THE SOCCER REPORT

Soccer Recap: Flamengo champions of South America, Man City comeback vs. Chelsea

Soccer Recap: Flamengo champions of South America, Man City comeback vs. Chelsea
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Manchester City

Copa Libertadores Final

Brazilian club Flamengo defeated Argentina's River Plate to claim the 2019 Copa Libertadores, the continental championship of South America. It is the second Libertadores in the club's history and first since 1981. River Plate held a 1-0 lead for 89 minutes before Gabriel Barbosa struck twice in the 89th minute and in second half stoppage time to turn the game on its head. Flamengo will represent CONMEBOL, the South American confederation, in December's FIFA Club World Cup.

The match was the first one-game final in the tournament's history and took place in Lima, Peru - moved from its original setting of Santiago, Chile due to the ongoing protests.

AFC Champions League

Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal claimed their third AFC Champions League title with a 2-1 aggregate win over Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds. Former MLS MVP Sebastian Giovinco won Man of the Match honors for Al-Hilal, who now head to December's FIFA Club World Cup.

English Premier League

Top six: 1. Liverpool (37), 2. Leicester City (29), 3. Man City (28), 4. Chelsea (26), 5. Arsenal (19), 6. Sheffield Utd (18)

Bottom three (relegation): 18. Norwich City (10), 19. Southampton (9), 20. Watford (8)

Scoring leader: 12 - Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)

Assists leader: 9 - Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)

Spanish La Liga

Top six: 1. FC Barcelona (28), 2. Real Madrid (28), 3. Sevilla (27), 4. Atletico Madrid (25), 5. Athletic Bilbao (23), 6. Real Sociedad (23)

Bottom three: 18. Celta Vigo (12), 19. Espanyol (9), 20. Leganes (6)

Scoring leader: 10 - Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

Assists leader: 5 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)

German Bundesliga

Top six: 1. Monchengladbach (25), 2. RB Leipzig (24), 3. Bayern Munich (24), 4. Freiburg (22), 5. Schalke 04 (22), 6. Dortmund (20)

Bottom three: 16. Fortuna (11), 17. Cologne (7), 18. Paderborn (5)

Scoring leader: 16 - Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

Assists leader: 7 - Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)

Italian Serie A

Top six: 1. Juventus (35), 2. Inter Milan (34), 3. Lazio (27), 4. Cagliari (25), 5. Roma (25), 6. Atalanta (22)

Bottom three: 18. Genoa (10), 19. SPAL (9), 20. Brescia (7)

Scoring leader: 15 - Ciro Immobile (Lazio)

Assists leader: 9 - Luis Alberto (Lazio)

French Ligue 1

Top four: 1. PSG (33), 2. Marseille (25), 3. Angers (24), 4. Bordeaux (22)

Bottom three: 18. Metz (14), 19. Tolouse (12), 20. Nimes (11)

Scoring leader: 10 - Moussa Dembele (Lyon)

Assists leader: 7 - Islam Slimani (Monaco) / Yoann Court (Brest)

Liga MX

Liga MX Femenil

TV listings (All Times CT):

Tuesday, November 26

11:55 a.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Lokomotiv Moscow vs. Bayer Leverkusen (TNT, UniMas, TUDN)

11:55 a.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Galatasaray vs. Brugge (Galavision)

2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Real Madrid vs. PSG (TNT, UniMas, TUDN)

2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Juventus vs. Atletico Madrid (Galavision)

Wednesday, November 27

11:55 a.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Valencia vs. Chelsea (TNT, UniMas, TUDN)

11:55 a.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Zenit vs. Lyon (Galavision)

2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] FC Barcelona vs. Dortmund (UniMas, TUDN)

2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Liverpool vs. Napoli (TNT, Galavision)

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How Astros' latest message to fans has sparked a backlash

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The Thunder beat the Rockets, 111-96. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

It was midway through the third quarter of the Oklahoma City-Houston NBA Cup semifinal matchup on Saturday night. Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just made a short jumper in the lane and, to his delight, a time-out was immediately called.

He needed it.

He retreated to midcourt, crouched down, propped himself up by his fingertips and took deep breath after deep breath. It was that sort of night. And given the way the Rockets and Thunder have defended all season long, such a game was predictable.

In the end, it was Oklahoma City 111, Houston 96 in a game where the teams combined to shoot 41%. The immediate reward for the Thunder: two days off to recover. The bigger reward: a matchup with Milwaukee on Tuesday night for the NBA Cup, with more than $300,000 per player the difference between winning and losing.

“That's what defense does for you,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, whose team has held opponents to 41% shooting or worse a league-best 11 times this season — and is 11-0 in those games. “It keeps you in games.”

The Rockets-Thunder semifinal was basketball, with elements of football, rugby, hockey and probably even some wrestling thrown in. It wasn't unusual. It's how they play: defense-first, tough, gritty, physical.

They are the two top teams in the NBA in terms of field-goal percentage defense — Oklahoma City came in at 42.7%, Houston at 43.4% — and entered the night as two of the top three in scoring defense. Orlando led entering Saturday at 103.7 per game, Oklahoma City was No. 2 at 103.8, Houston No. 3 at 105.9. (The Thunder, by holding Houston to 96, passed the Magic for the top spot on Saturday.)

Houston finished 36.5% from the field, its second-worst showing of the season. When the Rockets shoot 41% or better, they're 17-4. When they don't, they're 0-5.

“Sometimes it comes down to making shots,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Especially in the first half, we guarded well enough. ... But you put a lot of pressure on your defense when you're not making shots.”

Even though scoring across the NBA is down slightly so far this season, about a point per game behind last season's pace and two points from the pace of the 2022-23 season, it's still a golden age for offense in the league. Consider: Boston scored 51 points in a quarter earlier this season.

Saturday was not like most games. The halftime score: Rockets 42, Thunder 41. Neither team crossed the 50-point mark until Dillon Brooks' 3-pointer for Houston gave the Rockets a 51-45 lead with 8:46 left in the third quarter.

Brooks is generally considered one of the game's tougher defenders. Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the game's best scorers. They're teammates on Canada's national team, and they had some 1-on-1 moments on Saturday.

“It's fun. It makes you better,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That's what this league is about, competing against the best in the world and defensively, he is that for sure. And I like to think that of myself offensively. He gives me a chance to really see where I'm at, a good test. I'd say I handled it pretty well.”

Indeed he did. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 32 points, the fifth instance this season of someone scoring that many against the Rockets. He's done it twice, and the Thunder scored 70 points in the second half to pull away.

“We knew that if we kept getting stops we would give ourselves a chance,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And we did so.”

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