THE SOCCER REPORT

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

Premier League race down to the wire; Racing Club win Superliga Argentina
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 Sportswww.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 2018/2019www.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 5youtu.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 MXwww.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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The Astros beat the Royals, 7-3. Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images.

Yordan Alvarez’s long home run backed a solid start by Hunter Brown as the Houston Astros beat the Kansas City Royals 7-3 on Sunday in the series finale to avoid being swept.

Alvarez snapped Houston’s 26-inning scoreless streak, crushing Kris Bubic’s sinker 436 feet to center for a three-run homer and a 3-0 Astros lead in the third inning.

Brown (4-1), who allowed one run on seven hits and a walk with nine strikeouts over six innings, surrendered a lone hit in each of the first four innings but struck out seven while not allowing a runner past second.

Brown’s 28-inning shutout streak – fifth longest in franchise history – ended in the fifth inning on a two-out single by Jonathan India and an RBI double by Bobby Witt Jr.

Leading off the fifth, Chas McCormick doubled and scored on Jeremy Peña’s single. McCormick had three hits and scored three runs for the Astros.

Peña’s two-out, two-run double in the sixth extended Houston’s lead to 6-1. Peña collected three RBIs in his first game batting leadoff.

Yainer Diaz added a solo home run in the seventh.

Bubic (2-2) allowed four runs on five hits and three walks, striking out four in five innings.

India had a pair of singles and drove in a run while Witt extended his hitting streak to a career-best 19 games.

Key moment

Isaac Paredes drew a four-pitch walk ahead of Alvarez’s three-run blast.

Key stat

Alvarez, who led left-handed major leaguers with a .362 average against left-handed pitchers in 2024, hit his first homer of this season against a left-hander.

Up next

The Astros open a three-game homestand Monday against Detroit with Tigers RHP Jack Flaherty (1-2, 2.63 ERA) opposing RHP Ronel Blanco (2-2, 5.01).

Tuesday, the Royals begin a three-game series against the Rays in Tampa with Royals RHP Michael Lorenzen (2-3, 3.90) against RHP Taj Bradley (2-1, 5.08).

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