THE SOCCER REPORT
Soccer Recap: Suarez back-heel goal steals the show; Arsenal win first under Ljungberg
Dec 10, 2019, 4:10 am
Arsenal are back in good spirits after first win in 10 matches. Credit: Adidas
Action rolls in Europe after a weekend that featured the Manchester Derby, only to be followed by the end of the UEFA Champions League group stage and a pre-El Clasico La Liga weekend. This week also features the start of the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup.
Off the field, the draw to determine the quarterfinal matchups of the 2020 Concacaf Champions League took place in Mexico CIty on Monday night. The tournament will kick off in February and crown a new champion in May to determine the region's representative in the 2020 Club World Cup.
Where Champions Are Crowned 🏆 #SCCL2020 https://t.co/kJN4F4Q7r4— Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League (@Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League) 1575947474.0
Major League Soccer clubs in the CCL will begin their preseason on January 11, one week before the rest of the league.
English Premier League
Top six: 1. Liverpool (46), 2. Leicester City (38), 3. Man City (32), 4. Chelsea (29), 5. Man Utd (24), 6. Wolves (24)
Bottom three (relegation): 18. Southampton (15), 19. Norwich City (11), 20. Watford (9)
Scoring leader: 16 - Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Assists leader: 9 - Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Spanish La Liga
Top six: 1. FC Barcelona (34), 2. Real Madrid (34), 3. Sevilla (31), 4. Real Sociedad (27), 5. Getafe (27), 6. Athletic Bilbao (26)
Bottom three: 18. Celta Vigo (13), 19. Leganes (9), 20. Espanyol (9)
Scoring leader: 12 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Assists leader: 6 - Rodrigo (Valencia)
German Bundesliga
Top six: 1. Monchengladbach (31), 2. RB Leipzig (30), 3. Dortmund (26), 4. Schalke 04 (25), 5. Freiburg (25), 6. Bayer Leverkusen (25)
Bottom three: 16. Fortuna (12), 17. Paderborn (8), 18. Cologne (8)
Scoring leader: 16 - Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Assists leader: 9 - Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)Italian Serie A
Top six: 1. Inter Milan (38), 2. Juventus (36), 3. Lazio (33), 4. Cagliari (29), 5. Roma (29), 6. Atalanta (28)
Bottom three: 18. Genoa (10), 19. SPAL (9), 20. Brescia (7)
Scoring leader: 17 - Ciro Immobile (Lazio)
Assists leader: 11 - Luis Alberto (Lazio)French Ligue 1
Top four: 1. PSG (39), 2. Marseille (34), 3. Lille (28), 4. Rennes (27)
Bottom three: 18. Metz (15), 19. Tolouse (12), 20. Nimes (12)
Scoring leader: 11 - Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco)
Liga MX Playoffs
Monterrey and Club America each punched their ticket to the Liga MX Apertura 2019 final over the weekend. The two will have to wait until Monterrey are done with the FIFA Club World Cup participation to resume the playoffs on Dec. 26.
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
Semifinal results:
- Necaxa 1-3 agg. Monterrey
- Club America 2-2 agg. Monarcas Morelia, America advance on higher seed tiebreaker
Final schedule:
- First leg: Dec. 26 at Estadio BBVA, Monterrey
- Second leg: Dec. 29 at Estadio Azteca, Mexico
Liga MX Femenil Final
Monterrey's female team, "Rayadas," lifted their first Liga MX Femenil title after a 1-0 win over rivals Tigres UANL in the second leg of the final, 2-1 on aggregate. The series drew an attendance of 41,615 in the first leg on Nov. 29 and 38,251 in Sunday's second leg.
TV listings (All Times CT):
Tuesday, December 10
11:55 a.m. - [UEFA Champions League] RB Salzburg vs. Liverpool (TNT, UniMas, TUDN)
11:55 a.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Napoli vs. Genk (Galavision)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Inter Milan vs. FC Barcelona (TNT, UniMas, TUDN)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Ajax vs. Valencia (Galavision)
Wednesday, December 11
11:30 a.m. - [FIFA Club World Cup / Playoff] Al Sadd vs. Hienghène (FS2, FOX Deportes)
11:55 a.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Dinamo Zagreb vs. Man City (TNT, UniMas, TUDN)
11:55 a.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Atalanta (Galavision)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Brugge vs. Real Madrid (UniMas, TUDN)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Bayer Leverkusen vs. Juventus (TNT, Galavision)
Thursday, December 12
11:55 a.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Standard Liege vs. Arsenal (UniMas)
11:55 a.m. - [UEFA Europa League] APOEL vs. Sevilla (TUDN)
11:55 a.m. - [UEFA Europa League] LASK vs. Sporting CP (Galavision)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Manchester United vs. AZ Alkmaar (UniMas)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Wolves vs. Besiktas (TUDN)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Porto vs. Feyenoord (Galavision)
Friday, December 13
1:30 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Hoffenheim vs. FC Augsburg (FS2, TUDN)
2:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Alaves vs. Leganes (beIN SPORTS en Español)
Saturday, December 14
6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Liverpool vs. Watford (NBC Sports)
8:00 a.m. - [FIFA Club World Cup / Quarterfinal] Al-Hilal vs. ES Tunis (FOX Soccer Plus, FOX Deportes)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Bayern Munich vs. SV Werder Bremen (FS1)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Mainz 05 vs. Borussia Dortmund (FS2, TUDN)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Chelsea vs. Bournemouth (NBC Sports)
9:00 a.m. - [La Liga] Real Sociedad vs. FC Barcelona (beIN Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [FIFA Club World Cup / Quarterfinal] Monterrey vs. Al Sadd or Hienghène (FS2)
11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Southampton vs. West Ham (NBC)
1:30 p.m. - [La Liga] Atletico Madrid vs. Osasuna (beIN SPORTS)
Sunday, December 15
8:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Wolves vs. Spurs (NBC Sports)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Wolfsburg vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach (FS1)
10:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Arsenal vs. Manchester City (NBC Sports)
11:00 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Schalke 04 vs. Eintracht Frankfurt (FS1)
2:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Valencia vs. Real Madrid (beIN SPORTS)
Monday, December 16
6:00 a.m. - Draw for UEFA Champions League and Europa League knockout stage (UEFA.com, B/R Live)
2:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Crystal Palace vs. Brighton (NBC Sports)
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Rich Eisen lays out how Stefon Diggs trade will impact Texans next season
Apr 19, 2024, 3:03 pm
Impersonal as it might seem to have their dynamic on-field relationship end with an exchange of phone texts, Bills quarterback Josh Allen made it clear on Thursday how much receiver Stefon Diggs meant to him during their four seasons together in Buffalo.
Allen made no mention of Diggs’ mercurial temperament or the occasional sideline flare-ups by expressing only praise in his first opportunity to discuss his now-former teammate being traded to the Houston Texans earlier this month.
“Just thanking him for everything that he did for me, and (I’ll) always have a spot in my heart for him. I’ll always love that guy like a brother. And I wish him nothing but the best,” Allen said, in disclosing what he texted to Diggs. “My lasting memory of Stef will be the receiver that helped me become the quarterback that I am today.”
Brought together in March 2020, when Buffalo gave up a first-round draft pick to acquire Diggs in a trade with Minnesota, the duo went on to re-write many of Buffalo's single-season passing and scoring records, and lead the team to four straight AFC East titles.
Diggs, now 30, also brought an inescapable sense of drama with him in raising questions about his commitment to the Bills and whether his tight relationship with Allen had soured.
A day before being traded, Diggs posted a message, “You sure?” on the social media platform X in response to someone suggesting he wasn’t essential to Allen’s success.
Whatever hard feelings, if any, lingered as Buffalo opened its voluntary workout sessions this week were not apparent from Allen or coach Sean McDermott, who also addressed reporters for the first time since Diggs was traded.
“Stef’s a great player, really enjoyed our time together. Won a lot of games and he was a huge factor in winning those games. We’ll miss him,” McDermott said. “You never replace a player like Stef Diggs, and we wish him well.”
Allen turned his focus to the future and a Bills team that spent much of the offseason retooling an aging and expensive roster.
Aside from trading Diggs, salary cap restrictions led to Buffalo cutting respected center Mitch Morse, the breakup of a veteran secondary that had been together since 2017, and the team unable to afford re-signing No. 2 receiver Gabe Davis.
“I don’t think it’s a wrong thing or a bad thing to get younger,” said Allen, entering his seventh NFL season. “I think it’s an opportunity for myself to grow as a leader. And to bring along some of these young guys and new guys that we’ve brought in to our team. And that’s an opportunity, frankly, that I’m very excited about."
Despite the departures, the Bills offense is not exactly lacking even though general manager Brandon Beane is expected to target selecting a receiver with his first pick — currently 28th overall — in the draft next week.
Receiver Khalil Shakir enters his third year and tight end Dalton Kincaid enter his second following promising seasons. Buffalo also added veteran experience in signing free agent receiver Curtis Samuel and Mack Hollins.
While Beane acknowledged the Bills lack a true No. 1 receiver, he noted there’s less urgency to fill that spot now than in 2020 because of how much the offense has developed under Allen.
“Now that Josh has ascended to the player he is, is that a requirement? I don’t think so,” Beane said.
Diggs’ role also began diminishing in the second half of last season, which coincided with Joe Brady replacing Ken Dorsey as offensive coordinator. Brady placed an emphasis on adding balance to a pass-heavy attack and getting more receivers involved, which led to an uptick in production for Shakir and Kincaid.
While Diggs’ numbers dropped, Buffalo’s win total increased.
With the Bills at 6-6, Diggs ranked third in the NFL with 83 catches, seventh with 969 yards and tied for third with eight TDs receiving. Buffalo then closed the season with five straight wins in which Diggs combined for 24 catches for 214 yards and no scores.
”(Diggs) meant a lot. You look at the statistics, they don’t lie,” Allen said, in referring to Diggs topping 100 catches and 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons in Buffalo. “I don’t get paid to make changes on the team. I get paid to be the best quarterback that I can be and try to lead the guys on this team.”