THE SOCCER REPORT
Soccer Recap: Messi, Rapinoe named Ballon d'Or winners, Liga MX playoffs down to four
Dec 3, 2019, 7:01 am
THE SOCCER REPORT
Lionel Messi is back on top of the men's soccer pyramid as the "best in the world" after winning the famed Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball) award for the first time since 2015 - breaking a tie with Cristiano Ronaldo for most all-time with six. Ronaldo finished third in the 2019 voting with Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk finishing second.
In the women's category, USA forward Megan Rapinoe was named the winner ahead of England's Lucy Bronze and fellow USA teammate Alex Morgan. It is only the second year that a Women's Ballon d'Or is awarded.
The Ballon d'Or has been awarded since 1956 by France Football magazine and is considered the standard for recognizing the world's best player, even over FIFA's annual Player of the Year award.
Top six: 1. Liverpool (40), 2. Leicester City (32), 3. Man City (29), 4. Chelsea (26), 5. Tottenham (20), 6. Wolves (20)
Bottom three (relegation): 18. Southampton (12), 19. Norwich City (11), 20. Watford (8)
Scoring leader: 13 - Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Assists leader: 9 - Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Top six: 1. FC Barcelona (31), 2. Real Madrid (31), 3. Sevilla (30), 4. Real Sociedad (26), 5. Athletic Bilbao (26), 6. Atletico Madrid (25)
Bottom three: 18. Celta Vigo (13), 19. Espanyol (9), 20. Leganes (6)
Scoring leader: 10 - Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Assists leader: 5 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Top six: 1. Monchengladbach (28), 2. RB Leipzig (27), 3. Schalke 04 (25), 4. Bayern Munich (24), 5. Dortmund (23), 6. Freiburg (22)
Bottom three: 16. Hertha Berlin (11), 17. Cologne (8), 18. Paderborn (5)
Scoring leader: 16 - Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Assists leader: 8 - Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)Top six: 1. Inter Milan (37), 2. Juventus (36), 3. Lazio (30), 4. Cagliari (28), 5. Roma (28), 6. Atalanta (25)
Bottom three: 18. Genoa (10), 19. SPAL (9), 20. Brescia (7)
Scoring leader: 17 - Ciro Immobile (Lazio)
Assists leader: 9 - Luis Alberto (Lazio)Top four: 1. PSG (33), 2. Marseille (28), 3. Angers (24), 4. Bordeaux (23)
Bottom three: 18. Dijon (15), 19. Nimes (12), 20. Tolouse (12)
Scoring leader: 10 - Moussa Dembele (Lyon)
The playoffs stage in Mexican football kicked off with the quarter-finals, a round in which all top four seeds feel over the two-leg series.
Quarterfinal results:
The final of the female Liga MX division kicked off it's two leg series with a 1-1 draw between Monterrey rivals Tigres UANL and Rayadas in front of a league-record 41,615 attendance. The return leg is scheduled for Saturday, December 7 at Estadio BBVA.
Cam Smith hit an RBI single in the eighth inning to give the Houston Astros a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.
CAM SMITH COMES THROUGH! #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/Y6dtPpXF9J
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 26, 2025
The rookie's second hit of the game came off Orion Kerkering (5-3) and gave the Astros their fourth straight win.
Brandon Marsh tied the game on a sacrifice fly in the top of the inning to end the Phillies' 26-inning scoreless streak.
The Astros took a 1-0 lead on Yainer Diaz’s RBI single in the second inning. They only managed three more hits off Phillies starter Christopher Sanchez, who struck out 11 with zero walks over six innings. Sanchez has not issued a walk in three straight starts.
Hunter Brown lowered his league best ERA to 1.74 by scattering three singles over seven shutout innings, with nine strikeouts. He did not allow a runner to reach second base.
FULL THROTTLE.
Hunter Brown now leads the MLB in lowest ERA (1.74). #BuiltForFuel pic.twitter.com/nkwT2MpgJQ
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 26, 2025
Bryan Abreu (3-3) struck out Trea Turner to end the eighth, and then struck out Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm, and Nick Castellanos in the ninth.
Abreu joined Julia Morales after the game and talked about his impressive performance!
🧹🧹🧹
After the @Astros completed their sweep of the Phillies, @JuliaMorales visited with Bryan Abreu!#BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/UeOOSNDKwW
— Space City Home Network (@SpaceCityHN) June 26, 2025
Rafael Marchán had two of the Phillies' four hits. Bryson Stott reached base twice and scored the Phillies' lone run.
Smith’s RBI.
Brown’s 1.74 ERA is the fourth best in Astros history through 16 starts and the best since Justin Verlander posted a 1.60 ERA through 16 starts in 2018.
The Astros open a three-game series against the Cubs on Friday with LHP Brandon Walter (0-1 3.80 ERA) on the mound.
The Phillies open a three-game series at the Braves on Friday with RHP Mick Abel (2-1 3.47 ERA) against Atlanta RHP Bryce Elder (2-4 4.77).