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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Left-hander Mitchell Parker threw seven shutout innings, and Luis Garcia Jr. had three singles and two RBIs and the Washington Nationals beat the Houston Astros 6-0 on Sunday.
The Nationals have won three of their past four series after starting the season 2-6.
After allowing two runs over five innings last Monday in his major league debut, a 6-4 win over the L.A. Dodgers, Parker (2-0) was even more effective in his second major league start, allowing three hits, striking out eight and walking none, throwing 57 of his 73 pitches for strikes.
“He has so much poise," Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. "He’s ready. He gets the ball, ready to get back on the mound. I watched him today. He threw a ground ball. The play was made and he got right on the mound and was holding his glove up as if, ‘hey, come on, give me the ball, like I’m ready to get back on there’. It was cool to watch. He understands what he wants to do.”
Parker mixed his 85-87 mph splitter, 81-82 mph curveball and 92 mph four-seam fastball. He struck out Jose Altuve and Jeremy Peña a combined four times. Dylan Floro and Matt Barnes each added a scoreless inning for Washington.
Parker was thrilled to be able to throw the splitter for strikes, something that did not come as easy against the Dodgers.
“100 percent, yeah," Parker said. "We were able to get in there for more swings and misses. They were more competitive pitches. Going to keep working on it, seeing if we can keep it where it is at.”
Astros right-hander Hunter Brown replaced scheduled starter Cristian Javier, who was scratched from Sunday’s series finale with neck discomfort. Javier was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to April 14, and right-hander Spencer Arrighetti was called up from Triple-A Sugar Land.
Manager Joe Espada said they have not decided yet on an MRI for Javier.
“Neck discomfort, started a few days ago,” Espada said. “He tried to work through it but just couldn’t happen. This kind of just came out of nowhere. So, we are going to see what happens here.”
Brown allowed three runs and three hits and a walk in the first but then settled down, lasting four innings when his pitch count reached 84.
“Even in the first I felt like made some good pitches," Brown said. "Came to the outing prepared. Kind of did what I wanted to and it just didn’t fall our way there.”
García Jr.’s two-run single to center field highlighted the three-run first inning for the Nationals.
“We try to score every inning,' Garcia Jr. said through a translator. "But definitely when we score the first inning it gives you a different kind of sense of confidence throughout the game and it carries on through the games a different feeling.”
Joey Meneses had a bases-loaded two-run single to right field off Shawn Dubin in the fifth to make it 5-0. Nick Senzel hit his first home run of the season in the sixth to close out the scoring.
The Astros' tailspin continues, having lost five of their past six and nine of their past 12.
“It is not ideal in the situation that we are in but we are in this situation,” Espada said. “And we got to fight through this. We have guys in there who are capable of giving us innings and some of them are doing that. We are going back to playing the style of baseball that everyone sees the Astros play. We feel pretty good about the guys that we have in there to get us some good innings."
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros left-hander Framber Valdez threw again Sunday and has a chance of starting one of the games in Chicago his week. “We will see how he feels,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “Once we see how he feels, we will start talking about the possibilities if he can pitch in Chicago or not.”
Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz said he is about “90 percent” recovered from the flu that placed him on the 10-day injured list on April 12. Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Ruiz will go on a rehab assignment this week to play a couple of games before returning to the club.
UP NEXT
Houston travels to Chicago to begin a three-game series against the Cubs on Tuesday. Espada confirmed JP France and Justin Verlander will start two of the games, but did not specify the order. Spencer Arrighetti, who was called up for Javier, is an option for the opener.
Washington has a day off before hosting the L.A. Dodgers on Tuesday night. Left-hander Patrick Corbin (0-3, 8.06 ERA) faces the Dodgers for the second consecutive start.