THE SOCCER REPORT
Soccer Recap: Messi, Rapinoe named Ballon d'Or winners, Liga MX playoffs down to four
Dec 3, 2019, 7:01 am
Lionel Messi is the only player to win six Ballon d'Or trophies. Credit: Getty Images
Messi wins record 6th Ballon d'Or, Rapinoe wins first
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.
English Premier League
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)
Spanish La Liga
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)
German Bundesliga
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)Italian Serie A
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)French Ligue 1
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)
Liga MX Playoffs
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:
- Club Leon 4-5 agg. Monarcas Morelia
- Queretaro 2-6 agg. Necaxa
- Santos Laguna 3-6 agg. Monterrey
- Club America 2-4 agg. Tigres UANL
Liga MX Femenil Playoffs
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.
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The Houston Astros placed right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. on the 15-day injured list with a sprained right foot Monday before his scheduled start against the Athletics.
The move, which is retroactive to Friday, comes after McCullers made seven starts this year in his return after missing two full seasons with various arm injuries.
Rookie right-hander Ryan Gusto will start in his place Monday as the AL West-leading Astros open a four-game series against the Athletics.
McCullers is 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA this season. He allowed four hits and four runs while striking out six in five innings of a 4-2 loss to the White Sox in his last start on Tuesday.
The injury to McCullers is the latest in a string of injuries to the Astros rotation. Houston starters Hayden Wesneski and Ronel Blanco are both out for the season after having Tommy John surgery and right-hander Spencer Arrighetti has been sidelined since April after breaking his right thumb in a batting practice mishap.
They also are missing right-handers Luis Garcia and Cristian Javier, who are both still recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The Astros recalled right-hander Jason Alexander from Triple-A Sugar Land to take his spot on the roster.