THE SOCCER REPORT

Manchester City win the Premier League, Bundesliga down to final day

Victor Araiza
May 14, 2019, 2:46 pm
Leroy Sané is a back-to-back Premier League champion with Manchester City. Credit Nike, Inc.


UEFA Champions League

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 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

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

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

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

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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ELIS INJURED IN COMEBACK WIN

5 kicks from Houston Dynamo's 2-1 win over D.C. United

Credit Trask Smith/Houston Dynamo

The Houston Dynamo withstood Wayne Rooney's D.C. United plus an injury to star player Alberth Elis on their way to their seventh win of the season. El Campo native Memo Rodriguez and off-season signing Thomas McNamara scored in the 67th and 68th minutes, respectively, to lead the club to a comeback victory.

Here are five observations from the win:

1) Call it a comeback

HIGHLIGHTS: Houston Dynamo vs. D.C. United | May 18, 2019 youtu.be

Both the Dynamo and D.C. United were undefeated this season in matches where they took the lead first. Houston's record was 1-1-2 when giving up the first goal.

On Saturday night, they didn't need to rely on the advantage of opening up the scoreline. Wayne Rooney scored the match's first goal right after the start of the second half before the Dynamo turned on the pressure in attack.

Perhaps the most impressing part of the result was doing it without the wide threats of Alberth Elis and Romell Quioto on the field. Instead it was their substitutes, coincidentally, that drove home the victory.

2) Winning without Elis

Alberth Elis took a headbutt to the side of his skull at the start of the match when he and D.C. United defender Steve Birnbaum jumped to dispute a ball in the air. Both players were taken out to the sidelines to get checked, Birnbaum had his head taped after bleeding, and were eventually allowed to return.

It would be minutes later that Elis asked for his substitution, which came in the 11th minute, and was subsequently taken to the locker room for a further evaluation. Despite passing the MLS concussion protocol, the Honduran playmaker wasn't well enough to continue the match.

Elis has been the most influential player for the team this season and a win without him will be a confidence booster. The big question now will be how long the team will be without one their most important contributors.

3) Memo leads the way

An inspired Memo Rodriguez was key to the Dynamo overturning the deficit at home, helping the team avoid a three-match winless streak. The homegrown midfielder took the responsibility of providing a spark in attack by creating his own shooting opportunity.

His goal in the 67th minute injected energy into the crowd at BBVA Compass Stadium and into his team. The Dynamo quickly went for another score and got it just a minute later.

With five goals and two assists, Rodriguez is enjoying his best season for the club. He'll likely pass his career high for minutes played in one season during the first half of the following match - eight games sooner than what it took him to reach that mark last year.

4) A win for Maynor

Defender Maynor Figueroa missed Saturday's match due to his father's passing on Wednesday night. The Honduran defender was on the field for the Dynamo against Timbers FC when the news broke in his home country.

The club showed solidarity with the seven-year Premier League veteran by dedicating the match to him in their pregame team photo. Figueroa joined the team in the off-season after three years at rival FC Dallas and has appeared in the majority of the Dynamo starting lineups this year.

Alejandro Fuenmayor took Figueroa's place in Saturday's starting XI and is expected to continue until Figueroa's return. The Dynamo have two league games left before this summer's Concacaf Gold Cup, a tournament Figueroa is expected to feature in for Honduras.

5) Rooney draws crowd but no sellout

Manchester United and England National Team Legend Wayne Rooney was in town with D.C. United. His appearance, unfortunately for the Dynamo, did very little for the gate in comparison to the visits of other league draws like LA's Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Several Manchester United jerseys were seen in what was announced to be a crowd of 15,811 attendees at the 22,000 capacity stadium. That number is only the third highest crowd seen this year after the opening match and the derby against FC Dallas.

The three-time World Cup veteran and former UEFA Champions League winner held up his end with a goal in the 46th minute and, despite the loss, has helped D.C. to a top spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Still, hope is bleak if a player of his stature has that little effect on the overall Houston soccer market - if they even knew he was in town.

Dynamo player of the game: Memo Rodriguez

Next up:

Saturday, May 25 at Minnesota United FC (7:00 p.m. CT, KUBE57) [ESPN+ for U.S. non-Houston markets]

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