On the pitch
Soccer Report - Cristiano Ronaldo nets four as leagues enter international break
Mar 22, 2018, 6:45 am
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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The Astros have already been swept in four series this season. They were swept in four series all of last season. As Mexico City says bienvenidos to the Astros this weekend, there are certainly more than a few folks fretting that the Astros are already close to saying adios to playoff hopes. The Astros are not at the point of no return, though one can see it out there on the horizon. It wouldn’t take another month of their garbage level 7-19 performance for the season to be essentially down the drain.
If the Astros were in the American League East, they’d already be ten games out of second place. But they’re not! If in the AL Central they’d be eleven and a half games back of Cleveland. But they’re not! Dozens of teams have rebounded to win divisions from larger deficits much later in the season than the Astros face presently. The Seattle Mariners lead the thus far weak AL West at 13-12. The Astros being six and a half games in arrears of the M’s and six back of the Texas Rangers in late April is far from optimal but nowhere near devastating.
Multiple media outlets have noted how few teams historically have started a season in as stumblebum a fashion as the 2024 Astros and wound up making the playoffs. What every outlet I have seen noting that failed to include: this is just the third season since Major League Baseball added a third Wild Card to each league’s postseason field. So, while 7-19 out of the gate is indisputably awful, it is not the death knell to the extent it has been over generations of MLB.
The issue isn’t where the Astros sit in the standings, it’s that they have played atrocious baseball and aren’t providing reason for optimism that a stark turnaround is imminent. The starting rotation is the best hope. Justin Verlander has made two starts. Framber Valdez rejoins the rotation Sunday. Cristian Javier should be a week or so away. Obviously, Ronel Blanco isn’t going to continue pitching as well as he has through his first four starts. But if he is a good number four starter, that’s fine if the top three coming into the season pitch to reasonably hoped for form.
Hunter Brown simply is not a good big league pitcher. Maybe he someday fulfills his potential, but the data at this point are clear. What can Brown do for you? Not much. Spencer Arrighetti needs better command to be a good big league starter. J.P. France was a revelation over his first 17 starts last season, but since has looked like the guy who posted underwhelming numbers when in the minor leagues. If the Astros wind up with 50-plus starts from Brown/Arrighetti/France their goose will probably be cooked.
The only MLB teams with worse staff earned run averages than the Astros’ horrific 5.07 are the Chicago White Sox (Wait! They have Martin Maldonado!) and Colorado Rockies. At 3-22 the White Sox are on an early pace to post the worst record in the history of Major League Baseball. The Rockies never have a chance to post good pitching stats because of the mile high offensive freak show environment in Denver.
Way to go, Joe
Props to Joe Espada for his conviction in making what he believed to be the right call in pulling Verlander after four and a third innings Thursday at Wrigley Field. Verlander allowed no runs but had reached 95 pitches in just the second outing of the injury-delayed start to his season. Not easy for a rookie manager skippering what has been a Titanic journey thus far to pull a surefire Hall of Famer who was two outs away from qualifying for a win. Many were no doubt poised to destroy Espada had Rafael Montero given up the lead in the fifth. Verlander was angry at being pulled from any chance at his 259th career win. Understood, but the manager’s job is to make the decisions he thinks are in the ballclub’s overall best interest. That Montero and Bryan Abreu combined to blow the lead in the sixth is immaterial.
Then there's the offense…
Six runs total the last four games. Scored more than four runs in just one of the last nine games. Timely hitting largely non-existent.
At last check Alex Bregman still hawks that “Breggy Bomb” salsa. At the plate, he’s been mostly stuck in “Breggy Bum” mode, including zero bombs (home runs). 23 games played without a homer is Bregman’s longest drought since 2017 when he had separate 35 and 27 game stretches between dingers. Bregman has a history of slow first months of the season, but never anything as inept as he’s posted thus far. A litany of lazy fly balls, infield pops, and routine grounders add up to a .216 batting average and feeble .566 OPS. Reference point: Martin Maldonado’s worst OPS season with the Astros was .573. If Bregman was a young guy handed a starting job coming out of spring training, if a viable alternative were available, there’s a chance he’d be a Sugar Land Space Cowboy right now. Bregman’s track record makes it a decent bet that he winds up with decent numbers, but nothing special. Certainly nothing remotely worth the 10 years 300 million dollars or whatever Bregman and agent Scott Boras intend(ed) to seek on the free agent market this coming offseason. Two hits Thursday did get Bregman to the 1000 hit plateau for his career.
Despite arriving south of the border with his batting average at .346, even Jose Altuve has his warts. With runners in scoring position, Altuve has one hit this season. One. In 16 at bats. Small sample size, but it counts. That’s .063. Yordan Alvarez has been no great shakes either, five for 24 (.208) with RISP.
One wonders what would happen if the Astros got a hold of and “lost” Jose Abreu’s passport/visa this weekend in Mexico City and Abreu couldn’t get back into the U.S. after the two-game set with the Rockies.
Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via YouTube: stone cold stros - YouTube with the complete audio available via Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.