ProSoccerTalk’s daily soccer re-set

By Jun 27, 2012, 7:30 AM EDT
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What we’re thinking, what we’re watching, what’s coming on the blog today and the RASNoD (Random American Soccer Name of the Day). Setting up your day in soccer:

Soccer birthdays: You will have no soccer birthdays today. And you will like it!

Big Important Story of the Day: Lots to cover here, so lean in close:

The international transfer window opens today in the United States and Canada, so it’s open season on news for incoming players. Stay tuned.

Also in our parts, all the minnows are gone in U.S. Open Cup competition. Three MLS sides eliminated the remaining lower-tier sides from the tournament. And abroad, in and around transfer talk, it’s all about the European Championship semifinals, which begin today with the All-Iberian clash, Spain vs. Portugal.

What we should all watch on TV:

Spain will try to contain Cristiano Ronaldo while Portugal tries to tamp down the those fabulous Spanish midfielders, all six of them – or however many they choose to deploy for today’s 2:45 p.m. ET contest (ESPN).

Ahead on the blog today*: All the befores and afters on the Portugal-Spain clash, plus our popular weekly Panic Quotient and anything you should know about on the transfer front.

RASNoD (Random American Soccer Name of the Day): Andrew Shue

Twitter daps:

NBA star Steve Nash ‏(@SteveNash) on today’s Showdown in New York: Tickets inside the fence and for the after party at http://stevenash.org/showdown Outside the fence and in the bleachers FREE. Who’s coming thru?!

U.S. Open Cup devotees from TheCup.us ‏(@usopencup): Since joining @MLS – @SoundersFC is 10-0-0 vs. fellow MLS teams in @USOpenCup play with 19 goals scored and 5 allowed.

PST background noise while blogging today:  Any Euro 2012 buildup I can find on the radio internets.

About the funny picture: A German fan embraces a wax replica (yes, sorry ladies … just a wax thingy) of Portugese soccer wonder boy Cristiano Ronaldo near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

We’ll leave you with this: Seattle is struggling in MLS, but U.S. Open Cup solves all that ills for this team. A 17-game U.S. Open Cup unbeaten streak – are you kidding me? That really is impressive stuff.

*Always subject to change; you know how it is

Tigres stun Chivas with wild comeback in five-goal thriller to win Liga MX Clausura

By May 29, 2023, 3:45 AM EDT
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Tigres fought back from 2-0 down to beat Chivas 3-2 after extra time in a crazy second leg of Liga MX’s Clausura final, as Tigres were crowned Clausura champs.

WATCH FULL REPLAY

Tied at 0-0 from the first leg of the final in San Nicolas on Thursday, Chivas roared into an early 2-0 lead at Akron Stadium as Roberto Alvarado and Victor Guzman both scored inside the opening 20 minutes.

But then Tigres roared back in the second half with Andre-Pierre Gignac scoring a penalty kick with 25 minutes to go, then six minutes later Sebastian Cordova made it 2-2 to force extra time.

[ TRANSFER NEWS: Arsenal | Liverpool | Chelsea | Tottenham | Man City | Man United ] 

When the game looked destined for penalty kicks Guido Pizarro then scored a deflected winner in the 110th minute for Tigres, as two late red cards saw Cordova sent off for Tigres and Gilberto Sepulveda sent off for Chivas.

At the final whistle it was Tigres’ players who celebrated one of the most incredible comebacks in Liga MX final history, as they secured an eight Liga MX trophy and their first since winning the Clausura in 2019.

Latest Mexico news

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USMNT upcoming schedule – Nations League, friendlies, Gold Cup
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2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup: Schedule, groups for USMNT, Mexico, Canada
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2026 World Cup venues selected: Which cities will host in USA, Canada, Mexico?

How to watch Chivas vs Tigres live, stream link and start time

Kick off: Sunday, May 28 – 9:25pm ET 
TV Channel: Telemundo, Universo
Online: Stream via Peacock

Second leg Chivas vs Tigres video highlights – 2-3

First leg Tigres vs Chivas video highlights – 0-0

Premier League final table: Final standings for 2022-23 season

By May 28, 2023, 7:56 PM EDT
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If it’s the 2022-23 Premier League table you’re after, you’ve come to the right place.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

After the break for the 2022 World Cup, the Premier League returned with a bang and the start to 2023 delivered plenty of fun and it continued into the business end of the season.

Manchester City chased down Arsenal to win yet another Premier League title. Manchester United’s new-look side reclaimed a place in the top four, and so did Newcastle. Brighton and Aston Villa surprised by qualifying for Europe, while Liverpool dips into an unusual competition for its recent standards.

Teams were relegated. Managers were sacked. And here’s how the table looked when all was said and done.

Latest Premier League news

Leicester vs West Ham
Leicester relegated despite final day win over West Ham
Leeds vs Tottenham live - Premier League
Leeds relegated from Premier League as Harry Kane hits 30-goal mark
Aston Villa vs Brighton live
Aston Villa beat Brighton to qualify for Europa Conference League

Premier League final table – End of season

Premier League standings

NBC Sports’ standings and scoreboard


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Leicester relegated despite final day win over West Ham

By May 28, 2023, 7:55 PM EDT
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Leicester City has been relegated to the Championship despite getting the win it needed to have hope of survival: a 2-1 defeat of West Ham United at the King Power Stadium on Championship Sunday.

Leicester entered the day two points back of Everton for 17th place on the Premier League table and got goals from Harvey Barnes and Wout Faes to secure three points, but Everton outlasted Bournemouth 1-0 to match the Foxes and keep them below the dreaded line.

WATCH LEICESTER vs WEST HAM FULL MATCH REPLAY STREAM – LINK

Leicester finishes its season with 34 points in 18th place on the Premier League table.

West Ham, on the other hand, will be forgiven for focusing on the Europa Conference League Final but fought hard for an equalizer even though it only found a Pablo Fornals marker after Leicester had gone ahead two. The Irons finish 14th with 40 points.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

Premier League news

Premier League standings
Premier League final table: Final standings for 2022-23 season
Leeds vs Tottenham live - Premier League
Leeds relegated from Premier League as Harry Kane hits 30-goal mark
Aston Villa vs Brighton live
Aston Villa beat Brighton to qualify for Europa Conference League

Too little, too late for Foxes

“Too little, too late” may go down as the story of the Foxes season.

Leicester did not get its recruitment plans correct — somewhat forced by Financial Fair Play — and then put too much faith in Brendan Rodgers to make things work.

Dean Smith got some performances out of this men, few better than Sunday, but this ultimately feels like a fait accompli: Sometimes, the whole is less than the sum of its parts. Despite big seasons from Harvey Barnes and James Maddison, this was that.

There’s also the question of playing for a draw against Newcastle on Monday, but let’s not heap criticism on Dean Smith for taking a calculated risk. He deserves better.

Leicester vs West Ham player ratings: Stars of the Show

Leicester vs West Ham player ratings
fotmob.com

Harvey Barnes goal video: Leicester lifeline!

Wout Faes goal video: Foxes double the lead

Pablo Fornals goal video: Irons pull one back

How to watch Leicester vs West Ham live, stream link and start time

Kick off: 11:30am ET Sunday
TV Channel: SYFY
Online: Watch live on Peacock + Watch live on NBCSports.com

Key storylines & star players

Leicester would love to see Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Wilfred Ndidi pass fitness checks, but Dean Smith will have rested and ready Harvey Barnes and James Maddison in a bid to score more goals than the Irons.

West Ham could be seeing the penultimate appearance of Declan Rice in an Irons shirt, as the big-money midfielder is being linked to several big clubs in the Premier League.

Leicester team news, injuries, lineup options

OUT: James Justin (calf), Jannik Vestergaard (calf), Wilfred Ndidi (thigh), Caglar Soyuncu (thigh), Ryan Bertrand (other)

West Ham team news, injuries, lineup options

OUT: Gianluca Scamacca (knee)

Leeds relegated from Premier League as Harry Kane hits 30-goal mark

By May 28, 2023, 7:55 PM EDT
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Leeds (31 points – 19th place) have been relegated from the Premier League after they were beaten 4-1 by Tottenham at Elland Road on the final day of the 2022-23 season.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

Harry Kane scored twice more to complete his second 30-goal season, as Tottenham (60 points – 8th place) missed out on the Premier League’s final European place with Aston Villa beating 6th-place Brighton to qualify for the Europa Conference League. Now, a painfully pivotal summer of hirings and signings awaits for Spurs.

It was a nightmare start for Leeds, who needed not only a victory of their own but also points to be dropped by both Everton and Leicester above them. Tottenham’s first foray into Leeds’ penalty area ended with Kane hammering the ball past Joel Robles.

WATCH LEEDS vs TOTTENHAM FULL MATCH REPLAY

New half, same story for Leeds, who conceded once again barely a minute into the second half. Kane turned provider this time, as he lofted a blind ball into the channel for the overlapping Pedro Porro, who barely had a sight of goal with Robles smothering the near post. But, Porro placed a pinpoint strike just inside the far post from a tight angle.

Leeds gave themselves a faint hope when he slotted home after Georginio Rutter picked him out between two defenders in the 67th minute, but Kane answered just two minutes later with his second of the day and the 280th — and potentially final — goal of his Tottenham career.

Latest Premier League news

Premier League standings
Premier League final table: Final standings for 2022-23 season
Leicester vs West Ham
Leicester relegated despite final day win over West Ham
Aston Villa vs Brighton live
Aston Villa beat Brighton to qualify for Europa Conference League

Leeds United relegation reaction

Club statement:

“Everyone connected with Leeds United is deeply disappointed by the club’s relegation back to the Sky Bet Championship, after three seasons in the Premier League.

“Relegation is painful, and we apologize to our fanbase that the performances this season have not seen the club consolidate our status as we had all hoped.

“However, Leeds United remains in a strong position to build a team that can challenge for promotion from the Championship next season.

“We know things have not been good enough, we know we have to improve, but please be assured that behind the scenes we have worked hard to ensure that the past will not be repeated. Our focus is now on how we get straight back to the Premier League.

“Thank you for your unwavering support for the players and the badge, our objective is to continue to build the club into the one you deserve.”

Stars of the show

Leeds vs Tottenham
Photo: FotMob.com

Leeds vs Tottenham, final score: 1-4

2nd minute – Harry Kane hammers home Tottenham’s opening goal

47th minute – Pedro Porro places a pinpoint strike inside the far post for 2-0

67th minute – Jack Harrison gives Leeds a late lifeline

69th minute – Harry Kane answers immediately with his 30th goal of the season

90th minute +4 – Lucas Moura adds to Leeds misery with Spurs’ 4th goal

How to watch Leeds vs Tottenham live, stream link and start time

Kick off: 11:30 am ET, Sunday
TV channel: CNBC
Online: Stream via Peacock Premium + Watch on NBCSports.com

Key storylines & star players

Leeds have had plenty of time opportunities to drag themselves out of the bottom-three and away from the relegation scrap as a whole, but they are now winless in their last eight games (0W-2D-6L) and have won just three of their last 24. Their biggest problem? The Premier League’s worst defensive record in 2022-23 — 74 goals conceded in 37 games. In each of the last four seasons, the side to concede the most goals has been relegated.

With another summer of uncertainty (from the manager to most of the first-team squad) on the cards for Spurs, Sunday could be the final time Harry Kane pulls on the white shirt of Tottenham, following reports this week that he will ask — or perhaps has already asked — to leave the club if a fair offer is made. Kane’s 278 goals make him the club’s all-time record goal scorer, and his departure could signal a full-blown tear-down and rebuild for the incoming manager still to be hired.

Leeds team news, injuries, lineup options

OUT: Tyler Adams (hamstring – out for season), Luis Sinisterra (ankle – out for season), Patrick Bamford (thigh)

Tottenham team news, injuries, lineup options

OUT: Cristian Romero (undisclosed), Rodrigo Bentancur (torn ACL – out for season), Hugo Lloris (hip), Eric Dier (hernia), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (undisclosed)

Follow @AndyEdMLS