These Are Not the Results You're Looking For

Correct Obi-wan.  A pile of unsatisfying and/or unexpected outcomes.  Fortunately, the Union were a happy exception.

I did get to see many of the matches using my phone, computer and DVR.  But frankly, mostly what I remember is looking out on the lake and visiting breweries.  I'll do my best.

Deserving of the Small Screen

I am pleased that I figured out how to watch Newcastle - Leeds match at the lake using the DVR I recorded at home.  I could only do that on my phone but the small picture was probably best for this one.  The Magpies came up with another 0-0 draw.  But unlike the draw with Villa, they had little offense, generating just two shots on target and an xG of only .37.  The defense remains strong as they only allowed Leeds two shots on goal and an xG of .66.

Hopefully the additions of Woltemade and Wissa will spark the offense.  Also, maybe the end of the Isak saga will allow everybody to focus on the new season.  Not happy to lose Isak but he was done at Newcastle and we got two solid players to replace him and Wilson.  The equation for me:

Woltemade + Wissa > Isak + Wilson

 I hope my math is correct.

Conversation That Sort of Took Place

Steve: Up 2-0 on Fulham in the 85th minute, Chelsea are "home and hosed."

Dennis:  Whereas Fulham are merely "hosed."

Dennis is referring to the VAR intervention that led to Fulham's first half goal being chalked off.  You can see the play here.  The call looks very soft, especially since Rob Jones did not call it a foul on the field.  I'm sort of okay that the VAR asked Jones to look at it again so it's not necessarily a Salisbury mistake.  But Jones is free to take a second look and conclude he got it right in the first place.  

All the secondary chatter about what a great goal it was and how it spoiled Josh King's first Premier League goal is nonsense.  The plummage don't enter into it.  It could have been the scruffiest goal ever and this would still be a questionable call.  An unfortunate footnote for Fulham is that after they played Chelsea even up for almost the entire first half, the Blues took the lead with a goal at 45+9.  The reason there was so much stoppage time?  Partly for the lengthy VAR review.

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place But Only Half Did

Steve: Surely Bournemouth are going to pay for not getting a second goal against Spurs.

Michael: Apparently not this time.  And please don't call me Shirley

Spurs went full hangover mode after last week's big win over Man City, going quietly into the night with a 0-1 loss at home to Bournemouth. 

Fergie Time

When I first saw that Man United defeated lightly regarded Burnley 3-2 on a PK in the 97th minute, all I could think of was the old story about how, during Alex Ferguson's tenure at Man U, referees provided extra stoppage time to allow the Red Devils to get a result.  Looking at the replay here, this one looks legit.  The play occurs at about 90:48 but VAR review takes long enough that the kick isn't actually taken until 96:08; thus, you can't say this one was in Fergie Time.  As for the call itself, it's a shirt pull that continues into the box and is a totally a PK.  

Would have been interesting to see Amirom's fate if it had ended 2-2.  

Almost Nobody's Perfect

 Arsenal, perhaps destined to be a bridesmaid for a fourth straight year, fell 1-0 to Liverpool.  The Reds are now the only team with a perfect 3-0-0 record.  Nottingham Forest were surprisingly thumped 0-3 by West Ham so the only other undefeated sides are Chelsea (2-1-0) and Crystal Palace (1-2-0).

Profit and Sustainability Rules - Who Do They Protect?

Doesn't look like it's the little guys:

I did go back and check the Chelsea numbers.  They actually did fund their big spending (Pedro, Delap,  Gittens, Garnacho [(why?], etc) out of sales (Madueke, Nkunku, Felix, Petrovic, etc.).  Liverpool's net spend would have been bigger had they not dumped Diaz and Nunez.

Gappage!

Damiani gets the game winner

The Union came away with a huge 1-0 win in their six pointer with Cincinnati.  The stats say it was mostly even; shots were 15-15, shots on target were 5-4 Cincy and xG was 2.0-1.8 favor the U.  The difference came down to an incredible header from Bruno Damiani, seen here as this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Iloski's cross wasn't bad but he didn't exactly put the ball on a platter for Damiani.  That was some work by Bruno to twist his body and generate enough power and accuracy to get it past the keeper.  The last 30 minutes were harrowing after Makhanya got himself sent off for a second yellow.  Mixed thoughts on whether that was a yellow card but it's a challenge he shouldn't be making already on a yellow.

The win gives the Union a five point bulge over Cincinnati in the East and a slim one point lead over San Diego in the Supporters Sheld race.  Alas, with four matches still in hand, Miami would have one more point than the U if they were to win all four.  

International Break

EPL is quiet and MLS has a very limited schedule.  Plenty of UEFA World Cup Qualifiers on the Fox networks if you need something to watch.

Refereeing starts this Saturday so I'm happy about the break because the first day is usually nuts.