THE SOCCER REPORT
Premier League race down to the wire; Racing Club win Superliga Argentina
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 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.
Week 5️⃣'s finest! // @Audi https://t.co/kIY3tRveNd— Major League Soccer (@Major League Soccer) 1554146459.0
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
Un grito de corazón: ¡RACING CAMPEÓN! ¡RACING CAMPEÓN! 🗣🎓🏆 ¡La Superliga es nuestra! ☝🏆 #SomosCampeones… https://t.co/pqlpG9g6lB— Racing Club 🏆 (@Racing Club 🏆) 1554075541.0
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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Through 20 games, the Houston Astros have managed just six wins and are in last place in the AL West.
Their pitching staff trails only Colorado with a 5.24 ERA and big-money new closer Josh Hader has given up the same number of earned runs in 10 games as he did in 61 last year.
Despite this, these veteran Astros, who have reached the AL Championship Series seven consecutive times, have no doubt they’ll turn things around.
“If there’s a team that can do it, it’s this team,” shortstop Jeremy Peña said.
First-year manager Joe Espada, who was hired in January to replace the retired Dusty Baker, discussed his team’s early struggles.
“It’s not ideal,” he said. “It’s not what we expected, to come out of the shoot playing this type of baseball. But you know what, this is where we’re at and we’ve got to pick it up and play better. That’s just the bottom line.”
Many of Houston’s problems have stemmed from a poor performance by a rotation that has been decimated by injuries. Ace Justin Verlander and fellow starter José Urquidy haven’t pitched this season because of injuries and lefty Framber Valdez made just two starts before landing on the injured list with a sore elbow.
Ronel Blanco, who threw a no-hitter in his season debut April 1, has pitched well and is 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA in three starts this season. Cristian Javier is also off to a good start, going 2-0 with a 1.54 ERA in four starts, but the team has won just two games not started by those two pitchers.
However, Espada wouldn’t blame the rotation for Houston’s current position.
“It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster how we've played overall,” he said. “One day we get good starting pitching, some days we don’t. The middle relief has been better and sometimes it hasn’t been. So, we’ve just got to put it all together and then play more as a team. And once we start doing that, we’ll be in good shape.”
The good news for the Astros is that Verlander will make his season debut Friday night when they open a series at Washington and Valdez should return soon after him.
“Framber and Justin have been a great part of our success in the last few years,” second baseman Jose Altuve said. “So, it’s always good to have those two guys back helping the team. We trust them and I think it’s going to be good.”
Hader signed a five-year, $95 million contract this offseason to give the Astros a shutdown 7-8-9 combination at the back end of their bullpen with Bryan Abreu and Ryan Pressly. But the five-time All-Star is off to a bumpy start.
He allowed four runs in the ninth inning of a 6-1 loss to the Braves on Monday night and has yielded eight earned runs this season after giving up the same number in 56 1/3 innings for San Diego last year.
He was much better Wednesday when he struck out the side in the ninth before the Astros fell to Atlanta in 10 innings for their third straight loss.
Houston’s offense, led by Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker, ranks third in the majors with a .268 batting average and is tied for third with 24 homers this season. But the Astros have struggled with runners in scoring position and often failed to get a big hit in close games.
While many of Houston’s hitters have thrived this season, one notable exception is first baseman José Abreu. The 37-year-old, who is in the second year of a three-year, $58.5 million contract, is hitting 0.78 with just one extra-base hit in 16 games, raising questions about why he remains in the lineup every day.
To make matters worse, his error on a routine ground ball in the eighth inning Wednesday helped the Braves tie the game before they won in extra innings.
Espada brushed off criticism of Abreu and said he knows the 2020 AL MVP can break out of his early slump.
“Because (of) history,” Espada said. “The back of his baseball card. He can do it.”
Though things haven’t gone well for the Astros so far, everyone insists there’s no panic in this team which won its second World Series in 2022.
Altuve added that he doesn’t have to say anything to his teammates during this tough time.
“I think they’ve played enough baseball to know how to control themselves and how to come back to the plan we have, which is winning games,” he said.
The clubhouse was quiet and somber Wednesday after the Astros suffered their third series sweep of the season and second at home. While not panicking about the slow start, this team, which has won at least 90 games in each of the last three seasons, is certainly not happy with its record.
“We need to do everything better,” third baseman Alex Bregman said. “I feel like we’re in a lot of games, but we just haven’t found a way to win them. And good teams find a way to win games. So we need to find a way to win games.”