The newly renamed BBVA Stadium. Photo courtesy of BBVA
In the span of a week, "the world's game" went from business as usual, while keeping a close eye on the Coronavirus situation, to most leagues stopping play altogether. The powers that be now look to solutions for some of the world's top competitions like the UEFA Champions League and the Premier League.
UPDATE: Both the UEFA EURO (European Championship) and CONMEBOL Copa America (South American Championship), the two most renowned international tournaments after the FIFA World Cup, announced the postponement of their 2020 editions on Tuesday. Both tournaments will now be played in the Summer of 2021.
ICYMI: UEFA announced on Tuesday that #EURO2020 would be postponed by one year. It is proposed the tournament will… https://t.co/1tFk9a3lGf— UEFA (@UEFA) 1584519294.0
Debido a la evolución mundial del Coronavirus y con el objetivo de salvaguardar la salud del fútbol sudamericano,… https://t.co/kHvrJgqBKJ— Copa América (@Copa América) 1584453836.0
Concacaf (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) also annnounced the suspension of it's international competitons, most importantly the Men's Olympic Qualifying tournament in late March. No announcement has been made yet as to what the fate will be for the Concacaf Nations League, the semifinals of which are scheduled to take place this June in Houston.
Here is the updates on the status of club football:
UEFA Champions League / Europa League
Following the quarantine imposed on players of Juventus and Real Madrid, the following #UCL matches will not take p… https://t.co/Bp0KIfd7rd— UEFA (@UEFA) 1584029574.0
The UEFA Champions League and Europa League are suspended for the moment after due in big part to the inability of Italian teams to take part in the Round of 16 stage of either tournament. Some matches had already taken place with no spectators but the implementation of a nationwide quarantine in Italy and, subsequently, Spain have complicated the tournament to continue.
Update: UEFA hosted a videoconference with Presidents and General Secretaries of the 55 national associations, representatives of the European Club Association, European Leagues and FIFPro Europe on Tuesday to discuss the rest of the season.
The decision to postpone EURO 2020, and the colaboration for Copa America to do the same, was made to clear the schedule during the summer for club competitions. Now it's a wait and see but there is optimism to resume play as early as April and finish in late June or July.
CONMEBOL Libertadores / Copa Sudamericana
🏆 The #Libertadores is suspended until at least May 5th. 📌 More information (en español): https://t.co/nvtKgmBYQK https://t.co/YBXshkbMPH— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@CONMEBOL Libertadores) 1584578278.0
South America's club championships are on hold for the time being and will also benefit from the Copa America suspension to have a clear schedule this summer.
English Premier League
The FA, Premier League, EFL and women’s professional game, together with the PFA and LMA are committed to finding w… https://t.co/YV3V1v7i32— Premier League (@Premier League) 1584622800.0
The Premier League went from expecting to play the weekend schedule to doing a 180 and announcing the suspension of the league after the news broke of Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta testing positive for Coronavirus.
Spain's La Liga
Official statement. LaLiga confirms suspension of the competition for Matchdays 28 and 29. 📝… https://t.co/SwtKi6B9CX— LaLiga English (@LaLiga English) 1584012230.0
German Bundesliga
DFL Ordinary Assembly suspends further Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 matches. For now, this affects Matchday 27 in bo… https://t.co/vcGUTiJ1UY— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga English) 1584378743.0
Italian Serie A
#SerieATIM is officially suspended. We're taking a break, but we can't wait to be back. #WeAreCalcio https://t.co/xhQY33g6gV— Lega Serie A (@Lega Serie A) 1583917730.0
French Ligue 1
"This is vital for the future of the clubs and French football." @LFPfr president Nathalie Boy de la Tour affirmed… https://t.co/Zswzlo9I1O— Ligue1 English (@Ligue1 English) 1584534669.0
Ligue 1 has set April 15th as a target date for the best case scenario to comeback from the Coronavirus hiatus. The date takes into account two weeks of training before the league resumes.
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer Statement on CDC Recommendation https://t.co/XRXGfUEtz0— Major League Soccer (@Major League Soccer) 1584630121.0
National Women's Soccer League
Update on the start of the #NWSL season: https://t.co/Uf45KweIio— NWSL (@NWSL) 1584736259.0
Liga MX / Ascenso MX/ MX Femenil
Mensaje de la Presidencia Ejecutiva de la LIGA MX / ASCENSO MX: https://t.co/4pOOTzeFBb https://t.co/WyPre2Z81j— LIGA BBVA MX (@LIGA BBVA MX) 1584760632.0
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Cristian Javier didn’t give up a hit in six innings and three relievers completed the two-hitter to help the Houston Astros to a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels Friday night.
Javier struck out six, walked three and threw 85 pitches in six innings. He was making his fourth start of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in June 2024.
He was relieved by Enyel De Los Santos (5-3) who gave up a double to Yoan Moncada for the Angels’ first hit of the game, but secured the win.
Kaleb Ort secured a four-out save — his first save of the season — after relieving Craig Kimbrel in the eighth. Kimbrel walked three and threw eight strikes in 25 pitches. Ort secured a fly out from Jo Adell to end the eighth, then finished with a perfect ninth.
Carlos Correa broke the scoreless tie with an RBI single in the seventh that scored Yordan Alvarez. The Astros were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position before that hit off losing pitcher Luis García Jr. (2-1).
Alvarez drove in a second run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Cam Smith, who walked earlier in the inning.
Key moment
Before Correa’s single, Alvarez reached first base on a fielding error by second baseman Christian Moore. He scored after advancing on a bloop single from Jose Altuve.
Key stat
Javier’s six no-hit innings are tied for second-longest no-hit outing of his career with a nine-strikeout performance in the 2022 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. His career best was a seven-inning performance against the New York Yankees on June 25, 2022.
Up next
The Astros will send RHP Spencer Arrighetti (1-5, 6.21 ERA) to the mound against Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (6-9, 5.04) on Saturday.