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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Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Key moment
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Key Stat
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Up next
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.