ON THE PITCH
Weekly soccer report: Kane finishes as 2017 top scorer, Premier League drama kicks off World Cup Year
Jan 2, 2018, 12:29 pm
Club America fans were in high spirits as they witnessed their team win 4-0 over Liga MX rival Toluca on Saturday, December 30, 2017 at BBVA Compass Stadium. Jorge Clara/Deporte Total USA
Soccer fans worldwide are rejoicing as 2018 - a World Cup year - is finally here with the most important tournament in the sport taking place in less then six months. As for the holiday season, the Premier League took much of the attention this week with action from Boxing Day opening the new year with high drama. This was the week in soccer:
Premier League
Boxing Day action got under way with a historic accomplishment as Harry Kane bagged a hat-trick against Southampton to bring his 2017 tally to 39 - breaking Alan Shearer’s 1995 record of 36 Premier League goals in a calendar year. The accomplishment also grabbed headlines because it made Kane Europe’s top scorer for the year, and the first player not named Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to do so this decade.
On the manager’s end, Arsenal’s Arsène Wenger broke a record of his own as he surpassed the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson for most matches managed in the Premier League. Wenger’s tenure at Arsenal has been a topic of discussion for a few seasons as supporters have grown frustrated not seeing their team win the league since 2004 and failing to qualify for the Champions League this last season.
Liverpool stood out most this week with 5-nil thrashing of Swansea on Boxing Day, a 2-1 win over Leicester on Saturday and a 2-1 win on New Year’s Day thanks to a stoppage time winner by Ragnar Klavan. Chelsea easily won two straight while Manchester City had a 1-0 win over Newcastle and a ni-nil draw against Crystal Palace.
Manchester United were - of the top clubs - under the most scrutiny after being eliminated from the Football League Cup by Bristol City and the scrutiny heightened with two league draws to end the year. United bounced back on New Year's Day as Paul Pogba led the Reds to a 2-0 win at Everton.
Honorable mention goes to Burnley, who despite their last minute loss to Liverpool on New Year’s, held Manchester United and Huddersfield to draws and are quietly in seventh place behind the top teams in the Prem. Leicester City began the year with a 3-0 win over Hudderfield and are in eighth place, a great turnaround considering their start to the season.
Top 5: Manchester City (59), Manchester United (47), Chelsea (45), Liverpool (44), Arsenal (38)
La Liga
No action in Spain over the weekend as clubs took a holiday break. The league returns this weekend as clubs begin the second half of the season. Before then, 12 La Liga teams will take part in the Copa del Rey round of 16 first leg matches on Wednesday and Thursday.
The 5: Barcelona (45), Atlético Madrid (36), Valencia (34), Real Madrid (31), Sevilla (29)
Bundesliga
Still another week of winter break in the Bundesliga before clubs even return for domestic cup action.
Top 5: Bayern Munich (41), Schalke 04 (30), Dortmund (28), Bayer Leverkusen (28), RB Leipzig (28)
Ligue 1
No league play in France this weekend but many Ligue 1 clubs will take part in the domestic cup as the Coupe de France round of 64 takes place. Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, Lyon and Nantes will all be on the road as they look to advance to the next round.
Top 5: Paris Saint-Germain (50), Monaco (41), Lyon (41), Marseille (38), Nantes (33)
Serie A
Four draws this weekend in Italy’s top flight and wins by the top two combine to make it look as if Italy is turning into a two-horse race. Given what has happened this season in Italy, it would be hard to discount Inter Milan and Roma but it does look like Napoli and Juventus have hit their stride after early bumps in the road. Inter Milan and Lazio battled to a scoreless draw in the only match between top teams this weekend. Inter were eliminated from the Coppa Italia midweek by rivals A.C. Milan, who did not translate their cup win over to league play. The once great Milan are winless in seven of their last nine league games and sit 11th in the standings.
The top 5: Napoli (48), Juventus (47), Inter Milan (41), Roma (39), Lazio (37)
Liga MX
Houston was host to a Liga MX preseason bout as Club America defeated Toluca 4-0 at BBVA Compass Stadium. Oribe Peralta - who will most likely be a part of Mexico’s World Cup squad this summer in Russia - scored twice as Silvio Romero and new signing Henry Martin scored the other two. Joe Corona, who won the CONCACAF Gold Cup with the U.S. men’s national team last summer, also got some playing time with his new club.
The second half of the Liga MX calendar kicks off this weekend with the Clausura 2018 season. Among the matches to watch will be a rematch of last month’s playoffs between Monterrey and Monarcas Morelia. Defending champions Tigres will go on the road, after a short preseason, to take on Puebla. Pachuca-Pumas UNAM, Toluca-Guadalajara and Queretaro-America will also be matches to keep an eye on. Portuguese manager Pedro Caixinha - who won the Clausura 2015 title with Santos Laguna - will debut as the new manager of Cruz Azul as he returns to Mexico following a stints in the Qatari and Scottish first divisions.
Dynamo duo in Charity Match
Hondurans Alberth Elis and Romell Quioto, both forwards who recently finished their first year with the Houston Dynamo, were in their native country taking part in a charity match to raise funds for a friend with health issues. The all-star game of sorts was co-hosted by the Dynamo duo alongside former Premier League midfielder Wilson Palacios at Palacios' sports complex in the northern city of La Ceiba. Elis and Quioto led a young squad composed of teammates from the 2015 FIFA U20 World Cup Honduras team to a 4-2 win over Team Palacios. The cost of admission was 50 Lempiras (USD $2.11).
Elis was named the club's 2017 Player's Player of the Year after helping the Dynamo to their first MLS Cup Playoffs since 2013. Elis scored 10 goals in the regular season and an extra time winner in the knockout round of the playoffs against Sporting Kansas City. Quioto had seven goals off his own, including three in the first three games of the season. Both will be back with the team when the Dynamo begin preseason at the end of this month.
Upcoming Matches (All Times CT):
Tuesday, Jan. 2:
1:45 p.m. - [Premier League] Swansea vs. Tottenham (NBC Sports)
1:45 p.m. - [Coppa Italia] Napoli vs. Atalanta (GolTV)
Wednesday, Jan. 3:
1:45 p.m. - [Premier League] Arsenal vs. Chelsea (NBC Sports)
1:45 p.m. - [Coppa Italia] Juventus vs. Torino (GolTV)
Thurday, Jan. 4:
12 p.m. - [Copa del Rey] Celta Vigo vs. Barcelona (beIN Sports)
2 p.m. - [Copa del Rey] Numancia vs. Real Madrid (beIN Sports)
2 p.m. - [Premier League] Tottenham vs. West Ham (NBC Sports)
Friday, Jan. 5:
11 a.m. - [Serie A] Chievo vs. Udinese (beIN Sports)
1:45 p.m. - [Serie A] Fiorentina vs. Inter Milan (beIN Sports)
1:55 p.m. - [FA Cup] Liverpool vs. Everton (FS1)
1:55 p.m. - [FA Cup] Manchester United vs. Derby County (FS2)
7 p.m. - [Liga MX] Puebla vs. Tigres UANL (Univision Deportes)
9 p.m. - [Liga MX] Atlas vs. Leon (Univision Deportes)
Saturday, Jan. 6:
6:45 a.m. - [FA Cup] Fleetwood vs. Leicester City (FS1)
9 a.m. - [FA Cup] Manchester City vs. Burnley (FS1)
9 a.m. - [Serie A] AC Milan vs. Crotone (beIN Sports)
12:30 p.m. - [FA Cup] Norwich City vs. Chelsea (FS1)
1:45 p.m. - [Serie A] Cagliari vs. Juventus (beIN Sports)
5 p.m. - [Liga MX] Cruz Azul vs. Tijuana (Univision Deportes)
7 p.m. - [Liga MX] Pachuca vs. Pumas UNAM (Univision Deportes)
Sunday, Jan. 7:
8 a.m. - [FA Cup] Schrewsbury vs. West Ham (FS1)
10 a.m. - [FA Cup] Notthingham Forrest vs. Arsenal (FS1)
10 a.m. - [La Liga] Barcelona vs. Levante (beIN Sports)
12 p.m. - [Liga MX] Toluca vs. Guadalajara (Univision Deportes)
1:45 p.m. - [La Liga] Celta Vigo vs. Real Madrid (beIN Sports)
1:45 p.m. - [Coupe de France] Rennes vs. Paris Saint-Germain (beIN Sports Connect)
5 p.m. - [Liga MX] Queretaro vs. Club America (Univision Deportes)
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After the beating C.J. Stroud took in Houston’s divisional playoff loss to Kansas City it was clear the team’s top offseason priority should be upgrading its offensive line.
Instead, the Texans traded five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil and 2022 first-round pick left guard Kenyon Green and released right guard Shaq Mason.
They added tackle Cam Robinson and guards Ed Ingram and Laken Tomlinson, but as the NFL draft approaches their porous offensive line remains the most glaring weakness of the team.
Though the Texans won’t say that they plan to use their first-round pick (No. 25) on an offensive lineman, they’ve said plenty about the need to better protect Stroud this upcoming season. Stroud led Houston to its second straight AFC South title last season despite being sacked 52 times, which was the second most in the NFL.
“Getting better protection for C.J. is definitely a main point of emphasis for us,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We know when C.J. is protected, he has a clean pocket, he’s a pretty good quarterback. ... He’s capable of making any throw on the football field. But it’s just a matter of protecting him and giving him that comfort when he’s in the pocket.”
General manager Nick Caserio said he doesn’t believe they have to draft an offensive lineman next week.
“We feel like we have to add good football players to our football team,” he said. “That’s what we’re focused on. Whatever those positions entail, that’s what’s going to work. That’s how we’re going to approach it and handle it.”
Houston’s pick in the first round is one of seven selections it has in this year’s draft. The Texans return to the first round this season after not having a pick in the opening round last season because of trades, including the one to move up to get defensive end Will Anderson with the third overall pick in the 2023 draft.
Though the offensive line has several holes, Houston’s top priority should be drafting the left tackle of the future.
Robinson could protect Stroud’s blind side this season to give whichever player they draft a season to develop and learn behind him.
A couple of players who could be available when the Texans pick are Kelvin Banks from Texas and Oregon’s Josh Conerly. Banks was a three-year starter for the Longhorns and won the Outland Trophy as the nation’s best interior lineman last season. Conerly started 28 games at left tackle in the past two seasons for the Ducks and was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award given to the nation’s best offensive lineman.
Pick ’em
The Texans have two picks in the third round and two in the seventh this year after receiving the 79th and 236th overall picks from the Commanders as part of the trade for Tunsil.
Needs
Along with the offensive line, the Texans could use some help at receiver. Nico Collins, who has had consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, has developed into an elite option. But the Texans need a solid second option after they moved on from Stefon Diggs after one disappointing season that ended in a season-ending injury in Week 8.
They traded for Christian Kirk, but he’s coming off a tough season where he had a career-low 379 yards before breaking his collarbone in October. The Texans also don’t know when they’ll get Tank Dell back, with the receiver still recovering from a serious knee injury he sustained in December.
Don’t need
The Texans are set at running back after signing Joe Mixon before last season and having a reliable backup in Dameon Pierce.
Draft success
While Caserio has added some stars to the team with first-round draft picks including Stroud, Anderson and cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., he’s also had a knack for finding starters beyond the first round since joining the Texans.
Caserio nabbed Collins in the third round in his first draft with Houston in 2021 and added safety Jalen Pitre in the second round in 2022. He also found starting linebackers Christian Harris in the third in 2022 and Henry To’oTo’o in the fifth in 2023.
Last year he drafted cornerback Kamari Lassiter in the second round and safety Calen Bullock in the third. In their rookie seasons, Lassiter started 14 games while Bullock started 13.