THE SOCCER REPORT
Premier League race awaits final weekend; Liga MX playoffs set
May 7, 2019, 10:22 am
Chelsea secured a Champions League spot for next season while debuting their new kits. Courtesy: Nike, Inc.
UEFA Champions League
FC Barcelona and Ajax took wins in the first leg semi-final matches. Barcelona goes on the road to Liverpool, who will be without Mohamed Salah, while Ajax looks to close out Tottenham at home.
Semifinals - first leg results:
- Tottenham 0-1 Ajax
- FC Barcelona 3-0 Liverpool
UEFA Europa League
Arsenal took a good lead at home but must now close the deal in Spain to advance to the final. With the Premier League results over the weekend, Europa League may be Arsenal's last chance to qualify for next year's Champions League. With Chelsea, assuring themselves a spot in next year's UCL, their biggest motivation to continue strong in the Europa League is the chase for silverware.
Semifinals - first leg results:
- Arsenal 3-1 Valencia
- Eintracht Frankfurt 1-1 Chelsea
English Premier League
The Premier League title will come down to the final day of the season. Manchester City is in the pole position and will be crowned champions if they win. Liverpool need a win and a City draw/loss. Chelsea clinched a top four finish and a Champions League spot while Manchester United missed out on the latter and will have to settle for Europa League next season.
Top six: 1. Manchester City (92), 2. Liverpool (91), 3. Chelsea (71), 4. Tottenham (70), 5. Arsenal (67), 6. Manchester United (66)
Scoring leader: 22 - Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Assists leader: 15 - Eden Hazard (Chelsea FC)
Spain's La Liga
Top six: 1. (C) - FC Barcelona (83), 2. Atlético Madrid (74), 3. Real Madrid (68), 4. Getafe (58), 5. Valencia (55), 6. Sevilla (55)
Scoring leader: 34 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Assists leader: 13 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) / Pablo Sarabia (Sevilla)
German Bundesliga
Bayern Munich are within reach of the Bundesliga title, needing only a win to clinch it in the penultimate matchday.
Top six: 1. Bayern Munich (74), 2. Dortmund (70), 3. RB Leipzig (65), 4. Eintracht Frankfurt (54), 5. Bayer Leverkusen (54), 6. Monchengladbach (52)
Scoring leader: 22 - Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Assists leader: 14 - Jadon Sancho (Dortumund)
Italian Serie A
Top six: 1. (C) - Juventus (89), 2. Napoli (73), 3. Inter Milan (63), 4. Atalanta (62), 5. A.C. Milan (59), 6. Roma (59)
Scoring leader: 25 - Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria)
Assists leader: 10 - Alejandro Gomez (Atalanta) / Dries Mertens (Napoli)
French Ligue 1
Top six: 1. (C) - PSG (85), 2. Lille (69), 3. Lyon (63), 4. Saint-Étienne (62), 5. Montpellier (55), 6. Marseille (55)
Scoring leader: 30 - Kylian Mbappé (PSG)
Assists leader: 13 - Teji Savanier (Nimes)
Dutch Eredivisie
Top three: 1. Ajax (80), 2. PSV Eindhoven (80), 3. Feyenoord (62)
Belgian First Division A
Championship Round: 1. Genk (50), 2. Club Brugge (44), 3. Antwerp (38), 4. Standard Liege (36), 5. Anderlecht (30), 6. Gent (26)
Portuguese Primeira Liga
Top three: 1. Benfica (81), 2. Porto (79), 3. Sporting CP (73)
Scottish Premier League
Championship: 1. (C) Celtic (84), 2. Rangers (75), 3. Aberdeen (61)
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Concacaf Champions League
CF Monterrey Highlights vs. Tigres 2www.youtube.com
Monterrey finally lifted a title at their new stadium and it couldn't have come against a sweeter opponent. After winning the first leg 1-0 away, Monterrey tied 1-1 at home against city rivals Tigres to win the 2019 Concacaf Champions League.
Major League Soccer
East top seven: 1. Philadelphia (20), 2. D.C. United (20), 3. Montreal (17), 4. Toronto (16), 5. NYCFC (15), 6. Columbus (13), 7. Orlando (12)
West top seven: 1. LAFC (24), 2. LA Galaxy (22), 3. Houston (19), 4. Seattle (19), 5. FC Dallas (17), 6. Minnesota (15), 7. San Jose (11)
Scoring leader: 11 - Carlos Vela (LAFC)
Assists leader: 6 - Alejandro Pozuelo (Toronto FC) / Diego Valeri (Portland Timbers) / Nicolas Lodeiro (Seattle Sounders FC)
Liga MX
Top eight: 1. Leon (38), 2. Tigres UANL (34), 3. Monterrey (30), 4. Cruz Azul (29), 5. Pachuca (28), 6. Necaxa (26), 7. Club America (26), 8. Tijuana (25)
Scoring leader: 14 - Angel Mena (Leon)
Assists leader: 10 - Angel Mena (Leon)
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National Women's Soccer League
Standings: 1. North Carolina Courage (8), 2. Utah Royals (9), 3. Chicago Red Stars (5), 4. Portland Thorns (5), 5. Houston Dash (7), 6. Washington Spirit (4), 7. Seattle Reign (3), 8. Sky Blue FC (2), 9. Orlando Pride (1)
Scoring leader: 4 - Crystal Dunn (North Carolina)
Assists leader: 2 - Lynn Williams (North Carolina) / Meghan Klingenberg (Portland) / Yuki Nagasato (Chicago)
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Upcoming Matches (All Times CT):
Tuesday, May 7
2:00p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Liverpool vs. FC Barcelona (TNT, Univision, Univision Deportes)
7:30 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] River Plate vs. Internacional (beIN SPORTS)
Wednesday, May 8
2:00p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Ajax vs. Tottenham (TNT, Univision, Univision Deportes)
5:15 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] Cruzeiro vs. Emelec (beIN SPORTS en Español)
6:00 p.m. - [MLS] Atlanta United vs. Toronto FC (ESPN+)
7:00 p.m. - [Liga MX Playoffs] Pachuca vs. Tigres UANL (Univision Deportes)
7:30 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] Peñarol vs. Flamengo (beIN SPORTS)
9:00 p.m. - [Liga MX Playoffs] Tijuana vs. Leon (Univision Deportes)
Thursday, May 9
2:00p.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Valencia vs. Arsenal (B/R Live, UniMas)
2:00p.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Chelsea vs. Frankfurt (B/R Live, Univision Deportes)
7:00 p.m. - [Liga MX Playoffs] Necaxa vs. Monterrey (Univision Deportes)
7:30 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] Boca Juniors vs. Atletico PR (beIN SPORTS)
9:00 p.m. - [Liga MX Playoffs] Club America vs. Cruz Azul (Univision Deportes)
Friday, May 10
9:00 p.m. - [MLS] Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Portland Timbers (ESPN+)
Saturday, May 11
8:30 a.m. - [Budesliga] RB Leipzig vs. Bayern Munich (FOX, UniMas)
8:30 a.m. - [Budesliga] Dortmund vs. Dusseldorf (FS1, FOX Deportes)
1:00 p.m. - [MLS] FC Dallas vs. NY Red Bulls (Univision, Twitter)
2:30 p.m. - [NWSL] Utah Royals vs. Houston Dash (YahooSports.com)
7:00 p.m. - [Liga MX Playoffs] Tigres vs. Pachuca (Univision Deportes)
9:00 p.m. - [Liga MX Playoffs] Leon vs. Tijuana (Univision Deportes)
9:00 p.m. - [MLS] Seattle Sounders FC vs. Houston Dynamo (KUBE 57)
Sunday, May 12
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Manchester City (NBC Sports)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Liverpool vs. Wolves (NBC)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Leicester City vs. Chelsea (CNBC)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Tottenham vs. Everton (SyFy)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Burnley vs. Arsenal (MSNBC)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Manchester United vs. Cardiff City (USA)
1:30 p.m. - [MLS] Atlanta United vs. Orlando City (ESPN)
6:00 p.m. - [MLS] D.C. United vs. Sporting KC (FS1)
6:00 p.m. - [Liga MX Playoffs] Club America vs. Cruz Azul (Univision Deportes)
8:00 p.m. - [Liga MX Playoffs] Leon vs. Necaxa (Univision Deportes)
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Yainer Diaz homered, Josh Hader got the last four outs for his major league-leading 25th save, and the Houston Astros spoiled Shohei Ohtani's 31st birthday, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 on Saturday.
Ohtani made his fourth mound start of the season, pitching two scoreless innings as he continues to work his way back from elbow surgery. He struck out the side in the second.
Justin Wrobleski (4-3) relieved Ohtani to start the third, and that's when the Dodgers' problems started. Zack Short hit a two-run double as Houston scored four times in the inning. Diaz went deep leading off the fourth, his 11th of the season.
Mookie Betts hit his 11th homer for the Dodgers in the first, and Miguel Rojas' two-run shot in the fourth pulled LA within 5-4.
Jose Altuve led off the seventh with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly.
Hader entered with two on and two out in the eighth and struck out pinch-hitter Esteury Ruiz. In the ninth, he allowed a leadoff single to Ohtani but retired Betts, Will Smith and Freddie Freeman to end it.
Framber Valdez (10-4) struck out seven and allowed four runs in six innings.
Key moment
The Dodgers sent Michael Conforto to the plate to pinch-hit with two out in the eighth, and the Astros brought in Hader. Manager Dave Roberts replaced Conforto with Ruiz, who fanned on Hader's slider.
Key stat
The Astros have scored 24 runs in the first two games of the series. On Friday night, they handed the Dodgers their worst loss in the history of Dodger Stadium, 18-1.
Up next
Astros RHP Ryan Gusto (5-3, 4.90 ERA) will face the Dodgers' Emmet Sheehan (0-0, 2.25) for Sunday’s series finale.