On the Pitch
Soccer Recap: MLS is back, Lionel Messi scores 600th career goal
Mar 6, 2018, 8:38 am
The 2018 MLS season kicked off on Saturday, including a nationally televised encounter between the Houston Dynamo and Atlanta United. Courtesy photo
There was plenty of soccer action last week throughout the world’s leagues. Stars like Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Mohamed Salah can’t stop scoring while, on this side of the pond, international competition is in full swing with the CONCACAF Champions League and Copa Libertadores. This was the week in soccer:
English Premier League
Manchester City only needed one goal to defeat Chelsea, and are 16 points clear of rivals Manchester United. The Red Devils meanwhile outlasted Crystal Palace to come away with a 3-2 win. Brighton and Hove stunned Arsenal in a 2-1 home win, bringing up the talk of Arsene Wenger’s job back into the mainstream media. Burnley, Swansea, Tottenham, Watford, and Liverpool were the other winners of the weekend. Mohamed Salah scored in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Newcastle to pull even with Harry Kane (24) atop the golden boot table.
Top 5: Manchester City (78), Manchester United (62), Liverpool (60), Tottenham (58), Chelsea (53)
La Liga
FC Barcelona all but officially clinched their 25th La Liga title with a 1-0 home win over Atletico de Madrid. Separated by five points entering the day, Atletico needed a win to pull within two points of Barça and realistically keep their title hopes alive. The difference in the match was a masterful free kick taken by Lionel Messi, marking the 600th professional goal scored by the 30-year-old for club and country.
Real Madrid won 3-1 over Getafe with a brace by Cristiano Ronaldo, with the other goal coming from Gareth Bale. Valencia stays in 4th with a 2-0 win over Real Betis and Sevilla jumps back into the top five with a 2-0 home win of their own against Athletic Bilbao.
Top 5: FC Barcelona (69), Atletico Madrid (61), Real Madrid (54), Valencia (53), Sevilla (45)
Bundesliga
FC Bayern Munich continued their dominance with a 4-0 win over Freiburg - extending their run to 16 unbeaten in all competitions. Schalke moves up to second place with a 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin. Leipzig and Dortmund shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw and Frankfurt won 1-0 over Hannover 96. Bayer Leverkusen is fifth, they picked up a 2-1 road win at Wolfsburg.
Top 5: Bayern Munich (63), Schalke 04 (43), Borussia Dortmund (42), Eintracht Frankfurt (42), Bayer Leverkusen (41)
Ligue 1
Angel Di Maria led the way as leaders PSG won 2-0 at Troyes to extend their insurmountable lead at the top of the French league. Monaco remains in second place with a 2-1 home win over Bordeaux. Marseille drew 1-1 with Nates, Lyon did the same at Montpellier and Rennes took advantage of those two results to jump up to fifth with a 2-0 win at Amiens SC.
Top 5: Paris Saint-Germain (74), Monaco (60), Marseille (56), Lyon (51), Rennes (41)
Serie A
Only three matches took place this week before the rest were postponed. Fiorentina captain Davide Astori was found dead in his hotel room on Sunday, leaving many in Italy shocked. All of Sunday’s matches in Serie A were postponed. Clubs will pay respect with a moment of silence in this week’s Champions League and Europa League matches.
Of the encounters that took place on Saturday, SPAL picked up three points at Bologna, Paulo Dybala led Juventus to a win at Lazio and Roma picked up a 4-2 win at leaders Napoli.
Top 5: Napoli (69), Juventus (68), Roma (53), Lazio (52), Inter Milan (51)
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CONCACAF Champions League
The round of 16 has concluded and the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League is down to eight teams: Club America, Guadalajara, New York Red Bulls, Seattle Sounders FC, Tauro FC, Tigres UANL, Tijuana and Toronto FC. America, Guadalajara, and Toronto defended their first leg leads while Red Bulls and Tigres took care of business at home after tying in their opening matches. Tijuana drew at home but went through because of their away win in the first leg. Seattle Sounders overturned a one-goal deficit with an emphatic 4-0 home win over Santa Tecla. The biggest surprise was FC Dallas, who could not overturn a 1-0 first leg loss with their 3-2 home win, eliminated by Panamanian side Tauro FC on away goals.
The quarterfinals begin on Tuesday night with the first legs and will conclude with the second legs next week. There are three MLS vs. Liga MX matchups with Tijuana vs. NY Red Bulls, Seattle Sounders FC vs. Guadalajara and Toronto FC vs. Tigres.
Major League Soccer
The 2018 MLS season got underway on Saturday and there were plenty of surprises. Columbus Crew won the opening match 2-0 at defending champion Toronto FC. In Houston, the Dynamo had the win secured after the first 27 minutes - scoring four goals in the entire first half - as they beat Atlanta United 4-0 at home. LAFC won their inaugural match in a 1-0 road win at Seattle. Philadelphia, Vancouver, New York City FC and LA Galaxy also started matchday one with wins.
The Dynamo’s Alberth Elis and Philippe Senderos made MLSsoccer.com’s Team of the Week and Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera earned Coach of the Week honors. Houston is back at home on Saturday as they welcome Vancouver Whitecaps FC to BBVA Compass Stadium (5:00 p.m.).
Liga MX
Matchday 10 in Liga MX was highlighted by the nation’s biggest rivalry - Club America at Club Deportivo Guadalajara. The Clásico Nacional ended in a 1-1 draw with Jose de Jesus Godinez (Chivas) and Oribe Peralta (America) trading goals in the first half. Santos Laguna took advantage of that result to jump to the top of the standings after a 2-1 win at Necaxa. Leon got back to winning with a 3-0 home win in which Landon Donovan made another appearance in the last minutes. Tijuana, Morelia, Queretaro, Puebla, Toluca and Tigres UANL also picked up three points this week.
Off the field, an announcement was made Friday confirming reports that relegation would be paused. While this season will be unaffected, there will not be relegation in Liga MX for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons - allowing the league to expand to 20 total teams. The clubs earning promotion must meet certain financial and stadium requirements. On top of that, Mexican Soccer Federation President Decio De Maria announced he will step down following the 2018 FIFA World Cup and former Club America President Yon De Luisa will replace him.
Top 5: Santos Laguna (20), Club America (18), Toluca (18), Tigres (15), Puebla (17)
Copa Libertadores
It was not a good start for South American powerhouses as the Copa Libertadores group stage got underway. Brazilian giant Santos lost 2-0 in Peru to Real Garcilaso while Argentina’s Independiente - the winningest club in Libertadores with 7 titles - was humbled 1-0 at Venezuelan club Deportivo Lara. Boca Juniors was held scoreless at Alianza Lima. Delfin-Bolivar and Santa Fe vs. Emelec both ended in 1-1 draws while Palmeiras won 3-0 at Junior.
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SheBelieves Cup
Top international sides in Women’s soccer are fighting for bragging rights in the 2018 SheBelieves Cup. On Thursday, England defeated France 4-1 while the USA defeated Germany 1-0 in Columbus. On Sunday, the cup resumed in New Jersey where USA and France drew 1-1 while Germany tied 2-2 with England. The competition concludes Wednesday as France faces Germany and USA hosts England in Orlando. France is the defending champion but will need a win and help to repeat, the U.S. women won the inaugural tournament two years ago.
Upcoming matches (All Times CT):
Tuesday, Mar. 6:
1:45 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Paris Saint Germain vs. Real Madrid (FS1)
1:45 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Liverpool vs. Porto (FS2)
7:00 p.m. - [CONCACAF Champions League] Club America vs. Tauro FC (go90/Univision Deportes)
9:00 p.m. - [CONCACAF Champions League] Tijuana vs. New York Red Bulls (go90/Univision Deportes)
Wednesday, Mar. 7:
1:45 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Tottenham vs. Juventus (FS1)
1:45 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Manchester City vs. FC Basel (FS2)
6:00 p.m. - [SheBelieves Cup] USWNT vs. England (ESPNews)
7:00 p.m. - [CONCACAF Champions League] Toronto FC vs. Tigres UANL (go90/Univision Deportes)
9:00 p.m. - [CONCACAF Champions League] Seattle Sounders FC vs. Guadalajara (go90/Univision Deportes)
Thursday, Mar. 8:
12:00 p.m. - [Europa League] A.C. Milan vs. Arsenal (FS2)
2:00 p.m. - [Europa League] RB Leipzig vs. Zenit (FS2)
Friday, Mar. 9:
1:30 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Mainz vs. Schalke 04 (FS2)
1:45 p.m. - [Serie A] AS Roma vs. Torino (beIN Sports)
Saturday, Mar. 10:
6:00 a.m. - [La Liga] Eibar vs. Real Madrid (beIN Sports)
6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Manchester United vs. Liverpool (NBC Sports)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Bayern Munich vs. Hamburg (FS1)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Hannover vs. Augsburg (FS2)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Newcastle vs. Southampton (NBC Sports)
10:00 a.m. - [Ligue 1] Paris Saint-Germain vs. Metz (beIN Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace (NBC Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Leverkusen vs. Monchengladbach (FS2)
1:45 p.m. - [La Liga] Malaga vs. FC Barcelona (beIN SPORTS)
2:30 p.m. - [MLS] Real Salt Lake vs. LAFC (Univision)
Sunday, Mar. 11:
8:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Arsenal vs. Watford (NBC Sports)
9:00 a.m. - [Serie A] Juventus vs. Udinese (beIN Sports)
9:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Stuttgart vs. RB Leipzig (FS1)
11:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Bournemouth vs. Tottenham (NBC Sports)
12:00 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Dortmund vs. Frankfurt (FS1)
2:00 p.m. - [MLS] Atlanta United vs. D.C. United (ESPN)
2:45 p.m. - [Serie A] Inter Milan vs. Napoli (beIN Sports)
Monday, Mar. 12:
3:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Stoke City vs. Manchester City (NBC Sports)
3:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Alaves vs. Real Betis (beIN Sports)
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A lockout appears unavoidable! Photo via: Wiki Commons.
Looming over baseball is a likely lockout in December 2026, a possible management push for a salary cap and perhaps lost regular-season games for the first time since 1995.
“No one’s talking about it, but we all know that they’re going to lock us out for it, and then we’re going to miss time,” New York Mets All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso said Monday at the All-Star Game. “We’re definitely going to fight to not have a salary cap and the league’s obviously not going to like that.”
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and some owners have cited payroll disparity as a problem, while at the same time MLB is working to address a revenue decline from regional sports networks. Unlike the NFL, NBA and NHL, baseball has never had a salary cap because its players staunchly oppose one.
Despite higher levels of luxury tax that started in 2022, the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets have pushed payrolls to record levels. The last small-market MLB club to win a World Series was the Kansas City Royals in 2015.
After signing outfielder Juan Soto to a record $765 million contract, New York opened this season with an industry-high $326 million payroll, nearly five times Miami’s $69 million, according to Major League Baseball’s figures. Using luxury tax payrolls, based on average annual values that account for future commitments and include benefits, the Dodgers were first at $400 million and on track to owe a record luxury tax of about $151 million — shattering the previous tax record of $103 million set by Los Angeles last year.
“When I talk to the players, I don’t try to convince them that a salary cap system would be a good thing,” Manfred told the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday. “I identify a problem in the media business and explain to them that owners need to change to address that problem. I then identify a second problem that we need to work together and that is that there are fans in a lot of our markets who feel like we have a competitive balance problem.”
Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, 2026, and management lockouts have become the norm, which shifts the start of a stoppage to the offseason. During the last negotiations, the sides reached a five-year deal on March 10 after a 99-day lockout, salvaging a 162-game 2022 season.
“A cap is not about a partnership. A cap isn’t about growing the game,” union head Tony Clark said Tuesday. “A cap is about franchise values and profits. ... A salary cap historically has limited contract guarantees associated with it, literally pits one player against another and is often what we share with players as the definitive non-competitive system. It doesn’t reward excellence. It undermines it from an organizational standpoint. That’s why this is not about competitive balance. It’s not about a fair versus not. This is institutionalized collusion.”
The union’s opposition to a cap has paved the way for record-breaking salaries for star players. Soto’s deal is believed to be the richest in pro sports history, eclipsing Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million deal with the Dodgers signed a year earlier. By comparison, the biggest guaranteed contract in the NFL is $250 million for Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
Manfred cites that 10% of players earn 72% of salaries.
“I never use the word `salary’ within one of `cap,’” he said. “What I do say to them is in addressing this competitive issue that’s real we should think about whether this system is the perfect system from a players’ perspective.”
A management salary cap proposal could contain a salary floor and a guaranteed percentage of revenue to players. Baseball players have endured nine work stoppages, including a 7 1/2-month strike in 1994-95 that fought off a cap proposal.
Agent Scott Boras likens a cap plan to attracting kids to a “gingerbread house.”
“We’ve heard it for 20 years. It’s almost like the childhood fable,” he said. “This very traditional, same approach is not something that would lead the younger players to the gingerbread house.”