THE SOCCER REPORT
MLS kicks off 24th season, Barcelona sweeps Real Madrid and other soccer results
Mar 5, 2019, 7:32 am
THE SOCCER REPORT
There's plenty to talk about around the soccer world, starting with FC Barcelona's two wins over rivals Real Madrid in the same week. The coming week will be dominated by international club soccer with knockout matches in the UEFA and Concacaf Champions League plus the start of the group stage in the Copa Libertadores.
Every goal from Premier League Matchweek 29 | NBC Sportswww.youtube.com
Two matchdays this week have helped Manchester City stay atop the table by a point as Liverpool's nil-nil draw against rivals Everton may prove to be a pivotal match in the latter's title hopes. As far as the top six, there's still some shifting around though Manchester United has the slight lead for the fourth and final Champions League spot.
Top six: 1. Manchester City (71), 2. Liverpool (70), 3. Tottenham (61), 4. Manchester United (58), 5. Arsenal (57), 6. Chelsea (56)
Scoring leader: 18 - Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Assists leader: 11 - Eden Hazard (Chelsea FC)
Highlights Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona (0-1)www.youtube.com
Barcelona enjoyed two victories - in Madrid, no less - over rivals Real by knocking them out of the Copa del Rey with a 3-0 win and then following that up with a 1-0 win in league play. Real Madrid are only left in Champions League contention as far as any title hopes this season while Barcelona looks set for another La Liga title.
Top six: 1. FC Barcelona (60), 2. Atlético Madrid (53), 3. Real Madrid (48), 4. Getafe (42), 5. Alaves (40), 6. Sevilla (37)
Scoring leader: 25 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Assists leader: 11 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Dortmund's fall to Augsburg and Bayern's emphatic win over Monchengladbach have evened things up at the top of the Bundesliga table. Dortmund now has very little room for error if they still dream with winning the league while Bayern are back on track for a seventh consecutive title.
Top six: 1. Dortmund (54), 2. Bayern Munich (54), 3. RB Leipzig (45), 4. Monchengladbach (43), 5. Eintracht Frankfurt (40), 6. Bayer Leverkusen (39)
Scoring leader: 15 - Luka Jović (Eintracht Frankfurt) / Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Assists leader: 10 - Jadon Sancho (Dortumund) / Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
Top six: 1. Juventus (72), 2. Napoli (56), 3. Milan (48), 4. Inter Milan (47), 5. Roma (44), 6. Lazio (41)
Scoring leader: 19 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) / Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria)
Assists leader: 8 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) / Suso (A.C. Milan)
Top six: 1. PSG (71), 2. Lille (54), 3. Lyon (49), 4. Marseille (44), 5. Saint-Étienne (43), 6. Stade Reims (42)
Scoring leader: 24 - Kylian Mbappé (PSG)
Assists leader: 8 - Nicolas Pepe (Lille) / Angel Di Maria (PSG) / Kenny Lala (Strasbourg)
Top three: 1. PSV Eindhoven (61), 2. Ajax (56), 3. Feyenoord (46)
Top three: 1. Genk (59), 2. Club Brugge (53), 3. Antwerp (49)
Top three: 1. Benfica (59), 2. Porto (57), 3. Braga (52)
Top three: 1. Celtic (66), 2. Rangers (58), 3. Aberdeen (50)
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The Round of 16 in the CCL saw a conclusion this week with the second leg matches deciding who advanced to the following round. MLS had its four U.S. representatives advance in Atlanta United, Houston Dynamo, New York Red Bulls and Sporting Kansas City while Liga MX is represented by northern clubs Monterrey, Tigres UANL and Santos Laguna. Independiente of Panama is the other team that advanced to the quarterfinals thanks to their upset of Toronto FC.
Round of 16 - second leg results:
The quarter-finals begins on Tuesday.
Major League Soccer's 24th season kicked off with plenty of draws to go around, five of them to be exact. The Dynamo were one of those teams with their season opener against Real Salt Lake ending in a 1-1 stalemate. Seattle Sounders gave new club Cincinnati a harsh welcome with a 4-1 result while Colorado and Portland played to a 3-3 draw in the snow.
Top eight: 1. Tigres UANL (22), 2. Monterrey (21), 3. Leon (20), 4. Club Tijuana (16), 5. Chivas Guadalajara (14), 6. Santos Laguaa (14), 7. Pachuca (14), 8. Club America (13)
Scoring leader: 9 - Angel Mena (Leon)
Assists leader: 6 - Angel Mena (Leon)
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Third round - second leg results:
The group stage begins on Tuesday.
Top four: 1. Racing Club (51), 2. Defensa y Justicia (48), 3. Boca Juniors (41), 4. Atletico Tucuman (39)
Scoring leader: 16 - Lisandro Lopez (Racing)
Assists leader: 8 - Walter Montillo (Tigre)
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Tuesday, Mar. 5
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Borussia Dortmund vs. Tottenham (B/R Live, Galavision)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Real Madrid vs. Ajax (TNT, UniMas)
6:30 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] Jorge Wilstermann vs. Boca Juniors (beIN SPORTS en Español)
7:00 p.m. - [SheBelieves Cup] U.S. Women's National Team vs. Brazil (FS1)
7:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] New York Red Bulls vs. Santos Laguna (YahooSports.com)
9:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Houston Dynamo vs. Tigres UANL (YahooSports.com)
Wednesday, Mar. 6
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Porto vs. Roma (B/R Live, Galavision)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] PSG vs. Manchester United (TNT, UniMas)
6:30 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] Alianza Lima vs. River Plate (beIN SPORTS en Español)
7:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Independiente vs. Sporting KC (YahooSports.com)
9:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Monterrey vs. Atlanta United (YahooSports.com)
Thursday, Mar. 7
11:55 a.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Inter (B/R Live, UniMas)
11:55 a.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Rennes vs. Arsenal (B/R Live, Galavision)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Chelsea vs. Dynamo Kiev (B/R Live, UniMas)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Napoli vs. Red Bull Salzburg (B/R Live, Galavision)
6:00 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] LDU Quito vs. Peñarol (beIN SPORTS en Español)
8:00 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] Deportivo Lara vs. Emelec (beIN SPORTS en Español)
Friday, Mar. 8
1:30 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Werder Bremen vs. Schalke 04 (FS2)
1:30 p.m. - [Serie A] Juventus vs. Udinese (ESPN+)
Saturday, Mar. 9
6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Crystal Palace vs. Brighton (NBC Sports)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Bayern Munich vs. VfL Wolfsburg (FS1)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Borussia Dortmund vs. VfB Stuttgart (FS2)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Southampton vs. Tottenham (NBC Sports)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Newcastle vs. Everton (CNBC)
11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Manchester City vs. Watford (NBC)
11:30 a.m. - [La Liga] Barcelona vs. Rayo Vallecano (beIN Sports)
2:30 p.m. - [MLS] FC Dallas vs. LA Galaxy (Univision)
4:00 p.m. - [MLS] Houston Dynamo vs. Montreal Impact (KUBE57)
Sunday, Mar. 10
7:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Liverpool vs. Burnley (NBC Sports)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Chelsea vs. Wolves (NBC Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Arsenal vs. Manchester United (NBC)
2:45 p.m. - [La Liga] Valladolid vs. Real Madrid (beIN Sports)
4:00 p.m. - [MLS] Atlanta United vs. Cincinnati (ESPN)
6:30 p.m. - [MLS] LAFC vs. Portland Timbers (FS1)
Two first-place teams, identical records, and a weekend set with serious measuring-stick energy.
The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs open a three-game series Friday night at Daikin Park, in what could quietly be one of the more telling matchups of the summer. Both teams enter at 48-33, each atop their respective divisions — but trending in slightly different directions.
The Astros have been red-hot, going 7-3 over their last 10 while outscoring opponents by 11 runs. They've done it behind one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, with a collective 3.41 ERA that ranks second in the American League. Houston has also been dominant at home, where they’ve compiled a 30-13 record — a stat that looms large heading into this weekend.
On the other side, the Cubs have held their ground in the NL Central but have shown some recent shakiness. They're 5-5 over their last 10 games and have given up 5.66 runs per game over that stretch. Still, the offense remains dangerous, ranking fifth in on-base percentage across the majors. Kyle Tucker leads the way with a .287 average, 16 homers, and 49 RBIs, while Michael Busch has been hot of late, collecting 12 hits in his last 37 at-bats.
Friday’s pitching matchup features Houston’s Brandon Walter (0-1, 3.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) and Chicago’s Cade Horton (3-1, 3.73 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), a promising young arm making one of his biggest starts of the season on the road. Horton will have his hands full with Isaac Paredes, who’s slugged 16 homers on the year, and Mauricio Dubón, who’s found a groove with four home runs over his last 10 games.
It’s the first meeting of the season between these two clubs — and if the trends continue, it may not be the last time they cross paths when it really counts.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -112, Cubs -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
Here's a preview of Joe Espada's Game 1 lineup.
The first thing that stands out is rookie Cam Smith is hitting cleanup, followed by Jake Meyers. Victor Caratini is the DH and is hitting sixth. Christian Walker is all the way down at seventh, followed by Yainer Diaz, and Taylor Trammell who is playing left field.
How the mighty have fallen.
Pretty wild to see Walker and Diaz hitting this low in the lineup. However, it's justified, based on performance. Walker is hitting a pathetic .214 and Diaz is slightly better sporting a .238 batting average.
Screenshot via: MLB.com
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