The soccer news starts with the MLS schedule. Showing some respect to the international break, there are only five games in an abbreviated week 4. There's certainly an argument for that being five too many. In the league's own media roundup, they pointed to the "80 MLS stars set for National Team action" over the break. That's the standard reason for topflights taking the international break off . . .
Atlanta United’s point
The soccer news starts with the obvious issue for Atlanta United. So far in 2019, it's not working. Atlanta split the points at home with Philadelphia in a 1-1 draw that required a comeback. This isn't the Atlanta we knew from 2018, adding pressure to a transition that was never likely to be easy. “I feel like we were finding some problems to really find our free man," Atlanta coach Frank de Boer . . .
Sporting Kansas City advances in the Concacaf Champions League
Friday's soccer news starts with the last MLS team standing in the 2019 Concacaf Champions League. Sporting Kansas City overturned a first-leg deficit to win 3-0 on the night and advance 4-2 on aggregate to advance past Independiente. Sporting plays Monterrey in the semifinals with Tigres vs Santos Laguna on the other side of the bracket. Krisztian Nemeth opened the scoring in the 74th minute . . .
Liga MX goes three for three in the Champions League quarterfinals
The soccer news starts with the polite way of saying that another MLS team lost to a Liga MX club in the 2019 Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals. Atlanta United took the second-leg against Monterrey 1-0 at home, losing 3-1 on aggregate. Atlanta is the third MLS team to lose to Liga MX, with all three of the Mexican teams in the quarterfinals advancing. Josef Martinez scored the game's only . . .
Red Bulls and Dynamo out of the Concacaf Champions League
The soccer news starts with the New York Red Bulls and the Houston Dynamo exiting the 2019 Concacaf Champions League at the quarterfinal stage. There would be no remarkable comebacks for either of the MLS teams against Liga MX opponents, though the Red Bulls started strong at Santos Laguna. New York trailed 2-0 going into the deciding leg at Estadio Corona, scoring two pqucik goals to make the . . .
The rest of Real Madrid’s season
The soccer news starts with Real Madrid already out of the Champions League, the Coppa del Rey, and 12 points and two spots behind La Liga leaders Barcelona. So why not act now and bring back three-time Champions League winning coach Zinedine Zidane? After Zidane quit over the summer, Real Madrid went through two coaches. Julen Lopetegui made it only through the end of October. He lost the Spain . . .
Pressure on Portland and Atlanta
The soccer news starts with Portland's lopsided loss at LAFC and a disappointing draw for Atlanta United at home against FC Cincinnati. Both of last season's finalists already face questions about their approach. The only answer for that is winning games, but that's not getting any easier in MLS. For Portland, giving up four goals is an MLS cliche, but it doesn't takeaway from expectations . . .
Manchester United as the underdog
The soccer news starts with another quandary for European soccer. How did one of the biggest clubs in the world end up a Champions League underdog story? Manchester United knocking out PSG was almost a feel good story about a plucky overachiever pushing past the moneyed aristocracy. Somehow, we're talking about Manchester United. “It’s the Champions League," Manchester United interim manager Ole . . .
MLS goes 0 for 4 in Champions League quarterfinal first-legs
The news for MLS in the 2019 Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals didn't get any better. Two more losses means every MLS team has a tough assignment in next week's second legs. Sporting Kansas City and Atlanta United join the New York Red Bulls and Houston Dynamo in the loss column. After shutting out Toluca over two legs in the last round, Sporting KC fell behind 2-1 at Independiente in the . . .
The Red Bulls and Houston down two goals in the Champions League
The soccer news starts with bad news for MLS in the 2019 Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals. Both the New York Red Bulls and the Houston Dynamo lost their home legs 2-0 to Liga MX clubs. That means the unlikeliest of comebacks in the second-legs in Mexico. It's a disappointment for MLS, with reason to believe that they'd finally turned the corner against Liga MX in the CCL. New York lost 2-0 . . .
