THE SOCCER REPORT
Soccer Recap: Champions League draw reveals Round of 16; MLS adds 30th team
Dec 17, 2019, 11:06 pm
Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus got a favorable encounter in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. Photo: adidas
The week in soccer has left plenty to talk about in domestic and international news. Wednesday will feature some important matches as Mexico's Monterrey faces England's Liverpool in the FIFA Club World Cup and FC Barcelona host Real Madrid in the most notorious rivalry in the sport, "El Clasico."
Major League Soccer announces Charlotte as 30th franchise
14 months. Get ready Charlotte. #CharlotteMLS2021 https://t.co/OpmmfH4rZZ— Bank of America Stadium (@Bank of America Stadium) 1576597264.0
Expansion is a recurring topic these days in MLS as more and more teams sign up to join the league. This time it's Dave Tepper, owner of the NFL's Carolina Panthers, who has ponied up a record $325 million expansion fee to join the largest first division league in the world (in terms of teams).
For the upcoming 2020 year, 26 teams will play in MLS - the league's 25th season. The league only had 12 teams total in 2006 when the Houston Dynamo debuted as the latest "expansion" side after relocating from San Jose. Twenty teams have joined the league since 2005.
UEFA Champions League Round of 16 pits Real Madrid vs. Man City
Round of 16 draw 🔥 Sum up your reaction with a GIF 📱 #UCLdraw https://t.co/fkdBCoX7v6— UEFA Champions League (@UEFA Champions League) 1576495463.0
The Round of 16 matchups for the UEFA Champions League knockout stage are set. The glaring series is between Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid and Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. Both sides are contenders every year because of the unlimited cash behind their squads but the storyline is the bout between Madrid and the former Barcelona manager. It will also be the first time Zidane and Guardiola meet as managers, both icons of their respective Spanish clubs.
Atletico Madrid versus defending champions Liverpool and Chelsea versus Bayern are also enticing matchups. Defensive Atleti will have a tall task against the heavy metal offense of Liverpool, who will return to Atleti's Wanda Metropolitano stadium - the site of the 2019 UCL final where Liverpool lifted their 6th title. Chelsea and Bayern will have a similar feel as Frank Lampard returns to the site of Chelsea's 2012 Champions League triumph.
Juventus, Tottenham and Barcelona look to be winners of the draw with favorable matchups in the Round of 16. The knockout stage begins in February.
UEFA Europa League Round of 32 announced
🔥 Round of 32 draw 🔥 Sum up your reaction with a GIF 📱 #UELdraw https://t.co/n9CYJkCFUz— UEFA Europa League (@UEFA Europa League) 1576499762.0
The draw for the Europa League was also held on Monday in Switzerland. England's Manchester United and Arsenal plus Italy's Inter Milan are among the favorites to win it all and grab the coveted Champions League entry for the 2020-21 edition.
U.S. Soccer Players of the Year named
NEWS: For the second time, Christian Pulisic has been voted as your @ussoccer Male Player of the Year. 👏👏 Congrats, @cpulisic_10! 🏆🏆— U.S. Soccer MNT (@U.S. Soccer MNT) 1576162771.0
No surprise, Pulisic was named the best male player for U.S. Soccer.
Julie Ertz was named U.S. Soccer Women's Player of the Year given after her performance in last summer's FIFA Women's World Cup. Megan Rapinoe was named Sports Illustrated's 2019 Sportsperson of the Year. The entire U.S. Women's National Team was named TIME Magazine's Athlete of the Year.
FIFA Club World Cup
The end of the year tournament to determine the Club World Champion is underway in Qatar. Flamengo defeated Al-Hilal on Tuesday in the semifinals. The Copa Libertadores champions now await the winner of Wednesday's bout between European Champions Liverpool and Concacaf Champions Monterrey.
European Roundup
English Premier League
Top six: 1. Liverpool (49), 2. Leicester City (39), 3. Man City (35), 4. Chelsea (29), 5. Tottenham (26), 6. Man Utd (25)
Bottom three (relegation): 18. Southampton (15), 19. Norwich City (12), 20. Watford (9)
Scoring leader: 16 - Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Assists leader: 9 - Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Spanish La Liga
Top six: 1. FC Barcelona (35), 2. Real Madrid (35), 3. Sevilla (31), 4. Getafe (30), 5. Atletico Madrid (29), 6. Real Sociedad (28)
Bottom three: 18. Celta Vigo (14), 19. Leganes (10), 20. Espanyol (10)
Scoring leader: 12 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) / Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Assists leader: 6 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) / Rodrigo (Valencia)
German Bundesliga
Updated after Tuesday, Dec. 17 results
Top six: 1. RB Leipzig (34), 2. Monchengladbach (31), 3. Dortmund (30), 4. Schalke 04 (28), 5. Bayern Munich (27), 6. Freiburg (25)
Bottom three: 16. Fortuna (12), 17. Cologne (11), 18. Paderborn (9)
Scoring leader: 18 - Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) / Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)
Assists leader: 10 - Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)
Italian Serie A
Updated after Tuesday, Dec. 17 results
Top six: 1. Inter Milan (39), 2. Juventus (39), 3. Lazio (36), 4. Roma (32), 5. Cagliari (29), 6. Atalanta (28)
Bottom three: 18. Brescia (13), 19. Genoa (11), 20. SPAL (7)
Scoring leader: 17 - Ciro Immobile (Lazio)
Assists leader: 11 - Luis Alberto (Lazio)French Ligue 1
Top four: 1. PSG (42), 2. Marseille (35), 3. Lille (31), 4. Rennes (30)
Bottom three: 18. Metz (16), 19. Nimes (12), 20. Toulouse (12)
Scoring leader: 11 - Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco)
Assists leader: 7 - Islam Slimani (Monaco) / Yoann Court (Brest)
TV listings (All Times CT):
Wednesday, December 18
11:30 a.m. - [FIFA Club World Cup] Liverpool FC vs. CF Monterrey (FS2, FOX Deportes)
11:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Bayer Leverkusen vs. Hertha Berlin (FOX Soccer Plus, TUDN)
11:30 a.m. - [Dutch Cup] Telstar vs. Ajax (GolTV)
11:55 a.m. - [Serie A] Sampdoria vs. Juventus (ESPN+)
1:00 p.m. - [La Liga] FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid (beIN Sports)
1:45 p.m. - [English League Cup] Everton vs. Leicester City (ESPN+)
1:45 p.m. - [English League Cup] Oxford vs. Manchester City (ESPN+)
2:00 p.m. - [English League Cup] Manchester United vs. Colchester (ESPN+)
Friday, December 20
1:30 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Hoffenheim vs. Borussia Dortmund (FS2, TUDN)
2:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Eibar vs. Granada (beIN SPORTS en Español)
Saturday, December 21
6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Everton vs. Arsenal (NBC Sports)
8:30 a.m. - [FIFA Club World Cup Third Place] Liverpool/Monterrey vs. Al Hilal (FS2, FOX Deportes)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Bayern Munich vs. VfL Wolfsburg (FS1)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] RB Leipzig vs. Augsburg (TUDN)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Norwich vs. Wolves (NBC Sports)
9:00 a.m. - [La Liga] Barcelona vs. Alaves (beIN Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Manchester City vs. Leicester City (NBC)
1:30 p.m. - [La Liga] Atletico Madrid vs. Osasuna (beIN SPORTS)
Sunday, December 22
6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Watford vs. Manchester United (NBC Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Tottenham vs. Chelsea (NBC Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [FIFA Club World Cup Final] Liverpool/Monterrey winner vs. Flamengo (FS2, FOX Deportes)
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
___________________________
*ChatGPT assisted.
Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!