline by two Premier League clubs as Arsenal and Chelsea found their way to the final. Arsenal had no problem doing away with Valencia while Chelsea left it up to a dramatic penalty shootout win at home in what will likely end up being Eden Hazard's final home match for the club.
Semifinals - second leg results:
- Valencia 2-4 Arsenal (3-7 agg.)
- Chelsea 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt (2-2 agg., Chelsea advance 4-3 on penalties)
English Premier League
Back 2 Back Premier League Champions! 🏆🏆 We reigned and we retained! 💪 🔵 #mancity https://t.co/stX3wPtV4P— Manchester City (@Manchester City) 1557676184.0
After falling 0-1 early at Brighton and Hove Albion, Manchester City stopped any dramatic finish with four unanswered goals to crown themselves the 2018/19 Premier League Champions. City are the first champions to repeat in over a decade since rivals United in the 2008-09 season.
Final top six: 1. (C) Manchester City (95), 2. Liverpool (97), 3. Chelsea (72), 4. Tottenham (71), 5. Arsenal (70), 6. Manchester United (66)
Top scorer: 22 - Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) / Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal) / Sadio Mané (Liverpool)
Most assists: 15 - Eden Hazard (Chelsea FC)
Spain's La Liga
One day left in the Spanish league as three teams vie for the last Champions League spot.
Top six: 1. (C) - FC Barcelona (86), 2. Atlético Madrid (75), 3. Real Madrid (68), 4. Valencia (58), 5. Getafe (58), 6. Sevilla (56)
Scoring leader: 34 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Assists leader: 13 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) / Pablo Sarabia (Sevilla)
German Bundesliga
Bayern Munich were held at Leipzig but still depend only on themselves to win the title on the last weekend. Dortmund need to win combined with a Bayern loss to finish as champions.
Top six: 1. Bayern Munich (75), 2. Dortmund (73), 3. RB Leipzig (66), 4. Monchengladbach (55), 5. Bayer Leverkusen (55), 6. Eintracht Frankfurt (54)
Scoring leader: 22 - Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Assists leader: 14 - Jadon Sancho (Dortumund)
Italian Serie A
After 615 games and 18 years at Roma, Daniele de Rossi will play his final game for the club this weekend 👏 https://t.co/lbRWl6bJh8— ESPN FC (@ESPN FC) 1557824412.0
Top six: 1. (C) - Juventus (89), 2. Napoli (76), 3. Inter Milan (66), 4. Atalanta (65), 5. A.C. Milan (62), 6. Roma (62)
Scoring leader: 26 - Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria)
Assists leader: 10 - Alejandro Gomez (Atalanta) / Dries Mertens (Napoli) / Suso (A.C. Milan)
French Ligue 1
Top six: 1. (C) - PSG (88), 2. Lille (72), 3. Lyon (66), 4. Saint-Étienne (62), 5. Montpellier (58), 6. Marseille (55)
Scoring leader: 30 - Kylian Mbappé (PSG)
Assists leader: 13 - Teji Savanier (Nimes)
Dutch Eredivisie
Robin van Persie walked off to a guard of honour and standing ovation after his final game as a footballer 👏 https://t.co/3kqDPzppZQ— ESPN FC (@ESPN FC) 1557750600.0
Top three: 1. Ajax (83), 2. PSV Eindhoven (80), 3. Feyenoord (62)
Belgian First Division A
Championship Round: 1. Genk (50), 2. Club Brugge (47), 3. Antwerp (39), 4. Standard Liege (36), 5. Anderlecht (31), 6. Gent (29)
Portuguese Primeira Liga
Top four: 1. Benfica (84), 2. Porto (82), 3. Sporting CP (74), 4. Braga (64)
Scottish Premier League
Championship: 1. (C) Celtic (84), 2. Rangers (78), 3. Kilmarnock (64), 4. Aberdeen (64)
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Major League Soccer
East top seven: 1. Philadelphia (23), 2. D.C. United (23), 3. Montreal (20), 4. NYCFC (18), 5. Atlanta (17), 6. Toronto (16), 7. Columbus (16)
West top seven: 1. LAFC (27), 2. LA Galaxy (22), 3. Seattle (22), 4. Houston (19), 5. FC Dallas (17), 6. Minnesota (15), 7. Real Salt Lake (13)
Scoring leader: 12 - Carlos Vela (LAFC)
Assists leader: 6 - Alejandro Pozuelo (Toronto FC) / Diego Valeri (Portland Timbers) / Nicolas Lodeiro (Seattle Sounders FC) / Carlos Vela (LAFC)
Liga MX
Clausura 2019 quarter-finals results:
- (1) Leon vs. (8) Tijuana (Leon win 5-2 agg.)
- (2) Tigres vs. (7) Pachuca (2-2 agg., Tigres advance on higher seed tiebreaker)
- (3) Monterrey vs. (6) Necaxa (1-1 agg., Monterrey advance on higher seed tiebreaker)
- (4) Cruz Azul vs. (5) Club America (America win 3-2 agg.)
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National Women's Soccer League
Standings: 1. Houston Dash (10), 2. Utah Royals (9), 3. Chicago Red Stars (8), 4. North Carolina Courage (8), 5. Portland Thorns (8), 6. Washington Spirit (7), 7. Seattle Reign (3), 8. Sky Blue FC (2), 9. Orlando Pride (1)
Scoring leader: 4 - Crystal Dunn (North Carolina) / Samantha Kerr (Chicago)
Assists leader: 3 - Yuki Nagasato (Chicago)
Liga MX Femenil
#NOTA: @TigresFemenil son Campeonas de la #LIGAMXFemenil, vencieron 3-2 a Rayadas en el global y consiguieron el se… https://t.co/I4FO8oG8Vl— LIGA MX Femenil (@LIGA MX Femenil) 1557805414.0
Tigres UANL crowned themselves champions of Mexico's top women's division after a 2-1 win at rivals Monterrey. The title marks a second for Tigres, making the northerners the club with the most championships in the four season history of the league - both wins coming against their cross-town rivals.
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Upcoming Matches (All Times CT):
Tuesday, May 14
2:00 p.m. - [English Championship playoffs semifinal] West Brom vs. Aston Villa (ESPN+)
7:00 p.m. - [Copa Superliga Argentina] River Plate vs. Tucuman (fanatiz)
Wednesday, May 15
12:30 p.m. - [Eredivisie] De Graafschap vs. Ajax (ESPN+)
1:45 p.m. - [English Championship playoffs semifinal] Leeds United vs. Derby County (ESPN+)
1:45 p.m. - [Serie A] Lazio vs. Atalanta (ESPN+)
7:00 p.m. - [Club Friendly] New England Revolution vs. Chelsea FC (FS1)
7:30 p.m. - [MLS] Houston Dynamo vs. Portland Timbers (KUBE 57)
7:30 p.m. - [Liga MX Playoffs] Club America vs. Leon (Univision Deportes)
9:30 p.m. - [Liga MX Playoffs] Monterrey vs. Tigres UANL (Univision Deportes)
Thursday, May 16
7:00 p.m. - [International Friendly] U.S. Women's National Team vs. New Zealand (ESPN2)
7:30 p.m. - [Copa Superliga Argentina] Boca Juniors vs. Velez (fanatiz)
9:00 p.m. - [MLS] LAFC vs. FC Dallas (ESPN2)
Saturday, May 18
8:30 a.m. - [Budesliga] Bayern Munich vs. Frankfurt (FOX)
8:30 a.m. - [Budesliga] Monchengladbach vs. Dortmund (FS1)
11:00 a.m. - [FA Cup Final] Manchester City vs. Watford (ESPN+)
7:30 p.m. - [MLS] Houston Dynamo vs. D.C. United (KUBE 57)
Sunday, May 19
5:00 p.m. - [NWSL] Houston Dash vs. Chicago Red Stars (YahooSports.com)
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Despite a last-minute comeback attempt by Gonzaga on Saturday, the Cougars defeated the Bulldogs and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the sixth straight NCAA Tournament.
Houston will face the No.4 seed Purdue, who made it to the championship game last year.
The Boilermakers will be one of the toughest opponents the Cougars have faced thus far and will essentially have the home-court advantage with the game taking place in Indianapolis.
Despite the daunting matchup on paper, Houston is currently an -8.5 favorite to win this game. The Cougars should be able to handle Purdue so long as their offense stays hot and they continue to play defense at an elite level.
Keep the offense flowing
Houston guard LJ Cryer matched a career-high with 30 points against Gonzaga and has been the offensive focal point of this team.
This season, the Baylor transfer has averaged 15.6 points per game and has stepped up to be one of the unquestioned leaders of this team.
In addition to Cryer, the Cougars have Milos Uzan and Emanuel Sharp, who can carry the offensive load as they did during the Big 12 Tournament and against SIUE on Thursday.
J’Wan Roberts is another key factor for Houston’s success. The senior forward seems to have recovered from his ankle injury and has been a productive player since returning to the lineup.
Roberts leads the team in rebounds and is one of the most efficient scorers for the Cougars, averaging more than 50% from the field over his last five seasons.
Houston’s dynamic offense and elite defense makes this team one of the toughest to beat during the tournament.
Containing Purdue’s stars
The Boilermakers have two proficient scorers on their team, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Braden Smith, who each average over 15 points per game.
Kaufman-Renn scored 22 points in his previous game against McNeese State and has been one of Purdue’s best players for most of this year.
Roberts and Joseph Tuggler will likely be assigned to the junior forward to slow down his offense, forcing his teammates to step up.
Smith is Purdue’s second-leading scorer, averaging 16 points per game, and has the most assists and steals for the Boilermakers this season.
Both Uzan and Cyrer, who have been elite parameter defenders, will cover the Purdue guard and limit his production.
Containing both Kaufman-Renn and Smith will be Houston’s top priority and the key to come away victorious.
Play Cougar basketball
Head coach Kelvin Sampson has now made it to at least the Sweet 16 six consecutive times and has his team well-positioned to make another deep tournament run.
Since arriving in Houston, the 69-year-old coach has turned this program from an afterthought to one of the best basketball teams in the country year after year.
Sampson’s key to his success is instilling a defensive-first mentality into his team and getting the best effort out of his players.
This season is no different, as Houston has the number-one ranked defense in the nation and is holding their opponents to 58.4 points per game on average.
If the Cougars can create consistent offense and continue playing defense at an elite level, they should win this game with ease and advance to the Elite 8 for the first time in three years.
The Houston-Purdue game will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium on Friday at 9 pm. The winner will play either Kentucky or Tennessee in the next round.