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)
The Houston Texans addressed their most glaring needs by selecting offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery and a pair of Iowa State receivers in the NFL draft.
“The idea was to try to add good players, good people that are young, tough, hungry, that want to win, that put the team first,” general manager Nick Caserio said. “These picks exemplify that.”
The Texans got players that could help them quickly despite not picking in the first round for a second straight season. They didn’t have a first-round pick last year because of trades, including the one to move up and get defensive end Will Anderson with the third overall pick in the 2023 draft.
This season they shipped the 25th overall pick to the Giants on Thursday in exchange for several picks.
Their first selection in this draft was receiver Jayden Higgins, who was taken with the second pick of the second round. They added Ersery later in the second round with the 48th overall selection and picked up Higgins’ teammate Jaylin Noel in the third round.
Ersery could be Houston’s left tackle of the future after the offseason trade of five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Ersery started 38 games at left tackle over three seasons at Minnesota where he was a third-team All-American last season.
He comes to Houston to help shore up a line that allowed C.J. Stroud to be sacked 52 times last season, which was the second most in the NFL.
The Texans added veteran tackle Cam Robinson this offseason and Ersery will compete with him to protect Stroud’s blind side as the Texans attempt to reach the playoffs for a third straight season under coach DeMeco Ryans.
The 6-foot-6, 331-pound Ersery, who was the Big Ten’s Offensive Lineman of the Year last season, can’t wait to play with Stroud.
“C.J. Stroud is a baller,” Ersery said. “I’m so honored to be a guy to help out and come in and help protect him. I’m just super stoked and I know I’m going to a great organization.”
Cyclones teammates
Higgins and Noel join the Texans to add more depth at receiver to complement star Nico Collins with Tank Dell recovering from a serious knee injury and Stefon Diggs gone to the Patriots.
Higgins, who has been compared to Collins, had 87 receptions for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns last season for the Cyclones and Noel added 80 catches for 1,194 yards and eight scores.
After Higgins was drafted, Noel never imagined he’d be heading to Houston, too. He shared on social media a fortune he received from a Chinese restaurant that read: “Look forward to an unplanned reunion with an out-of-touch friend.”
Noel later shared his feelings about joining Higgins on the roster.
“I was surprised,” Noel said. “But they’ve seen that 1-2 punch all year. They’re going to be very happy with those selections for sure.”
Caserio said a talk with Iowa State coach Matt Campbell on Friday helped him make his final decisions on the receivers.
“He was effusive in his… belief and praise of both Higgins and Noel,” Caserio said.
The Texans now have three receivers from Iowa State on their roster after drafting Xavier Hutchinson in the sixth round in 2023.
Overcoming obstacles
Ersery and his four siblings were raised by a single mother and experienced homelessness when he was a child despite her working multiple jobs. He is thrilled to have put those struggles behind him as he embarks on his next chapter.
“I’ve got that hardworking mentality from her,” he said. “So, growing up times were tough but now I’ve got my foot in the door and I look forward to trying to change some things around.”
Caserio loves guys with work ethic like Ersery’s and said that’s one reason why they believe he’ll fit in with the Texans.
“If you come in and put your head down and work and just get better, take advantage of your opportunities, you’re going to have a shot to have success and do a lot of good things for the organization,” he said.
What’s in a name?
Along with Noel, the Texans added another Jaylin in this draft with they picked USC cornerback Jaylin Smith in the third round.
“We got Jaylins, and we got all these guys around. It’s going to be hard to keep them straight,” Caserio joked on Friday after they picked Smith.
Then on Saturday, the Texans added another player with the same name, albeit with a different spelling, when they took Penn State safety Jaylen Reed in the sixth round.
That gives them four players with the same name and three different spellings as the three rookies join starting safety Jalen Pitre on the team.
Doubling up
Along with drafting two players from Iowa State, the Texans also added a pair of players from Southern California when they picked running back Woody Marks in the fourth round after drafting Smith in the third.
Marks ran for a career-high 1,133 yards with nine touchdowns for the Trojans last season after transferring from Mississippi State.
Be sure to watch the video below as NFL.com Draft Analyst Lance Zierlein shares his thoughts on all the Texans' picks!