Unbelievable first round of the MLS Playoffs as 3 games went to Penalty Shoutouts, 1 after a goal in the 94th minute. The leading scorer in MLS history Chris Wondolowski scored in the 94th minute for San Jose to send their game with top seed Sporting KC into a 3-3 tie ,only to have Sporting KC win in the shootout. New England scored in the 95th minute to beat Henry’s Montreal 2-1. Nashville won the battle of Expansion teams 3-0 over Miami to set up their matchup Tues with Philly at 8 pm on ESPN. But the craziest of them all was Orlando’s OT Shootout win over NYCFC after the goalkeeper was ejected for jumping off the line to early on the 4th PK save. Orlando Centerback Rodrigo Schlegel had to sub in and saved his 2nd shot faced to win it for a pretty loud and boisterous Orlando City in front of the home crowd. They will now face the Philly/NE Winner on Sunday. You have to see the links below for the shootout and GK Jersey sale. Wow what a weekend of MLS !!!
Champions League viewership up nearly 40 percent – Returns Tues/Wed
Through three matchdays, coverage of the UEFA Champions League has averaged 432,000 viewers across UniMas and Galavision — up 39% from last year. In particular, UniMas is up 35% (to 372K) and Galavision is up 100% (to 60,000).This year’s competition has already included two of the three most-watched UCL group stage matches on record, with Juventus-Barcelona on October 28 ranking first (757K) and Tuesday’s Real Madrid-Inter Milan match third (561K). No idea on CBS SportsNetwork on CBS all access as they don’t do neilsen ratings. But it appears folks in the US are at least watching in Spanish for sure. Champions League match-day 4 is next week with the big games Tuesday being US players Gio Reyna for Dortmund hosting Club Brugge and GK Horvath on TUDN at 3 pm, while PSG hosts American Tyler Adams and RB Leipzig with the top spot in the group on the line right behind Man United. Wed’s top game features Inter Milan hosting Real Madrid on TUDN at 3 pm in a loser might be out in group C game. Salzburg and their American coach will be looking for a lifeline vs defending champs Bayern Munich and US defender Chris Richards at 3 pm on TUDN and of course all the games on CBS All Access and the CBS Sportsnetwork (check your listings you might have it) Goalazo show –goals from each game jumparound show. Full Standings thru 3 matches here.
MLS PLAYOFFS – Round 1
MLS playoffs quarterfinals viewers guide:
The most incredible MLS weekend ever? Here are the top 5 moments
Zakuani: Three takeaways from a drama-filled day of Playoff action
Orlando City Center Back Saves Penalty Shot in Shootout to Win Game for Orlando after GK Ejection
Orlando City Center Back GK Jersey for Sale
Drama in Portland! Dallas prevail in PKs to stun Timbers
Timbers left to rue conceding another late goal after exiting playoffs in Round 1
SKC believe they’re “built for the playoffs” after surviving Quakes Shootout scare
MLS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
TUES, NOV 22 – single elimination
FS1 6 pm Toronto FC vs Nashville FC
ESPN 8 pm Philly Union vs NE Revs
ESPN 10:30 pm Seattle FC vs LAFC
Tuesday, November 24 – Champs League
Wednesday, November 25 – Champs League
MLS Conference semifinals
Western Conference
Sporting KC v Minnesota United — Dec. 1 or 2
Seattle Sounders v FC Dallas or
FC Dallas v LAFC — Dec. 1 or 2
Eastern Conference
Philadelphia v Orlando City orOrlando City v New England — Nov. 29
Toronto v Columbus orColumbus v Nashville — Nov. 29
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Champions League matchday 4: PSG must beat Leipzig; will Bayern and Liverpool stay perfect? Tom Hamilton
MLS PLAYOFFS – Round 1
MLS playoffs quarterfinals viewers guide:
The most incredible MLS weekend ever? Here are the top 5 moments
Zakuani: Three takeaways from a drama-filled day of Playoff action
Orlando City Center Back Saves Penalty Shot in Shootout to Win Game for Orlando after GK Ejection
Orlando City Center Back GK Jersey for Sale
Drama in Portland! Dallas prevail in PKs to stun Timbers
Timbers left to rue conceding another late goal after exiting playoffs in Round 1
SKC believe they’re “built for the playoffs” after surviving Quakes Shootout scare
MLS Defender of the Year Zimmerman has expansion Nashville SC in rarified air le Bonagura
MLS Cup Playoffs preview: State of play after a wild weekend
Nicholas Mendola
Mon, November 23, 2020, 6:39 PM ESTIf Major League Soccer needed to pull eyes to its postseason, the first few days delivered the required jolt. Here is what lies ahead in the MLS playoffs.
Consider how the postseason began following the pandemic- and MLS is Back-interrupted regular season.
- An improbably-ridiculous penalty kick scenario saw Orlando City outlast New York City FC despite a field player finishing the shootout in goal.
- One expansion team outlasted the other after reported positive COVID-19 cases stopped an international superstar from hitting the pitch.
- San Jose scored the sixth goal of the game in the seventh-minute of stoppage time — courtesy the league’s all-time leading scorer Chris Wondolowski — before Sporting KC goalkeeper Tim Melia made amends for allowing three goals by stopping all three of San Jose’s penalties.
All that fails to mention a 95th-minute winner in New England, an 8-round shootout between Dallas and Portland, and two other matches.
Three more matches are set for Tuesday, with big names angling for weekend places in the conference semifinals
Toronto v Nashville SC – 6 pm ET Tuesday
Greg Vanney’s TFC might’ve failed to claim the Supporters’ Shield, but the MLS Cup Playoffs have been their friend to the tune of three final appearances and one win in the previous four seasons.
Alejandro Pozuelo is arguably the league’s best player and the Reds have gotten 18 goals between Pozuelo and breakout Canadian-American forward Ayo Akinola. With Michael Bradley, Jonathan Osorio, Chris Mavinga, Jozy Altidore, and others, there’s a lot of experience here.
But Nashville is stingy and led by Gary Smith, who has experience in managing an underdog to an MLS Cup win. With Walker Zimmerman and Dax McCarty, the expansion side will hope to keep TFC in check but the absence of newly-injured Anibal Godoy makes that a tall task.
Philadelphia v New England — 8 p ET Tuesday
Philly scored more goals than anyone in the East and allowed the conference’s fewest markers, too. In five matches against the Revolution between MLS is Back and the regular season, Jim Curtin’s Union won four times and drew once with a combined score line of 7-2.
Bruce Arena’s men had trouble scoring this season but have bagged five goals in their last two outings after beating Thierry Henry’s Montreal Impact in a play-in game. Can the legendary MLS manager conjure an upset of the Supporters’ Shield winners?
Seattle v LAFC — 10:30 pm ET Tuesday
The Sounders won eight of 12 matches to start the season, but have won just twice in their last seven. They’ll hope a 4-1 win over San Jose to finish the regular season was the fuel to kickstart a run to a fourth final appearance in five seasons. USMNT winger Jordan Morris has been wonderful for the Sounders, who won it all in 2016 and 2019.
LAFC is seventh in the West, a far cry from its incredible 2019 campaign, but Bob Bradley’s a heck of a coach and he’s got a lot of firepower between 16-goal man Diego Rossi, savvy veteran Bradley Wright-Phillips, and reigning MVP and record breaker Carlos Vela.
Reason to stay up late.
Western Conference
Sporting KC v Minnesota United — Dec. 1 or 2
Seattle Sounders v FC Dallas or
FC Dallas v LAFC — Dec. 1 or 2
Eastern Conference
Philadelphia v Orlando City orOrlando City v New England — Nov. 29
Toronto v Columbus orColumbus v Nashville — Nov. 29
Rennes vs. Chelsea
Tuesday, 12:55 p.m. (Galavision, CBS All Access)
Christian Pulisic isn’t all the way back from his hamstring injury yet, but Kai Havertz has returned from coronavirus and is set to play. Chelsea can clinch a round of 16 berth with a win. Rennes’ Eduardo Camavinga is also back in action, and this game will be another big stage for one of the world’s top young prospects.
Paris Saint-Germain vs. RB Leipzig
Tuesday, 3 p.m. (CBS All Access, TUDN.com)
Kylian Mbappe is back to fitness after missing two games this month with a hamstring injury, including PSG’s 2-1 loss at Leipzig on Nov. 4. He returned last Friday at Monaco, his old club, and PSG blew a 2-0 lead in a 3-2 defeat. Leipzig should have Tyler Adams, who went all 90 minutes in a 1-1 tie at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday after two good performances for the U.S. national team.
Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Shakhtar Donetsk
Wednesday, 12:55 p.m. (Galavision, CBS All Access)
Group B has been the wildest group in the Champions League so far. Monchengladbach (5 points) is in first thanks to an astonishing 6-0 win at second-place Shakhtar (4) on Nov. 3. Superpowers Real Madrid (4) and Inter Milan (2) are in third and fourth. The standings are tight enough that a Monchengladbach win wouldn’t clinch a knockout stage berth, but it would go a long way.
Inter Milan vs. Real Madrid
Wednesday, 3 p.m. (UniMas, TUDN, CBS All Access)
There will obviously be a lot of pressure on Inter to win, but there will be plenty of pressure on Real too. Manager Zinedine Zidane’s squad got thumped 4-1 at Valencia going into the FIFA break, then came out of it with a 1-1 tie at Villarreal. That’s more than enough to have the Madrid media crying panic — and Zidane snapping back at them, as he did Saturday.
Internacional vs. Boca Juniors
Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. (beIN Sports, beIN Sports Español)
Earlier this month, Internacional’s American midfielder Johnny Cardoso became the first player from a South American league to make the senior U.S. men’s national team in 25 years. Born in northern New Jersey and raised in Porto Alegre, Brazil, the central midfielder debuted for the Sao Paulo-based club last year at age 17.U.S. scouts learned of him soon thereafter and brought him to an under-23 camp. They liked him and he liked them, and he has kept rising up the ranks ever since. When he made his senior debut this month, his jersey carried just his first name, following Brazil’s soccer tradition. His club does the same.This will be another high-profile game for Johnny. Boca Juniors is one of South America’s titans, the legendary home of stars from Diego Maradona to Carlos Tevez — who’s now leading the club once again.
Lille vs. AC Milan- Europa
Thursday, 12:55 p.m. (TUDN, CBS All Access)
Thanks partly to a 3-0 win at Milan earlier this month, Lille can take a big step toward clinching first place in its Europa League group with a win at home here. Canadian striker Jonathan David is coming off finally scoring his first goal for the club, while American winger Tim Weah continues to fight for more playing time.
Milan hasn’t lost since Lille’s visit, and has yet to lose at all this season in Serie A. Zlatan Ibrahimovic starred again in a 3-1 win at Napoli on Sunday, scoring two goals. But he had to leave the game late with a leg injury that could sideline him for up to a month.
Rangers vs. Benfica – europa
Thursday, 3 p.m. (CBS All Access, TUDN.com)
After nearly a decade in exile, Rangers are finally back at the top of Scottish soccer. James Tavernier and Canadian midfielder have the Glasgow-based club flying high atop the Premier League standings and tied for first in its Europa League group with Benfica.
These teams played to a wild 3-3 tie in Lisbon on Nov. 5 that featured a red card, an own goal by each team and a 91st-minute equalizer by Benfica’s Darwin Nunez. Benfica’s squad has many familiar names, including former Tottenham Hotspur players Jan Vertonghen and Adel Taraabt.
The Ole BallCoach 