Loss for Union Berlin, draw for PSV in the Champions League
Wednesday’s soccer news starts in the Champions League with two results involving USMNT Players. First up is Brenden Aaronson subbing on in the 81st minute for Union Berlin’s 3-2 home loss to Braga in group C. Union led 2-0 from goals by Sheraldo Becker in the 30th and 37th. Braga scored in the 41st, equalized in the 51st, and scored four minutes into stoppage time.
Moving to group B, Sergino Dest, Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi’s PSV drew 2-2 at home with Sevilla. Pepi subbed on in the 82nd minute. Trailing from the 68th, PSV’s Luuk de Jong equalized from the penalty spot in the 86th. Sevilla scored in the 87th but Jordan Teze equalized for PSV six minutes into stoppage time.
In the Championship, Daryl Dike wasn’t in the squad for West Brom’s 1-0 home win over Sheffield Wednesday. John Swift scored in the 13th minute. Lynden Gooch wasn’t in the squad for Stoke City’s 1-0 home loss to Southampton to a 41st minute goal.
In Liga MX, Alex Zendejas subbed out in the 83rd minute of Club America’s 4-0 home win over Pachuca. Henry Martin opened the scoring in the 42nd and Zendejas doubled the lead in the 59th. Club America’s Julian Quinones scored in the 87th and Jonathan Rodriguez finished off the goals four minutes into stoppage time. Club America has a four-point lead at the top of the Liga MX table.
Moving to MLS week 36, the reality of the situation for teams chasing the final playoff spots is simple. There are two left in the Eastern Conference and just like the last match night, only one is spoken for in the West. With the perhaps unnecessary reminder that 9th-place is the cutoff, here’s what that looks like for the playoff contenders.
In the East, Montreal in 9th, DC in 10th, and Chicago in 11th are all tied on 37 points. Montreal and Chicago have played 31 games to DC’s 32. NYCFC is a point ahead in 8th-place with a seven-point gap between 8th and 7th, while three points separate the trio from the 12th-place Red Bulls.
Do we get two of our three teams on 37 points facing off later tonight? We do not. Montreal hosts Houston, and DC is at Austin, but Chicago does play Inter Miami at Soldier Field. That’s a crucial game for both clubs, with 13th-place Miami and 14th-place Charlotte on 33 points from, and underline this part, 30 games played.
Moving to the far more complicated Western Conference, the difference between 2nd and 9th-place is five points, with three points separating 9th from 10th and 11th. While the focus is on claiming a specific spot in the playoff positions, there’s still enough games left for one of the 10th through 13th-place teams to disrupt the table. Dallas hosts the only team out of the playoffs in the West, but Colorado beat Dallas 1-0 at home on Saturday.
10th-place Sporting Kansas City and 11th-place Minnesota are both on 38 points, but Sporting KC has played 32 games to United’s 31. With Sporting not playing tonight, Minnesota at LAFC carries additional weight. LAFC lost 1-0 at home on Sunday to Real Salt Lake, with RSL now 2nd in the West tied on 46 points with 3rd-place Seattle and a point ahead of LAFC.
