THE SOCCER REPORT

Premier League race down to the wire; Racing Club win Superliga Argentina

Victor Araiza
Apr 2, 2019, 7:50 am
Houston Dynamo forward Alberth Elis was named to the MLS Team of the Week after his performance in the 4-1 win at Colorado. Credit: MLS

With international soccer finally concluded, at least until the summer, it's high speed ahead for clubs around the world as league titles, domestic cups and international club competitions start to reach the finish line.

English Premier League

Every goal from Premier League Matchweek 32 | NBC Sports www.youtube.com

This is where the big money begins to be earned in the Premier League. Liverpool's 2-1 win over Tottenham was the highlight of the weekend but also a big match in terms of the standings. The Reds move to the top spot, at least momentarily, while Tottenham's loss gave way for London rivals Arsenal to jump them for the third spot overall. Manchester United also continue in the top four race as Ole Gunnar Solskjær was named the permanent manager.

Top six: 1. Liverpool (79), 2. Manchester City (77), 3. Arsenal (63), 4. Tottenham (61), 5. Manchester United (61), 6. Chelsea (60)

Scoring leader: 19 - Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

Assists leader: 11 - Eden Hazard (Chelsea FC)

Spain's La Liga

All Goals Matchday 29 LaLiga Santander 2018/2019 www.youtube.com

Atletico Madrid Manager Diego Simeone said this week that they will fight till their last breath for the league despite it looking like the title has already been won by FC Barcelona. Atletico will have an opportunity, at least, to try to back that claim as the top two sides face off this coming weekend.

Top six: 1. FC Barcelona (69), 2. Atlético Madrid (59), 3. Real Madrid (57), 4. Getafe (46), 5. Alaves (44), 6. Valencia (43)

Scoring leader: 31 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)

Assists leader: 12 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)

German Bundesliga

This year's Bundesliga title will likely be decided this weekend when Dortmund and Bayern Munich face off in Der Klassiker. Dortmund helped their chances by winning this past Saturday but they will still have to fend off the defending champs as only two points separate the two most winning teams in Germany.

Top six: 1. Dortmund (63), 2. Bayern Munich (61), 3. RB Leipzig (52), 4. Eintracht Frankfurt (49), 5. Monchengladbach (47), 6. Werder Bremen (42)

Scoring leader: 19 - Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

Assists leader: 13 - Jadon Sancho (Dortumund)

Italian Serie A

Top six: 1. Juventus (78), 2. Napoli (63), 3. Inter Milan (53), 4. Milan (51), 5. Lazio (48), 6. Atalanta (48)

Scoring leader: 21- Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria)

Assists leader: 9 - Alejandro Gomez (Atalanta) / Dries Mertens (Napoli)

French Ligue 1

Top six: 1. PSG (80), 2. Lille (60), 3. Lyon (56), 4. Saint-Étienne (49), 5. Marseille (48), 6. Stade Reims (46)

Scoring leader: 27 - Kylian Mbappé (PSG)

Assists leader: 10 - Angel Di Maria (PSG)

Dutch Eredivisie

Top three: 1. PSV Eindhoven (67), 2. Ajax (65), 3. AZ Alkmaar (50)

Belgian First Division A

Championship Round: 1. Genk (35), 2. Club Brugge (31), 3. Standard Liege (30), 4. Anderlecht (26), 5. Antwerp (25), 6. Genk (25)

Portuguese Primeira Liga

Top three: 1. Benfica (66), 2. Porto (66), 3. Sporting CP (58)

Scottish Premier League

Top three: 1. Celtic (73), 2. Rangers (60), 3. Kilmarnock (54)

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Major League Soccer

A Panenka, A Chip, A Stunning Debut Steals the Show in Week 5 youtu.be

The Houston Dynamo are one of a handful of undefeated MLS teams through week five of the 2019 season. This past week stood out for the high margin of goals including LAFC's 5-0 win at San Jose Earthquakes, Sporting KC's 7-1 home win over Montreal Impact and the Dynamo's own 4-1 win away at Colorado Rapids. LAFC's Carlos Vela and D.C. United's Wayne Rooney both scored spectacular goals while LA Galaxy picked up three points thanks to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who returned to action after being out injured. Spanish newcomer Alejandro Pozuelo also stole the headlines to start the week after a scoring twice in Toronto's 4-0 win over NYCFC.

East top seven: 1. D.C. United (10), 2. Columbus Crew (10), 3. Toronto (9), 4. Philadelphia (7), 5. Cincinatti (7), 6. Montreal (6), 7. Orlando (5)

West top seven: 1. LAFC (13), 2. Seattle (10), 3. Houston (10), 4. FC Dallas (10), 5. LA Galaxy (9), 6. Sporting KC (7), 7. Minnesota (6)

Liga MX

Mejores Goles | Jornada 12 | LIGA Bancomer MX www.youtube.com

Top eight: 1. Leon (29), 2. Tigres UANL (26), 3. Monterrey (23), 4. Club America (22), 5. Necaxa (21), 6. Pachuca (20), 7. Cruz Azul (19), 8. Puebla (19)

Scoring leader: 11 - Angel Mena (Leon)

Assists leader: 8 - Angel Mena (Leon)

Superliga Argentina

After leading much of the league at the top of the standings, Racing Club de Avellaneda clinched the Argentine league title over the weekend with a 1-1 draw against Tigre. The result put the league out of reach for second place Defensa y Justicia, who Racing will actually host on Sunday in what could've been a game of higher stakes.

Top four: 1. Racing Club (56), 2. Defensa y Justicia (52), 3. Boca Juniors (50), 4. River Plate (45)

Scoring leader: 17 - Lisandro Lopez (Racing)

Assists leader: 9 - Walter Montillo (Tigre)

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Upcoming Matches (All Times CT):

Tuesday, Apr. 2

12:00 p.m. - [Serie A] AC Milan vs. Udinese (ESPN+)

12:30 p.m. - [La Liga] Atletico Madrid vs. Girona (beIN Sports)

1:45 p.m. - [Premier League] Wolves vs. Man United (NBC Sports)

2:00 p.m. - [Serie A] Cagliari vs. Juventus (ESPN+)

2:30 p.m. - [La Liga] Villarreal vs. Barcelona (beIN Sports)

7:30 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] Paranaense vs. Boca Juniors (beIN Sports)

9:15 p.m. - [Copa MX Semifinal] Club America vs. Tijuana (Univision Deportes)

Wednesday, Apr. 3

11:30 a.m. - [German Cup] Bayern Munich vs. Heidenheim (ESPNews, ESPN Deportes)

1:45 p.m. - [Premier League] Tottenham vs. Crystal Palace (NBC Sports)

2:00 p.m. - [Serie A] Genoa vs. Inter Milan (ESPN+)

2:00 p.m. - [French Cup Semifinal] PSG vs. Nantes (beIN Sports Connect)

2:30 p.m. - [La Liga] Valencia vs. Real Madrid (beIN Sports)

5:15 p.m. - [Copa Libertadores] Internacional vs. River Plate (beIN Sports)

9:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Tigres UANL vs. Santos Laguna (YahooSports.com, Univision Deportes)

Thursday, Apr. 4

11:30 a.m. - [Eredivisie] PSV vs. Zwolle (ESPN+)

1:30 p.m. - [Belgian League] Anderlecht vs. Brugge (B/R Live)

2:30 p.m. - [La Liga] Real Sociedad vs. Real Betis (beIN Sports)

8:00 p.m. - [International Friendly] U.S. Women's National Team vs. Australia (FS1)

9:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Monterrey vs. Sporting KC (YahooSports.com, Univision Deportes)

Friday, Apr. 5

1:30 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Mainz 05 vs. SC Freiburg (FS2)

2:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Southampton vs. Liverpool (NBC Sports)

Saturday, Apr. 6

9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Newcastle vs. Crystal Palace (NBC Sports)

9:15 a.m. - [La Liga] Real Madrid vs Eibar (beIN Sports)

11:30 a.m. - [Budesliga] Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund (FOX)

11:30 a.m. - [FA Cup Semifinal] Manchester City vs. Brighton and Hove Albion (ESPN+)

1:45 p.m. - [La Liga] FC Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid (beIN Sports)

2:00 p.m. - [MLS] D.C. United vs. LAFC (FOX)

Sunday, Apr. 7

8:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Everton vs. Arsenal (NBC Sports)

10:00 a.m. - [FA Cup Semifinal] Watford vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers (ESPN+)

2:00 p.m. - [MLS] FC Cincinnati vs. Sporting KC (ESPN)

8:00 p.m. - [International Friendly] U.S. Women's National Team vs. Belgium (ESPN2)

Monday, Apr. 8

2:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Chelsea vs. West Ham (NBC Sports)

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Houston's magic number stays at 2

Astros drop series finale to Mariners after rough start by Greinke

Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

With their magic number at 2 to secure their spot in the 2020 MLB postseason, the Astros returned to T-Mobile Park in Seattle for this three-game series' finale and rubber game. Here are the highlights from the game:

Final Score: Mariners 3, Astros 2.

Record: 28-28, second in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Nick Margevicius (2-3, 4.57 ERA)

Losing pitcher: Zack Greinke (3-3, 4.03 ERA).

Greinke unable to complete five innings

While the Astros were being held scoreless, the Mariners were putting up runs on Zack Greinke. They took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first with back-to-back singles followed by an RBI-double with one out. Greinke would stop the damage there, then looked to settle in over the next few frames.

He allowed just one baserunner in the second through fourth innings, a one-out single in the bottom of the fourth. Then, in the fifth, the Mariners would knock him out of the game by getting a one-out single that would come around to score on a two-out RBI-double, followed by an RBI-single to extend the lead to 3-0. Greinke faced one more batter, allowing a single before Dusty Baker would take the ball and move to the bullpen. His final line: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR, 92 P.

Astros try a late rally, come up short

On the other end, the Astros were unable to break through against Nick Margevicius, getting just one hit and two walks through the first four innings. They had a chance to get on the board in the top of the fifth, starting the inning with back-to-back singles before a walk loaded the bases with one out to turn the lineup over. They'd come up empty, though, with George Springer striking out before a long flyball to center by Jose Altuve to end the inning.

After finishing the fifth for Greinke, Andre Scrubb returned for a scoreless sixth, working around a one-out walk. Still 3-0, Blake Taylor took over on the mound in the bottom of the seventh, erasing a leadoff single and two-out walk to keep Seattle from extending their lead. Houston had another chance to score in the top of the eighth, getting two runners in scoring position, but again would strand them.

Cy Sneed was the next reliever out for the Astros, working around a two-out walk to send the game on to the ninth. The Astros would avoid the shutout, getting a two-RBI single by pinch-hitting Josh Reddick in the top of the ninth to make it a one-run game at 3-2. That's as close as they'd come, though, as the Mariners would eventually get the final out to take the series and keep the Astros' magic number stagnant at 2.


Up Next: There is one series left in the regular season for Houston, and it awaits them in Arlington with a four-game series against the Rangers, who are well eliminated from playoff contention. The first of the four games will start at 7:05 PM Central on Thursday with a pitching matchup of Lance Lynn (6-2, 2.53 ERA) for Texas and Cristian Javier (4-2, 3.33 ERA) for the Astros.

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