THE SOCCER REPORT
Soccer Recap: Liverpool win FIFA Club World Cup, Dynamo eye Liga MX goalkeeper
Dec 24, 2019, 7:40 am
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Saleh/Liverpool
The year may be winding down but the soccer schedule sure isn't. The Premier League will have the spotlight for Boxing Day while a new Liga MX champion will be crowned. Below is a list of upcoming matches plus a review of the past week in the world's most popular sport.
Liverpool FC conquer first Club World Cup title
European Champions Liverpool joined the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup with a 2-1 win in stoppage time over Concacaf Champions Monterrey in the semifinal midweek. They would close out the deal with an extra time 1-0 win over South American Champions Flamengo. Brazilian forward Roberto Firmino was the hero with the late goals in both of the matches.
Monterrey defeated Asian Champions Al-Hilal 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the third place match. Monterrey now returns to Mexico with their sights set on the Liga MX final for the Apertura 2019 season.
Liga MX talent continues immigration to MLS
Officially official. #Crew96 x @Lucazelarayan31 https://t.co/5ceL6unfyE— Columbus Crew SC (@Columbus Crew SC) 1576862798.0
Lucas Zelarayan was the latest name this week to go from a Liga MX club to Major League Soccer this offseason. The former Tigres UANL midfielder joins Columbus Crew on a reported $8 million transfer fee.
Other Liga MX to MLS moves this offseason:
- Alan Pulido - CD Guadalajara to Sporting Kansas City (~ $9.5 million)
- Lucas Cavalini - Puebla to Vancouver Whitecaps FC ($6 million)
Among the transfer season hot stove between the two leagues are the Houston Dynamowho have shown interest in former U.S. Men's National Team goalkeeper William Yarbrough, a two-time Liga MX champion with Club Leon. The move would reunite the Mexican-born goalie with new Dynamo coach Tab Ramos, a former USMNT assistant under Jurgen Klinsmann.
ESPN 97.5 FM host Glenn Davis has confirmed interest in the player by the Houston club, citing transfer fee negotiations as the "final hurdle." The Athletic's Jeff Reuter has added that a loan deal could be a possibility.
European Roundup
English Premier League
Top six: 1. Liverpool (49), 2. Leicester City (39), 3. Man City (38), 4. Chelsea (32), 5. Sheffield Utd (28), 6. Wolves (27)
Bottom three (relegation): 18. Aston Villa (15), 19. Norwich City (12), 20. Watford (12)
Scoring leader: 17 - Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Assists leader: 10 - Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Spanish La Liga
Top six: 1. FC Barcelona (39), 2. Real Madrid (37), 3. Sevilla (34), 4. Atletico Madrid (32), 5. Real Sociedad (31), 6. Getafe (30)
Bottom three: 18. Celta Vigo (14), 19. Leganes (13), 20. Espanyol (10)
Scoring leader: 13 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Assists leader: 6 - Four players tied
German Bundesliga
Top six: 1. RB Leipzig (37), 2. Monchengladbach (35), 3. Bayern Munich (33), 4. Dortmund (30), 5. Schalke 04 (30), 6. Bayer 04 (28)
Bottom three: 16. Fortuna (15), 17. Werder Bremen (14), 18. Paderborn (12)
Scoring leader: 19 - Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Assists leader: 11 - Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)
Italian Serie A
Top six: 1. Inter Milan (42), 2. Juventus (42), 3. Lazio (36), 4. Roma (35), 5. Atalanta (31), 6. Cagliari (29)
Bottom three: 18. Brescia (14), 19. SPAL (12), 20. Genoa (11)
Scoring leader: 17 - Ciro Immobile (Lazio)
Assists leader: 11 - Luis Alberto (Lazio)
French Ligue 1
Top four: 1. PSG (45), 2. Marseille (38), 3. Rennes (33), 4. Lille (31)
Bottom three: 18. Amiens (17), 19. Nimes (12), 20. Toulouse (12)
Scoring leader: 13 - Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco)
Assists leader: 7 - Three players tied
TV listings (All Times CT):
Thursday, December 26
6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Tottenham vs. Brighton (NBC Sports)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Bournemouth vs. Arsenal (NBC Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Manchester United vs. Newcastle (NBC Sports)
2:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Leicester vs. Liverpool (NBC Sports)
7:30 p.m. - [Liga MX Final - 1st leg] Monterrey vs. Club America (FS1, FOX Deportes)
Friday, December 27
1:45 p.m. - [Premier League] Wolves vs. Manchester City (NBC Sports)
Saturday, December 28
6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Brighton vs. Bournemouth (NBC Sports)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Newcastle vs. Everton (NBC Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Norwich vs. Tottehnam (NBC)
1:45 p.m. - [Premier League] Burnley vs. Manchester United (NBC)
Saturday, December 29
8:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Arsenal vs. Chelsea (NBC Sports)
10:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Liverpool vs. Wolves (NBC Sports)
7:00 p.m. - [Liga MX Final - 2nd leg] Club America vs. Monterrey (Univision, TUDN)
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Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a tiebreaking two-run homer for his first major league hit, and the Chicago Cubs swept the Houston Astros with a 3-1 victory on Thursday.
Nico Hoerner had three hits and Mike Tauchman went 1 for 1 with three walks as Chicago won for the fourth time in five games. Hayden Wesneski (2-0) pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings for the win in relief of Javier Assad.
Houston has lost a season-high five straight and eight of nine overall. At 7-19, it is off to its worst 26-game start since it was 6-20 in 1969.
First-year manager Joe Espada was ejected by plate umpire Jansen Visconti in the top of ninth.
Crow-Armstrong was recalled from Triple-A Iowa when Cody Bellinger was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with two fractured ribs. The 22-year-old outfielder, who is considered one of the team’s top prospects, made his big league debut last year and went 0 for 14 while appearing in 13 games.
He picked a perfect time for his first major league hit.
Houston had a 1-0 lead before Dansby Swanson scampered home on a fielder’s choice grounder for Miguel Amaya in the sixth.
Espada then replaced Rafael Montero with Bryan Abreu, who threw a wild pitch with Crow-Armstrong trying to sacrifice Amaya to second. Crow-Armstrong then drove his next pitch deep to right, delighting the crowd of 29,876 at Wrigley Field.