THE SOCCER REPORT
Chelsea-Bayern, Napoli-Barcelona, Lyon-Juve, Real Madrid-Man City on UCL menu, El Clasico on Sunday
Feb 25, 2020, 7:40 am
Finale Istanbul is the Official Match Ball for the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League knockout stages. Photo: adidas
Plenty of big name clubs will highlight this week's action in the UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona face off in the sport's premier rivalry and the 25th season of Major League Soccer gets underway. In the Serie A, matches were postponed over the weekend due to the outbreak of the coronavirus in Italy.
Here is the week in soccer:
International Club competitions
UEFA Champions League
Round of 16 - First Leg
- Atletico Madrid 1-0 Liverpool
- Dortmund 2-1 PSG
- Atalanta 4-1 Valencia
- Tottenham 0-1 RB Leipzig
Concacaf Champions League
Round of 16 - First Leg
- Portmore United 1-2 Cruz Azul
- Motagua 1-1 Atlanta United
- Leon 2-0 LAFC
- Deportivo Saprissa 2-2 Montreal Impact
- Alianza 2-1 Tigres UANL
- Communicaciones 1-1 Club America
- AD San Carlos 3-5 NYCFC
- Olimpia 2-2 Seattle Sounders FC
English Premier League
Liverpool set another new #PL record https://t.co/mBlgJ2pUMO— Premier League (@Premier League) 1582600144.0
Top six: 1. Liverpool (79), 2. Man City (57), 3. Leicester City (50), 4. Chelsea (44), 5. Manchester United (41), 6. Tottenham (40)
Bottom three (relegation): 18. West Ham (24), 19. Watford (24), 20. Norwich City (18)
Scoring leader: 17 - Jamie Vardy (Leicester City) / Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)
Assists leader: 16 - Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Spanish La Liga
Three goals in one half. Lionel Messi working his magic 🎩 ✨ https://t.co/etl4FY0m1Y— ESPN FC (@ESPN FC) 1582386629.0
Top six: 1. FC Barcelona (55), 2. Real Madrid (53), 3. Atletico Madrid (43), 4. Sevilla (43), 5. Getafe (42), 6. Real Sociedad (40)
Bottom three: 18. Mallorca (22), 19. Leganes (19), 20. Espanyol (19)
Scoring leader: 18 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Assists leader: 12 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
German Bundesliga
Just another weekend for Erling Haaland 🤩 He now has 12 goals in 8 official matches for Dortmund. https://t.co/aXnvAuTJRD— ESPN FC (@ESPN FC) 1582387580.0
Top six: 1. Bayern Munich (49), 2. RB Leipzig (48), 3. Dortmund (45), 4. Monchengladbach (43), 5. Bayer Leverkusen (43), 6. Schalke 04 (36)
Bottom three: 16. Fortuna (20), 17. Werder Bremen (17), 18. Paderborn (16)
Scoring leader: 25 - Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Assists leader: 14 - Jadon Sancho (Dortmund) / Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)
Italian Serie A
Cristiano Ronaldo has now scored in 11 straight matches -- equaling the Serie A record 😤 https://t.co/tcwqrbaccB— ESPN FC (@ESPN FC) 1582393568.0
Top six: 1. Juventus (60), 2. Lazio (59), 3. Inter Milan (54), 4. Atalanta (45), 5. Roma (42), 6. Napoli (36)
Bottom three: 18. Genoa (22), 19. Brescia (16), 20. SPAL (15)
Scoring leader: 27 - Ciro Immobile (Lazio)
Assists leader: 11 - Luis Alberto (Lazio)
French Ligue 1
Top four: 1. PSG (65), 2. Marseille (52), 3. Rennes (44), 4. Lille (43)
Bottom three: 18. Nimes (27), 19. Amiens (22), 20. Toulouse (13)
Scoring leader: 16 - Kylian Mbappe (PSG) / Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco)
Assists leader: 14 - Angel Di Maria (PSG)
Liga MX
Clausura 2020
Top eight: 1. Club America (16), 2. Leon (15), 3. Pumas UNAM (14), 4. Cruz Azul (13), 5. Queretaro (12), 6. Atletico San Luis (12), 7. Juarez (11), 8. Santos Laguna (11)
Scoring leader: 5 - Angel Mena (Leon) / Ariel Nahuelpan (Queretaro) / Jonathan Rodriguez (Cruz Azul)
TV listings (All Times CT):
For full info on soccer TV listings and streaming services in the United States, visit worldsoccertalk.com
Tuesday, February 25
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Chelsea vs. Bayern Munich (TNT, Galavision)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Napoli vs. FC Barcelona (UniMas / TUDN, B/R Live)
6:30 p.m. - [Copa Sudamericana] River Plate vs. Deportivo Cali (beIN Sports)
7:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Atlanta United vs. Motagua (FS1, TUDN)
9:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Cruz Azul vs. Portmore United (FS2, TUDN)
Wednesday, February 26
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Real Madrid vs. Manchester City (TNT, UniMas, TUDN)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Lyon vs. Juventus (Galavision, B/R Live)
5:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] NYCFC vs. AD San Carlos (FS2, TUDN)
7:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Montreal lmpact vs. Deportivo Saprissa (FS2)
7:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Tigres UANL vs. Alianza (TUDN)
Thursday, February 27
12:00 p.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Espanyol vs. Wolves (UniMas, B/R Live)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Manchester United vs. Brugge (UniMas, B/R Live)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Arsenal vs. Olympiakos (TUDN, B/R Live)
9:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] LAFC vs. Club Leon (FS1, TUDN)
9:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Seattle Sounders FC vs. Olimpia (FS2)
Friday, February 28
1:30 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Dusseldorf vs. Hertha Berlin (FS2, FOX Deportes)
2:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Norwich vs. Leicester City (NBC Sports)
2:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Real Sociedad vs. Valladolid (beIN Sports)
9:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Monarcas Morelia vs. Cruz Azul (TUDN)
9:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Club Tijuana vs. Puebla (FOX Deportes)
Saturday, February 29
6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Brighton vs. Crystal Palace (NBC Sports)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Hoffenheim vs. Bayern Munich, (FS1, UniMas, TUDN)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Dortmund vs. Freiburg (FS2, FOX Deportes)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Bournemouth vs. Chelsea (NBC Sports)
9:00 a.m. - [La Liga] Valencia vs. Real Betis (beIN Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Watford vs. Liverpool (NBC Sports)
2:30 p.m. - [MLS] Houston Dynamo vs. LA Galaxy (Univision)
5:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Pachuca vs. Queretaro (TUDN, ESPN Deportes)
7:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] America vs. Necaxa (Univision)
9:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Tigres UANL vs. Pumas UNAM (Univision)
Sunday, March 1
8:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Everton vs. Man United(NBC Sports)
8:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Tottenham vs. Wovles (NBC Sports Gold)
10:30 a.m. - [English League Cup Final] Manchester City vs. Aston Villa (NBC Sports)
2:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona (beIN Sports)
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As we barrel toward Opening Day which is now less than four weeks away, so far it’s been largely a case of no news is good news at Astros’ spring training. Meaning no major injuries to key players, no controversies brewing. There are numerous question marks that can’t truly be answered until we get into the games that count, such as how will Jose Altuve fare as a left fielder. The most exciting thing to happen over the first week of Grapefruit League games would probably be the two-home run game from top prospect Cam Smith, he of the Kyle Tucker trade. Both came off minor league caliber pitchers, but so what. Smith turned 22 years old last Saturday, the ideal is that he forces his way to the big leagues by the end of this season.
A strong majority of players who go on to greatness in Major League Baseball get to the big leagues before they turn 23. I spoke to this with Astros-specific perspective this week during an episode of our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. The ten greatest offensive players in franchise history as measured by Baseball Reference’s Wins Above Replacement metric are: Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Jose Altuve, Lance Berkman, Cesar Cedeno, Jimmy Wynn, Jose Cruz, Alex Bregman, Joe Morgan, and Bob Watson. Eight of those ten debuted in the majors at 22 years old or younger. Cedeno was 19! Morgan and Watson were 20. Wynn and Altuve were 21. Biggio, Bagwell, and Bregman were 22. That leaves Cruz and Berkman as the exceptions. “Cheo” debuted with the Cardinals and didn’t get to the Astros’ organization until he was 27. Berkman arrived at 23. He should have been up sooner but was backlogged in 1998 behind a fabulous outfield of Moises Alou, Carl Everett, and Derek Bell, with youngster Richard Hidalgo as the top reserve, while first base was manned by Bagwell in the heart of his prime.
The point is, special talents should be fast-tracked and/or fast-track themselves to the Major Leagues. There are numerous exceptions (team mistakes, late bloomers), but a very high percentage of eventual big stars get to The Show at a young age. Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, and Mike Trout entered at 19. Ronald Acuna Jr., Vlad Guerrero Jr., Freddie Freeman, and Jose Ramirez did so at 20. Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Mookie Betts, and Yordan Alvarez were 21. Not all tear it up immediately the way Yordan did upon his promotion in 2019, but rare tools and talents merit accelerated opportunity. The focus here is on hitters, but this isn’t a bad spot to note that among the four greatest pitchers ever to hurl for the Astros, only Randy Johnson was older than 22 when he started (25 as a notoriously raw and wild Montreal Expo). Nolan Ryan was a 19-year-old New York Met, Roger Clemens a 21-year-old Boston Red Sox, and Justin Verlander a 22-year-old Detroit Tiger,
This is not predicting mega-stardom or a plaque in Cooperstown for Cam Smith, but if the Astros have such a player in what is presently a lousy farm system overall, the odds overwhelmingly favor Smith being that guy. He should be ticketed for double-A Corpus Christi to start this season after having had just 96 at bats in single-A and 19 at AA in the Cubs’ system after being drafted last July. Should Smith excel with the Hooks, it’s not preposterous to see him getting to the Astros over the summer, especially given the shaky state of the big club’s outfield going into the 2025 campaign. Plenty of players have skipped over AAA. While Smith was drafted as a third baseman, unless the Astros grow offensively desperate enough to move Isaac Paredes to second base, Smith’s fastest path to Daikin Park right now might lead to right field. Coming off a relentlessly bad 2024, it’s make-or-break time for Chas McCormick. Chas is making three-point-four million dollars this season and turns 30 in April. If he is not a heckuva lot better this year, there is no way the Astros are bringing him back at an even bigger salary number in 2026.
Jacob Melton is another outfield prospect, but he’s already 24 years old and has yet to show any sort of elite hitting traits in the minors. Melton looms as a cheaper replacement for Jake Meyers in center.
Those who will ultimately be great only have time siphoned from their careers when not brought up as soon as reasonable. Of course there is risk of unfulfilled potential or straight up bust status. If early failure crushes a player, he wasn’t headed for greatness anyway.
On the upswing
Closing aside: a pinging endorsement for the Astros’ Annual College Classic Friday through Sunday. The reigning national champion Tennessee Volunteers and runner-up Texas A&M Aggies head the field. Rice, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, and Arizona fill out what is always an excellent six-team event. With gorgeous weather forecast through the weekend the roof should be open throughout. RIGHT?
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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