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Soccer Report - Cristiano Ronaldo nets four as leagues enter international break

Soccer Report - Cristiano Ronaldo nets four as leagues enter international break
Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portugal National Team will face Egypt and the Netherlands as they prepare for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Photo courtesy of Nike, Inc.

There may not be anything more exciting in soccer than international pride and that’s exactly what we are going to get over the next week as nations participate in friendlies ahead of this summer’s FIFA World Cup. Before we get to that action, let’s recap how clubs finished their domestic battles before the FIFA international break.

Here are the top stories in soccer (followed by the upcoming matches schedule):

UEFA Champions League

The last four spots in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals were booked this past week as Sevilla, Roma, Bayern Munich and Barcelona all saw out the results they needed in the second leg of their series. Sevilla upset Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United thanks to a double from Wissam Ben Yedder in a 2-1 win at Old Trafford. Roma’s 1-0 win at the Stadio Olimpico, combined with their 2-1 loss in the first leg, saw them advance over Shakhtar Donetsk on the away goals tiebreaker.

On the second day of matches, Bayern Munich won 3-1 to finish 8-1 on aggregate over Turkish side Besiktas while Lionel Messi made easy work of Chelsea to guide Barcelona to a 3-0 win at the Camp Nou. Messi’s double saw him reach 100 goals in Champions League matches - becoming only the second player to reach the centenary mark after Cristiano Ronaldo, albeit in 21 fewer matches.

After Friday’s draw, the "elite eight" matchups are: Sevilla vs. Bayern Munich; Juventus vs. Real Madrid; Liverpool vs. Manchester City; Roma vs. Barcelona.

The Champions League continues on April 3.

UEFA Europa League

The Round of 16 concluded in Europe’s secondary club competition as Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, Lazio, Marseille, Plzen, Arsenal, Red Bull Salzburg and CSKA Moscow are the eight clubs that remain vying for the prize money and a spot in next year’s Champions League. Among the big names crashing out are A.C. Milan, Lyon and Borussia Dortmund.

After Friday’s draw, here are the quarter-final matchups: Lazio vs. Red Bull Salzburg; Atletico Madrid vs. Sporting CP; RB Leipzig vs. Marseille; Arsenal vs. CSKA Moscow.

Premier League

Only four matches took place in the Premier League this weekend. Crystal Palace won 2-nil at Huddersfield, Bournemouth 2-1 over West Brom, Stoke City played down a man for 70 minutes and lost 2-1 at home to Everton while Liverpool trashed Watford 5-nil thanks to four goals - also known as a ‘'poker" - from Mohamed Salah. Those four goals are currently the difference between Salah (28) and Harry Kane (28) at the top of the goalscorers table.

The rest of the teams not competing in the league over the weekend were involved in FA Cup quarterfinal matches. Tottenham went on the road and demolished Swansea City behind a double from Christian Eriksen. In a pair of 2-nil wins, Manchester United defeated Brighton at Old Trafford and Southampton won at Wigan Athletic. Leicester City bowed out of the tournament losing 2-1 at home to Chelsea as Pedro’s goal proved to be the difference in extra time.

Top 5: Manchester City (81), Manchester United (65), Liverpool (63), Tottenham (61), Chelsea (56)

La Liga

Matchday 29 of La Liga saw more of the same for Barcelona, Real Madrid and Valencia. All three were victorious this week as FC Barcelona inched closer to the title with a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao. Second-place Atletico Madrid lost defender Filipe Luis earlier in the week in Europa League action and missed him in a 2-1 loss at Villarreal. Meanwhile, Real Madrid gained ground on their crosstown rivals in a 6-3 win over Girona at the Bernabeu. Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 11th, 47th, 64th, and 90+1 minutes to leap over Luis Suarez in the goalscorers standings. CR7 is now in second, trailing Lionel Messi by four goals.

Top 5: FC Barcelona (75), Atletico Madrid (64), Real Madrid (60), Valencia (59), Villarreal (47)

Bundesliga

For the first time in weeks, Bayern Munich left a Bundesliga match without points. That’s because RB Leipzig defeated the champions 2-1 at home. The result is more of a prideful win than an impactful one as the Bavarians still hold a cushion of 17 points at the top of the table. Bayer Leverkusen was the only other top five team that lost this weekend, falling 2-nil at Cologne.

Top 5: FC Bayern Munich (66), Schalke 04 (49), Dortmund (48), Eintracht Frankfurt (45), Bayer Leverkusen (44)

Serie A

Napoli was able to gain some ground on Juventus - who played to a scoreless draw at SPAL - with a 1-0 win over Genoa. Roma picked up a 1-0 win at Crotone while Inter Milan smashed five goals past Sampdoria. Mauro Icardi also had a ‘poker’ this week in Inter’s 5-nil win. Lazio, meanwhile, drew 1-1 with Bologna. A.C. Milan defeated Chievo Verona 3-2 and are five points from fourth and a potential return to the Champions League.

Top 5: Juventus (75), Napoli (73), Roma (59), Inter Milan (55), Lazio (54)

Ligue 1

Dani Alves and Angel Di Maria both scored to lead PSG over Nice but the match of the week was the Choc des Olympiques between the two Olympic sides. Lyon was the victor over Marseille with a 90th minute goal from Memphis Depay. Second-place Monaco picked up a 2-1 win over Lille and Rennes won 2-nil at Bordeaux to cap off sides in the top five.

Top 5: Paris Saint-Germain (83), Monaco (66), Marseille (59), Lyon (57), Rennes (45)

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CONCACAF Champions League

The ‘final four’ clubs vying for the CONCACAF crown were decided last week. New York Red Bulls were successful in closing out their series at home against Liga MX side Club Tijuana, 5-1 on aggregate. Toronto FC was another MLS team that was victorious over a Liga MX side, advancing on away goals after tying the series 4-4 on aggregate. Club America won their match in Panama 3-1 and 7-1 on aggregate. In the last series, Seattle’s injuries and 1-0 lead were too much to overcome on Mexican soil as they were eliminated by Guadalajara 3-1 on aggregate.

The semifinals: New York Red Bulls vs. Guadalajara; Club América vs. Toronto FC.

Major League Soccer

Alberth Elis made something out of nothing to create two goals for the Houston Dynamo in the span of 93 seconds - scoring the first and assisting on the second - in the first half against D.C. United. The Dynamo defense could not, however, keep the lead and the team ended up giving up a goal during the final stages of the match that ended in a 2-2 draw. The match was played in a small stadium in Maryland due to D.C. United’s new home, Audi Field, still under construction until July.

Around other results from week three, Montreal defeated Toronto, 1-0, in front of 26,005 at the Stade Olympique. Minnesota, New York City FC, Atlanta, Kansas City, Salt Lake and Dallas also picked up three points - all of them home wins. This week serves as a bye due to the international break, giving teams a few extra days of practice.

East Top 6: NYCFC (9), Columbus Crew SC (7), Atlanta United (6), Philadelphia Union (4), NY Red Bulls (3), Montreal Impact (3)

West Top 6: LAFC (6), Minnesota United (6), Sporting KC (6), Vancouver Whitecaps FC (6), Houston Dynamo (4), FC Dallas (4)

Liga MX

Santos Laguna remains the head of the league, picking up another three points this week in a 1-0 win at Puebla. Monterrey got right with a 3-1 win over Queretaro, a rematch of a cup round of 16 the week before. Toluca and America met in a match between what were the second and third seeded teams in the table. Toluca won the heated affair in Mexico City were even the head coaches got physical, one almost chokeslaming the other, resulting in both eventually being ejected. Veracruz defeated Atlas, 3-1 which resulted in the latter firing their head coach on Monday. The other results this weekend were draws.

Among the results this weekend, Guadalajara and Tigres played to a scoreless draw. The two will face off for the second consecutive week on Saturday at BBVA Compass Stadium (5 p.m. kickoff, TICKETS). Glenn Davis will be giving away tickets on Soccer Matters, Wednesday 7-9 p.m. on ESPN 97.5 FM.

Top 5: Santos Laguna (26), Toluca (24), Tigres (22), Club America (21), Monarcas (20)

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National Women's Soccer League

In Women's soccer, the 6th season of professional women's soccer will kick off on Saturday. No other league has lasted as long as the NWSL and the league will feature a weekly match on Lifetime for the second straight year. The Houston Dash will play at home on Sunday as they kick off life under new Head Coach Vera Pauw. They’ll have to find results early without Kealia Ohai, the club’s all-time leading scorer, as she continues to recover from an ACL tear. All matches are available live on go90.com and the go90 app. [Link to Dash tickets]

Upcoming matches (All Times CT):

Friday, Mar. 23:

2:45 p.m. - [International Friendly] Portugal vs. Egypt (ESPN3)

2:45 p.m. - [International Friendly] Germany vs. Spain (ESPN3)

2:45 p.m. - [International Friendly] Scotland vs. Costa Rica (ESPN3)

2:45 p.m. - [International Friendly] Germany vs. Spain (ESPN3)

3 p.m. - [International Friendly] France vs. Colombia (ESPN3/ESPN Deportes)

9 p.m. - [International Friendly] Mexico vs. Iceland (FS1/UniMás/Univision Deportes)

Saturday, Mar. 24:

2:30 p.m. - [NWSL] North Carolina Courage vs. Portland Thorns (Lifetime)

Sunday, Mar. 25:

4 p.m. - [NWSL] Houston Dash vs. Chicago Red Stars (go90)

Monday, Mar. 26:

1:30 p.m. - [International Friendly] Portugal vs. Netherlands (ESPN3)

Tuesday, Mar. 27:

10:45 a.m. - [International Friendly] Russia vs. France (ESPN3/ESPN Deportes)

1:00 p.m. - [International Friendly] Egypt vs. Greece (ESPN3)

1:30 p.m. - [International Friendly] Belgium vs. Saudi Arabia (ESPN3)

1:45 p.m. - [International Friendly] Germany vs. Brazil (ESPN3)

2:30 p.m. - [International Friendly] Spain vs. Argentina (ESPN3/ESPN Deportes)

6:30 p.m. - [International Friendly] USA vs. Paraguay (FS1/UniMás/Univision Deportes)

8:30 p.m. - [International Friendly] Mexico vs. Croatia (FS1/UniMás/Univision Deportes)

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Framer Valdez recorded six strikeouts. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images.

Jason Heyward hit a two-run homer early and Jon Singleton had three hits, capped by a tiebreaking RBI single in Houston’s four-run eighth inning, and the Astros got a 6-3 win over the Oakland Athletics on Thursday.

Brent Rooker homered off Ryan Pressly (2-3) with one out in the eighth to tie it at 2-all.

Yainer Diaz and Kyle Tucker hit consecutive singles with one out in the eighth to chase T.J. McFarland (2-3) and bring on Grant Holman. There were two outs in the inning when Singleton’s single to center field scored Diaz to put the Astros on top.

Jake Meyers followed with a run-scoring double before the Athletics intentionally walked Heyward to load the bases. Mauricio Dubón singled on a ground ball to left field to score two more, pushing the lead to 6-2.

Tyler Nevin hit a solo homer off Josh Hader with one out in the ninth before the closer retired the next two batters to end it.

Houston’s Framber Valdez allowed five hits and a run with six strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings to help the Astros avoid a three-game sweep and snap a three-game skid with the victory.

Oakland starter Mitch Spence permitted seven hits and two runs in seven innings.

Singleton hit a ground-rule double with one out in the second before Heyward smacked a line drive into the second row in right field for his first home run as an Astro to make it 2-0.

It was the third hit in 12 games with Houston for Heyward, who signed with the Astros Aug. 29 after being released by the Dodgers.

Jacob Wilson doubled to open the seventh and moved to third on a ground out by Nevin. The Athletics cut the lead to 1 when Wilson scored on a single by Daz Cameron that chased Valdez.

Bryan Abreu took over and pinch-hitter Seth Brown grounded into a double play on his second pitch to preserve the lead.

Lawrence Butler doubled with one out in the third to extend his career-long hitting streak to 20 games.

Singleton doubled again to start Houston’s fourth before Spence sat down the next 11 Astros. Houston’s next base runner came on a double by Dubón with two outs in the seventh and Alex Bregman grounded out to leave him stranded.

Trainer’s Room

Athletics: 1B Tyler Soderstrom (left wrist injury) is scheduled to come off the injured list Friday for the start of a series against the White Sox.

Astros: 2B Jose Altuve was out of the lineup Thursday, a day after leaving in the fifth inning with discomfort in his right side. Manager Joe Espada said he was feeling better Thursday and that he is listed as day to day.

Up Next

Athletics: LHP Brady Basso (0-0, 1.93 ERA) will start for Oakland against LHP Garrett Crochet (6-11, 3.83) in the opener of a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox Friday night.

Astros: Houston LHP Yusei Kikuchi (8-9, 4.31) opposes LHP Samuel Aldegheri (1-1, 2.45) in the first of three games against the Los Angeles Angels Friday night.

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