Breakfast Links - October 9, 2023
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
Good morning, everyone, the best time of year for Houston sports has begun with the Astros beginning their playoff run, the Dynamo wrapping up their season, and the Texans season in full swing. Hope everyone found time to sit and enjoy these games!
Houston
The Houston Dynamo made up for the last two disappointing draws with a massive 5-1 win over the Colorado Rapids. The Dynamo opened the scoring three minutes into the game with Griffin Dorsey feeding Nelson Quinones for a tap in. Amine Bassi then made it 2-0 just five minutes later. Quinones got his first brace as a Dynamo player to make it 3-0. Corey Baird scored right before the half time whistle and Artur capped it off with his second goal of the week to make it five. This was a much-needed result going into playoffs with the team sitting in fourth place with some momentum.
If any game summarizes the Houston Dash’s season, it was this one. The Dash outshot Angel City 27 to 13 and lost the game 2-1 with a stoppage time goal from the visitors. Andressa finally got her first goal for the Dash after missing loads of chances. It is looking like the Dash have missed out on the playoffs, needing multiple unlikely results next week to squeeze in.
MLS/NWSL
With the season coming to a close, there were some crucial results with massive playoff implications. In the Eastern Conference, Charlotte, New York Red Bulls, and Monreal all picked up huge results to keep themselves within in the playoff race going into the final week. Despite DC United winning, Wayne Rooney has stepped down as the head coach with no future job lined up. They have played all 34 games and are officially eliminated from making the playoffs.
Out west, there was not a whole lot of movement as the playoff teams are mostly established. Minnesota and Kansas City have kept themselves alive, but the results would have to go in their favor along with a win on decision day to make the playoffs. With Minnesota’s win, the LA Galaxy have officially been eliminated from playoff contention as well as Austin who lost to LAFC 4-2. Dallas can clinch their spot with a win on Saturday where they are making up their game against the Rapids.
In NWSL, Washington Spirit and OL Reign played against each other in a match neither team could afford to drop points. Drop points is what they did, as they played to a 0-0 draw. This result gives a massive opportunity to Orlando, Angel City, and Louisville who are all fighting for those last few playoff spots. Racing Louisville managed to beat Orlando 3-2 to keep themselves in the race to snap their three-game losing streak. Gotham could have clinched a spot as well but fell short to Portland 1-0.
Around the World
This was an incredible weekend if you are a United States National team fan, as there were multiple great performances from the players abroad. In Italy, Christian Pulisic scored the important winning goal against Genoa in the 87th minute after coming on as a substitute. Tim Weah and Weston McKennie started together for the first time since they have been at Juventus. They both played great and were big components of a 2-0 win over Torino.
Elsewhere, we saw Folarin Balogun score another goal for Monaco. This time it was on the road to his former club Reims. This was his third goal in only five appearances. Midfielder Luca de la Torre had one of his most impressive displays for Celta Vigo since transferring to the La Liga side last summer. He registered an assist against Getafe to secure an important draw in their relegation battle. Malik Tillman scored another goal for PSV as he continues his red hot form for the Dutch leaders.
The Premier League saw Arsenal play Manchester City in a game where multiple key players were absent for both teams. This game was a chess match between Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola as they tried to outwit each other in this tight game. Arteta’s team came out on top as Gabriel Martinelli scored off a deflection in the 86th minute to kick start Arsenal’s title challenge. Manchester United and Chelsea both got big wins to try and shake off their bad form. Scott McTominay got the all-important goals in a 2-1 victory against Brentford for Manchester United.
