ON THE PITCH
Weekly soccer update: Sanchez transfer highlights busy time on, off the pitch
Jan 23, 2018, 10:20 am
Alexis Sanchez made news with his transfer to Man U. Wikipedia
Transfers around the world are what have moved the needles this week but there are results on the field that had Champions League implications. Here is the week in soccer:
Premier League
Chelsea kicked off the weekend slate in the Prem with a 4-0 win at Brighton, thanks in part to an Eden Hazard double that brings his PL total to 8 and places him in the top 15 scorers in the league. Javier Hernandez (West Ham) and Oumar Niasse (Everton) both rescued a point for their clubs against Bournemouth and West Brom respectively. Manchester United picked up three points with an Anthony Martial score being the difference in the match. Meanwhile in Leicester, Vardy and Mahrez guided the Foxes to a 2-0 win over Watford. Stoke City had a 2-0 result themselves over Huddersfield - a massive win to bring the Potters out of the relegation zone for the time being. Arsenal - with a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace - and a hat-trick performance by Sergio Aguero in Manchester City’s 3-1 win at Newcastle capped off Saturday’s action.
Sunday brought surprises as Tottenham and Liverpool had a difficult day. In the first match, Spurs defender Davinson Sanchez gave up an own goal to Southampton that would be cancelled out by a Harry Kane header three minutes later. The ended in a 1-1 draw which is a much more favorable result as Liverpool lost 1-0 at last place Swansea in the final match of the weekend.
Of course the biggest news this week in England football happened off the pitch as Alexis Sanchez completed his move from Arsenal to Manchester United. Sanchez has been one of the top players in recent Premier League history with only three players - Kane, Aguero and Romelu Lukaku - having a better output in goals and assists since the Chilean’s arrival to the PL in the 2014-15 season. The move also throws a bit of a wrench in the Manchester rivalry as Sanchez had been rumored to reunite with his former manager Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. The move completes a straight swap in which Henrikh Mkhitaryan goes the opposite way to Arsenal.
Top 5: Manchester City (65), Manchester United (53), Chelsea (50), Liverpool (47), Tottenham (45)
La Liga
The Messi and Suarez show continues in Spain as Barcelona show no signs of slowing down in a 5-0 win at Real Betis. Leo Messi leads the league in goals (19) and assists (9) while Suarez is second in goals with 15 of his own. By the way, Barça has yet to taste defeat this season in league play. Second place Atletico, meanwhile, hit a bump in the road this weekend with a 1-1 draw against Girona - furthering Barcelona’s lead in the standings by 11 points. Valencia had an even bigger hiccup by losing 2-1 at relegation-threatened Las Palmas.
As for the defending champions, Real Madrid looked like a woken giant in their 7-1 dismantling of Deportivo La Coruña. Nacho, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo each scored a brace as the Spanish giants picked up their biggest win since a 5-0 thumping of Sevilla in early December. Villareal also won this weekend, 2-1 over Levante.
The 5: Barcelona (54), Atlético Madrid (43), Valencia (40), Real Madrid (35), Villarreal (34)
Bundesliga
If the race at the top of the standings in England and Spain looks decided, Bayern may as well have their championship parade now as they enjoy the largest lead amongst the top leagues in Europe. Robert Lewandowski, the top scorer in the Bundesliga (17), and Thomas Müller each had two in Bayern’s 4-2 win over Werder Bremen. One of Bremen’s goals was a Bayern own goal in case you want to make the case that the Bavarians scored five. Sixteen points removed from the defending champions is a group of teams who are undecided on who wants to be second. Leipzig - technically - dropped to fourth after a 2-1 loss at Freiburg, Schalke drew 1-1 at Hannover and Bayer won 4-1 at Hoffenheim. One point down in fifth is Borussia Dortmund who picked up a 1-1 draw at Hertha. In the relegation race, last place Cologne picked up 2-0 win over second to last place Hamburg.
Top 5: Bayern Munich (47), Bayer Leverkusen (31), Schalke 04 (31), RB Leipzig (31), Dortmund (30)
Ligue 1
It was a weekend to forget for league leaders Paris Saint-Germain but one that will have repercussions for weeks to come. The champions were handed their second loss of the season in a 2-1 bout at Lyon, losing after the only the second minute and diminished to ten as Dani Alves red carded in the 57th. PSG was playing without Neymar who was out because of a thigh injury but the worst news came in the second half as another star player, Kylian Mbappe, was taken off the field on a stretcher after colliding with Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes. Mbappe has already been ruled out of PSG’s round of 16 Champions League series against Real Madrid, making this loss a costly one. Lyon won on a stoppage time goal by former Manchester United attacker Memphis Depay.
Lyon’s win keeps them level with second place Monaco on 42 points. Marseille stays at fourth with a 2-0 win at Caen while fifth place Nantes lost 1-0 to Bordeaux. Nice won 1-0 at St. Etienne and is in sixth with 34th, left out of the top five by a goal difference of one.
Top 5: Paris Saint-Germain (53), Monaco (42), Lyon (42), Marseille (41), Nantes (33)
Serie A
Calcio (soccer) in Italy was back this weekend after the conclusion of the winter break. Napoli and Juventus both eased back into their race for the title with 1-0 wins. Lazio sneaked their way into third, at least on goal difference, after a 5-1 win over Chievo Verona and an Inter Milan 1-1 draw with fifth place Roma. Cagliari and AC Milan each had a player red carded but it was the Rossoneri who triumphed thanks to a double by Franck Kessié. Cotone moved out of the relegation zone, temporarily, with a 3-0 win at Hellas Verona.
The top 5: Napoli (54), Juventus (53), Lazio (43), Inter Milan (43), Roma (40)
Liga MX
The relegation battle in Mexico is one that always heats up in the second half of the year, especially as teams try to get a head start on securing their first division future. In Mexico, only one team is relegated per season and the club that gets demoted is decided by a percentage based on results during the past three years in Liga MX. The easiest way to help your cause is always by direct results, which is exactly what Puebla did winning 2-0 over Veracruz.
Toluca won their first match of the season 3-1 at the expense of Atlas, another club in the relegation battle. Queretaro-Tigres, Cruz Azul-León and Monterrey-Tijuana all ended in scoreless draws. In the case of Leon, no timetable has been given on Donovan’s potential debut. Pachuca earned a 3-1 win over Lobos BUAP while Guadalajara won by 3-1 at Necaxa. Pumas UNAM and America, Mexico City rivals, fought to a nil-nil draw. Santos jumps back into the top five with a 1-0 win over Morelia.
The top 5: Pumas UNAM (7), León (7), Santos (6), Puebla (6), Cruz Azul (5)
MLS clubs begin preseason
The Major League Soccer season inches closer to kick off as the annual college draft, dubbed the “SuperDraft,” took place over the weekend. Expansion side LAFC worked on adding new players, Chicago Fire probably won the draft based on talent picked up but the biggest moves revolved around trades. Some of the best attackers in the league will have new teams as David Accam moves to Philadelphia, Ola Kamara moves to LA Galaxy, Gyasi Zardes goes to Columbus and Darwin Ceren becomes the newest member of the Houston Dynamo.
On top of the Ceren trade, the Dynamo quietly went about their business by drafting in positions of need. Katy product Michael Nelson will have an opportunity to make the roster for a team he cheered as a youth player while they also drafted forward Mac Stevees, midfielder Pablo Aguilar and defenders Sheldon Sullivan and Manny Padilla.
MLS held a media day in Los Angeles on Sunday and clubs initiated preseason on Monday with the completion of entrance physicals. Most of the northern teams are headed South for preseason, with preseason tournaments similar to baseball’s spring training schedule in both Arizona and Florida. The Dynamo will hold an open practice on Saturday before they head to the Rio Grande Valley and then Arizona with a return to Houston in-between.
Women’s soccer update
The top league in Women’s soccer, the National Women’s Soccer League, also held their college draft as part of the U.S. Coaches Convention in Philadelphia. Just like its male counterpart, the league’s draft day was epitomised by trade talk. In a three-team blockbuster trade, FIFA Women’s Player of the Year Carli Lloyd and Canada standout Janine Beckie depart the Houston Dash for New Jersey’s Sky Blue FC as U.S. women's national team forward Christen Press arrives to Space City from the Chicago Red Stars.
Speaking of the United States women's national team, the U.S. Women defeated Denmark to a 5-1 friendly win in front of 17,526 on Sunday night in San Diego. After the match, midfielder Julie Ertz found out her husband Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz was going to Super Bowl LII and the video made the rounds Monday on social media.
Upcoming Matches (All Times CT):
Tuesday, Jan. 23:
1:45 p.m. - [EFL Cup] Bristol City vs. Manchester City (ESPN Deportes/ESPN3)
2:30 p.m. - [Copa del Rey] Sevilla vs. Atletico Madrid (beIN Sports)
Wednesday, Jan. 24:
6 a.m. - UEFA Nations League Draw (ESPN3)
11:30 a.m. - [Coupe de France] PSG vs. Guingamp (beIN Sports)
12 p.m. - [Copa del Rey] Alaves vs. Valencia (beIN Sports)
2:30 p.m. - [Copa del Rey] Real Madrid vs. Leganes (beIN Sports)
2 p.m. - [EFL Cup] Arsenal vs. Chelsea (ESPN Deportes/ESPN3)
Thursday, Jan. 25:
2:30 p.m. - [Copa del Rey] Barcelona vs. Espanyol (beIN Sports)
Friday, Jan. 26:
1:30 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Frankfurt vs. Monchengladbach (FS2)
1:45 p.m. - [Ligue 1] Dijon vs. Rennes (beIN Sports)
1:55 p.m. - [FA Cup] Yeovil Town vs. Manchester United (FS1)
2 p.m. - [La Liga] Athletic vs. Eibar (beIN Sports en Espanol)
Saturday, Jan. 27:
6:30 a.m. - [FA Cup] Peterborough vs. Leicester (FS1)
9 a.m. - [FA Cup] Wigan vs. West Ham (FS2)
9:15 a.m. - [La Liga] Valencia vs. Real Madrid (beIN Sports)
9:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Bayern Munich vs. Hoffenheim (FS1)
11 a.m. - [Ligue 1] PSG vs. Montpellier (beIN Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [FA Cup] Newport vs. Tottenham (FS1)
1:45 a.m. - [FA Cup] Liverpool vs. West Brom (FS2)
Sunday, Jan. 28:
7:30 a.m. - [FA Cup] Chelsea vs. Newcastle (FS1)
11 a.m. - [FA Cup] Cardiff vs. Manchester City (FS2)
1:45 p.m. - [La Liga] Barcelona vs. Alaves (beIN Sports)
8:30 p.m. - [International Friendly] USA vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (FS1, UniMas)
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After finishing up with the Guardians the Astros have a rather important series for early May with the Seattle Mariners heading to town for the weekend. While it’s still too early to be an absolute must-win series for the Astros, losing the series to drop seven or eight games off the division lead would make successfully defending their American League West title that much more unlikely.
Since their own stumble out of the gate to a 6-10 record the Mariners have been racking up series wins, including one this week over the Atlanta Braves. The M’s offense is largely Mmm Mmm Bad, but their pitching is sensational. In 18 games after the 6-10 start, the Mariners gave up five runs in a game once. In the other 17 games they only gave up four runs once. Over the 18 games their starting pitchers gave up 18 earned runs total with a 1.44 earned run average. That’s absurd. Coming into the season Seattle’s starting rotation was clearly better on paper than those of the Astros and Texas Rangers, and it has crystal clearly played out as such into the second month of the schedule.
While it’s natural to focus on and fret over one’s own team's woes when they are plentiful as they have been for the Astros, a reminder that not all grass is greener elsewhere. Alex Bregman has been awful so far. So has young Mariners’ superstar Julio Rodriguez. A meager four extra base hits over his first 30 games were all Julio produced down at the ballyard. That the Mariners are well ahead of the Astros with J-Rod significantly underperforming is good news for Seattle.
Caratini comes through!
So it turns out the Astros are allowed to have a Puerto Rican-born catcher who can hit a little bit. Victor Caratini’s pedigree is not that of a quality offensive player, but he has swung the bat well thus far in his limited playing time and provided the most exciting moment of the Astros’ season with his two-out two-run 10th inning game winning home run Tuesday night. I grant that one could certainly say “Hey! Ronel Blanco finishing off his no-hitter has been the most exciting moment.” I opt for the suddenness of Caratini’s blow turning near defeat into instant victory for a team that has been lousy overall to this point. Frittering away a game the Astros had led 8-3 would have been another blow. Instead, to the Victor belong the spoils.
Pudge Rodriguez is the greatest native Puerto Rican catcher, but he was no longer a good hitter when with the Astros for the majority of the 2009 season. Then there’s Martin Maldonado.
Maldonado’s hitting stats with the Astros look Mike Piazza-ian compared to what Jose Abreu was doing this season. Finally, mercifully for all, Abreu is off the roster as he accepts a stint at rookie-level ball in Florida to see if he can perform baseball-CPR on his swing and career. Until or unless he proves otherwise, Abreu is washed up and at some point the Astros will have to accept it and swallow whatever is left on his contract that runs through next season. For now Abreu makes over $120,000 per game to not be on the roster. At his level of performance, that’s a better deal than paying him that money to be on the roster.
Abreu’s seven hits in 71 at bats for an .099 batting average with a .269 OPS is a humiliating stat line. In 2018 George Springer went to sleep the night of June 13 batting .293 after going hitless in his last four at bats in a 13-5 Astros’ win over Oakland. At the time no one could have ever envisioned that Springer had started a deep, deep funk which would have him endure a nightmarish six for 78 stretch at the plate (.077 batting average). Springer then hit .293 the rest of the season.
Abreu’s exile opened the door for Joey Loperfido to begin his Major League career. Very cool for Loperfido to smack a two-run single in his first game. He also struck out twice. Loperfido will amass whiffs by the bushel, he had 37 strikeouts in 101 at bats at AAA Sugar Land. Still, if he can hit .225 with some walks mixed in (he drew 16 with the Space Cowboys) and deliver some of his obvious power (13 homers in 25 games for the ex-Skeeters) that’s an upgrade over Abreu/Jon Singleton, as well as over Jake Meyers and the awful showing Chas McCormick has posted so far. Frankly, it seems unwise that the Astros only had Loperfido play seven games at first base in the minors this year. If McCormick doesn’t pick it up soon and with Meyers displaying limited offensive upside, the next guy worth a call-up is outfielder Pedro Leon. In January 2021 the Astros gave Leon four million dollars to sign out of Cuba and called him a “rapid mover to the Major Leagues.” Well…
Over his first three minor league seasons Leon flashed tools but definitely underwhelmed. He has been substantially better so far this year. He turns 26 May 28. Just maybe the Astros offense could be the cause of fewer Ls with Loperfido at first and Leon in center field.
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.