I Got Sucked In

I must ashamedly admit that I have been taking in way more of the Club World Cup matches than I intended.  Yeah, I got sucked in.

In my defense, the tournament has been much more competitive than expected.  The big guys are not just going through the motions and the underdogs are having their moments too.  I wasn't there but on TV you could tell that the 54,000 or so at the Linc in Philadelphia thoroughly enjoyed the Flamengo - Chelsea match that ended 3-1 favor the Brazilian side.  Miami's 2-2 draw with Palmeiras was excellent too, though Miami fans can't have been too happy watching the home side cough up a 2-0 lead.  Of course, the downside of the tournament's success is that FIFA will be encouraged to try it again.  Just because it may have worked this time doesn't mean it's a good idea.

Looking ahead the July 4th quarterfinal - to which I, Jeff H, Jeff K and Graham R have nosebleed seats - will feature the winners of the Palmeira - Botafoga and Benfica - Chelsea quarterfinals.

Step One - Get Out of Group Stage

Not that it means the tournament is a success for the USMNT, just they did what they needed.  They survived a howler from keeper Matt Freese to beat Haiti 2-1 and finish first in Group D.  Patrick Agyemang hasn't had a great tournament so far but we make his game winner this week's YouTubeableMoment.

The group stage of the Gold Cup went largely according to form, though Jamaica may wish to differ.  The top five in terms of FIFA rankings - USA, Mexico, Canada, Panama and Costa Rica - all advanced.  Guatemala might be considered an interloper.  The Mexico - Costa Rica match was a bit of a let-down but maybe because both teams knew they were advancing?  

Quarterfinal match ups are:

Panama - Honduras (Saturday 7:15)

Mexico - Saudi Arabia (Saturday 10:15)

Canada - Guatemala (Sunday 4 pm)

USA - Costa Rica (Sunday 7pm)

Hmm, one of these is not like the others.  On paper, Panama, Mexico and Canada are solid favorites.  The US maybe not so much. Should they advance, the US would play the winner of Canada - Guatemala.

Deliberating the Meaning of Deliberate

Late in stoppage time against Costa Rica, Santiago Giminez had appeared to win the match for Mexico with an awesome scissor kick goal.  You can see the play here (should open to 8:09).  After much rejoicing, the play was eventually ruled offside.  Pay no attention to Dr. Joe Machnik's explanation; I think the play woke him from a nap.  Landon Donovan was more on point - didn't the defender's header reset the play?  That is, Giminez was clearly off when the ball was kicked but he was on if you consider the defender's action a "deliberate play."

And here we go again.  I won't post the whole clarification but here are key factors the referee is supposed to consider that would make a play deliberate: 

The following criteria should be used, as appropriate, as indicators that a player was in control of the ball and, as a result, ‘deliberately played’ the ball:

• The ball travelled from distance and the player had a clear view of it
• The ball was not moving quickly
• The direction of the ball was not unexpected
• The player had time to coordinate their body movement, i.e. it was not a case of instinctive stretching or jumping, or a movement that achieved limited contact/control
• A ball moving on the ground is easier to play than a ball in the air

Hmm, inititally I thought this was a terrible call.  After multiple looks at the replay, I'm not so sure anymore.  Off the first three points, you'd have to say it was deliberate.  It was in the air so that leans against deliberate but as I read it, that point seems to suggest how you evaluate the first four.  The key on this play is the fourth one.  The defender was leaping and falling backwards as he headed the ball.  Seems like you can suggest with a straight face that it was "instinctive stretching and jumping" and also a "movement that achieved limited control."  Personally, I'd like to see more guidance on this.  Does failure to meet just one of the first four points mean it wasn't deliberate?  Or maybe just drop them all except the fourth.

Consorting with the Devil

Besides watching too much Club World Cup after trashing the concept, I also took in the Union's 1-0 win over Chicago on Apple's much maligned and despised (at least in these parts) MLS Season Pass.  Jeff H reminded me that as Union season ticket holders we get access to that service and he set me up with the appropriate information.

Ya done good Alejandro: Bedoya deputized as right back
Photo: Barbara Calabrese/MIR97 Media

Recall that the list of absences is still quite long due to various factors and includes Blake, Quinn Sullivan, Harriel, Westfield, Danley, Uhre and Baribo.  Despite being shorthanded, the Union moved the ball quite nicely for most of the match so that part was pretty good.  There was little service into the box and few (no?) quality chances.  Each side racked up 21 fouls.  The result turned on a PK in the 10th minute that was well-taken by Bruno Damiani.  I'd be remiss if I didn't give credit to Bedoya for a decent job as a substitute right back.  

Also, as Jeff H pointed out, it was weird seeing Jack Elliott in a different uniform.

Annoying Stat of the Week

The Union scored as many goals as the Phillies got runs in their three-game series with the Astros.

More Hardware?

Sportif Allentown Armetta Financial Services wins LVOTSL
Dennis F 4th from left in second row, in front of their keeper

Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that Dennis's team was celebrating their win in the Friendship Cup?  Well they were back at it again Saturday, taking the Lehigh Valley Old-Timers Soccer League title with an easy 6-0 win over El Deportivo.  I have been calling his team Sportif Allentown but apparently they have a real sponsor so I need to refer to them as Armetta Financial Services.  They pretty much ran through the league, going 10-0-0 in the regular season, then cruising through the play-offs with a 12-0, 9-1 and 6-0 wins.

What Are You Doing Sunday Evening?

Uh oh, I smell a rant coming and it probably means Apple is going to get trashed once again on this blog.  So Apple has this big deal Sunday Night Soccer thing that features a marquee match-up each week.  The Union play their one match in that series this Sunday night in Columbus at 6 pm.  Sharp-eyed readers will note that the USMNT quarterfinal match vs Costa Rica is at 7 pm.  Nice work guys.  And by guys I mean MLS and Apple.  The quarterfinals were set for June 29 months ago.  Although no one could know the teams in those two contests back then, there was always a high likelihood that the US would be playing this Sunday.  Once it became clear that the US had a good chance of winning the group after the second win, there was a chance to change the time.  Sure, we can DVR our way out of this and watch both but this lack of coordination and stepping on the USMNT's space is another sign that MLS and Apple interest's are necessarily aligned with US soccer's.

As for the Union match, they will still be shorthanded, though I'm pretty sure they'll get back Blake, Danley and maybe Westfield.  On the other hand, Glesnes is suspended due to yellow card accumulation.  

We also have Club World Cup Round of 16 matches (two a day) on Saturday thru Tuesday.  Full schedule and some thoughts are here.

Then we have the Gold Cup semi finals at 7 and 10 pm on Wednesday.  

Pretty busy for the slow period.

Stuff Happened

Lots of results but are they all blogworthy?

Never Too Late

Ignore the fact that the winning goal came in the 98th minute (stoppage time on top of stoppage time); the Union's 2-1 victory over Charlotte was a fair result.  I didn't see the whole match but in the highlights provided by MLS, Philly looked the better team.  Charlotte did have a slight possession advantage (54/46) but shots (20/8), shots on target (9/2) and most importantly xG (2.2/.7) favored the Union.  Recall this was a Union line-up that was missing key players to international duty.  

Bueno has made regular appearances so he wasn't a newbie.  He had a laser strike for the first goal.  Markus Adeniyi Anderson Adedeji (M.A. Anderson in the line up sheet) was making his MLS debut.  He celebrated in grand fashion with the winning goal, seen here as this week's YouTubeableMoment.

The chase pack all got wins too so the Union lead at the top remains four points.  Cool.

The Storm Before the Calm

The final friendly for the USMNT before the Gold Cup was an ugly 0-4 loss to Switzerland.  Multiple sets of fingerprints were found at the crime scene.

1) FIFA Club World Cup - Several key players were not released from their clubs due to that competition.

2) Vacation - Christian Pulisic controversially declared that he needed a break.  He got reamed for his decision but not sure it's fully deserved.  First of all, Landon Donovan is in no position to comment based on his 2013 sabbatical.  Second, I count 53 appearances for Pulisic between 8/17/24 and 5/24/25.  If he played in the Gold Cup, he'd get up to seven more games between June 14 and July 6.  He would then be scheduled to arrive at Milan's training camp on July 7 and then proceed to play another 45-50 matches before the World Cup starts. Isn't this possibly a smart idea to reduce the likelihood that he gets hurt or burned out before the 2026 World Cup?  But, but, aren't others at the same risk of overwork?  Looking at players on the Gold Cup roster who play in Europe, only Brenden Aaronson (51) and Johnny Cardoso (48) are even close to Pulisic's workload; the others all had 36 or fewer appearances.  It's not an issue for MLS players, who are simply getting some extra mid-season games and they will get a break in the late fall and winter.  Those on teams playing in the Club World Cup, well, we can't do much for them but just because FIFA is nuts doesn't mean we have to risk another player.

Pulisic didn't need to post pictures of his vacation the day after the Switzerland loss.  And the issue between coach and player can admittedly be touchy.  My point is just that Pulisic's decision has been characterized as totally selfish but given his workload it might be the right decision for the USMNT's chances at the 2026 World Cup.

3) Pochettino -  He rolled the dice with an inexperienced line-up and got a ton of crap for it.  Again, not sure it was warranted.  He had a compromised roster to start with.  Also, isn't the year before the World Cup the time to find out how deep the talent pool is?

4) The players - Certainly this was not the most talented roster and some players were overmatched.  On the other hand, there was a clear lack of intensity in this performance.  That used to be the hallmark of US teams - we might not be the most talented but nobody will outhustle us.

So there was much handwringing and finger pointing.  Not the best way to go into a tournament. 

The Gold Cup

Chris Richards scored the only goal against Saudi Arabia
and probably saved a goal with a sliding shot block (Getty images)

That has gone better for the USMNT.  They opened with an easy win over Trinidad & Tobago, then stumbled to a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia, the guest country for this edition of the Gold Cup.  The good news is that they are onto the knockout round, though that is truly a low bar for the US in the Gold Cup.  The bad news is that unless they up their game, this team will not make it to the semi-final, as they will have to beat either Costa Rica or Mexico to advance.   

Club World Cup

Maybe not as many mismatches as I expected but that may have just been the favorites taking it easy.  Through Matchday 1 of 3 we saw:

Bayern 10-0 over Auckland City

PSG 4-0 Atletico (on paper that was not a mismatch)

Juventus 5-0 over Al Ain

Man City had a tepid 2-0 win over Wydad AC and Chelsea didn't run wild over LAFC.  The Fluminense - Dortmund contest was an entertaining 0-0 draw.  Real Madrid can't have been pleased with 1-1 draw vs Al-Hilal.  Same for Inter, who drew 1-1 with Monterrey.  Inter Miami edged Porto 2-1 on a free kick by Messi in another decent watch.  Matchday 2 and 3 run through next Thursday, with the Round of 16 kicking off next Saturday.  I still think the competition got too big for its britches but will also concede there have been some fun matches.

Ange, We Hardly Knew Ye

Thomas Frank; Daniel Levy is now his cross to bear

Well, the ax finally fell and Ange Postecoglou is out and Thomas Frank is in at Spurs. On the one hand, Spurs did win the Europa Cup and earned a spot in next year's Champions League.  On they other hand, they finished 17th with just 38 points, a total which in many years would have seen them firmly in the relegation battle.  On the one hand, they did play a largely entertaining brand of football under Ange.  On the other hand, that style and the rigorous training required to play it, very likely was the reason they were plagued with injuries.  

Frank became manager at Brentford in the Championship during the 2018-19 season.  They just missed promotion in 19-20 but made it 20-21.  Since promotion, the Bees have finished 13th, 9th, 16th and 10th, generally regarded as overachievement for a small club.

Show Me the Way (apologies to Peter Frampton)

BFS Artistic Director Laura O sends along this oldie but goodie in which the fans a German football club desparately try to help their team find the net.

The Week Ahead

Well, we will definitely check out US Haiti and 7 pm on Sunday.  Probably look in on Mexico - Costa Rica at 10 pm the same night.  Panama - Jamaica, Tuesday at 7 pm, might be worth watching.

As for the Club World Cup, Flamengo - Chelsea on Friday at 2 pm might be good.  Benfica - Bayern Tuesday at 3 could be worthwhile.  Definitely plan to watch Juventus - Man City on Thursday at 3.

The Union don't have a match this weekend but play away at Chicago on Wednesday at 8:30.

Just enough stuff that I won't get rusty.

 

What Now?

The frantic spring is about to be replaced with a relatively quiet early summer.  A month or so of light viewing might not be a bad thing.

PSG Celebrate: This is definitely a major award

I managed to get through the weekend without hearing the Champions League result so it was with some anticipation that I sat down to watch the DVR late Sunday afternoon.  The excitement was short-lived.  PSG was on the front foot from the opening whistle and had a 2-0 lead on Inter within 20 minutes. Though the match wasn't officially out of reach until later in the second half, it was essentially over.  With the third goal at 63 minutes, I started fast forwarding, pausing only briefly to check out the goals at 73 and 86 minutes.  The final 5-0 score seemed about right.

Desire' Doue had two of the goals in the 5-0 rout and got Player of the Match for his efforts but this felt like a true team effort.  Not to minimize the individual effort, the goals seemed like inevitable result of good passing and players knowing where they needed to be on the pitch.  Check out the first goal, this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Note that had Hakimi not been there to put it away, it would have simply rolled to another teammate who would have put it away.  "Put it in the Louvre" indeed.

Always A Bridesmaid

Dennis points out that Aston Villa fell to PSG in the Quarterfinals, 5-4 on aggregate. They also lost to eventual FA Cup winner Crystal Palace in the semis of that competition.  He is using that information to claim that Villa are the second best team in the world.  

Opportunity Missed

This is by no means a comment on the wedding reception - it was an awesome party - but Dennis's teammate Jeremy and I did check in on the Union's progress.  Our expectations were stepped up when a Dallas defender got a second yellow late in the first half.  By the second half we were watching on Jeremy's phone.  And growing more disappointed by the minute.  The final, 0-0, was a lost opportunity for the Union.  A few stats tell the frustrating story.  Possession was 63/37, shots were 23/7 and xG was 2/.6.  On the other hand, shots on target were 1/2; that's right, out of 23 shots, just one was on target. Clinical finishing was in short supply.  The lineup was heavily rotated and maybe the congested match schedule finally took its toll.

Turning to the positive, Cincinnat lost to DC United so despite the less than thrilling result, the Union have a four point lead at the top of the conference at the halfway mark.  

What Are You Doing for Summer Vacation?

Well, the MLS schedule continues.

Looking forward to Sullivan's USMNT debut
Photo: Elizabeth Robertson/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Then there's the Concacaf Gold Cup, which runs from 6/14 to 7/6.  Details can be had here.  Key points are there are four groups of four, top two in each advance from group stage and it's three knockout rounds from there (quarters, semis and final).  This competition is only about money and bragging rights.  For the USMNT, it is their only "competitive" action before the 2026 World Cup because, as a host country, they do not have to go through qualifying.  The team has a noticeable Philadelphia Union flavor with seven current or former players on the roster for this competition.  Current starters Quinn Sullivan and Nathan Harriel will make their USMNT debuts.  Union alumni include the brothers Aaronson (Brenden and Paxten), Mark McKenzie, Matt Freese and Jack McGlynn.  I guess we could count Zack Steffen as well since he was briefly with the Philadelphia Union academy.

The other competition to follow is the FIFA Club World Cup.  The tournament was originally set up as a competition limited to just the winners of each confederation (Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, "North America" and Oceania) championship.  But, like everything in soccer, if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing for the purpose of making more money.  So now we have a 32-team tournament that runs from June 14th to July 13th.  This year the tournament is being held in the US, with several matches at Lincoln Financial Field.  Our group decided to pass on the group stage mismatches and even the Round of 16 knockout match.  We did however score tickets for the Quarterfinal match on July 4th.  We can't be exactly sure of who will be left at the point but potentially it could include two of Bayern Munich, Benfica, Chelsea, Porto, Atleti and PSG. 

The full schedule for Club World Cup can be found here.

There are also two more match days in European WC qualifiers running from June 6-10.

So, it won't be a desert but it won't be the daily viewing we got used to over the last few months.

We are going to take a two week vacation so the next post will be June 20th.

 

Backing In

Classic Newcastle.  They could have simply beaten Everton to get a Champions League spot but instead lost 0-1 and had to sweat out Aston Villa's 0-2 loss at Man United.  The Union cough up another lead but then steal one back on Wednesday.

Drama to the End

Newcastle and Aston Villa contrived to create drama in the final 45 minutes of the season as they raced their way to the bottom (well, 6th place).  Villa won but barely.

With Man City and Chelsea on their way to wins over Fulham and Nottingham Forest respectively, Newcastle and Aston Villa were locked in 0-0 contests of their own versus Everton and Man United.  That meant they were level on points but Newcastle had a hefty advantage on goal differential so the Magpies still owned the last CL spot.  Villa's position looked the more suspect, as they were playing a man down after Emi Martinez got sent off late in the first half for DOGSO; plus, they had been thoroughly dominated in the first half.  Newcastle, on the other hand, had looked fully capable of scoring against Everton.

How about some love for Eddie Howe as Manager of the Year?

So of course, the Magpies yielded a goal in the 65th minute, not entirely against the run of play, which put Villa into the CL.  That position looked even more solid a few minutes later when Morgan Rogers took the ball from the Man United keeper Altay Bayindir and scored to give Villa a 1-0 lead.  Except that referee Thomas Bramall had called a foul on Rogers, believing the keeper had control of the ball.  More significantly, he had blown the whistle, which meant VAR could not get involved.  More on that (and the DOGSO below).  Things got worse for Villa when United scored a few minutes later.  Now they were back level on points with Newcastle and out of the Champions League.  A late penalty made the margin 2-0.  Meanwhile, Newcastle, probably with a sense of let's not completely back into this, had some more chances but could not break through and lost 0-1.  As noted football pundit Rosie Perez says, sometimes when you lose, you actually win.  Certainly Magpie fans would have preferred making it with a result in this match but it doesn't take away from the great campaign Newcastle put together.  

A $100 Million Call?

DSOGSO - Denial of Sort of Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity
Hojlund can probably put it in the empty net (Photo:BBC)

So about those calls in the Villa match.  We'll start with the DOGSO on Martinez.  Matty Cash made an ill-advised back pass that was intercepted by Hojlund, who now had a clear path to the goal.  Martinez made the choice to basically block tackle Hojland right out of the play.  The call on the field was red but I wasn't sure about it at first.  The argument was that once Hojlund was past Martinez, the goal was wide open.  I wasn't convinced it was that easy.  The still shot (left) leaves me thinking it was probably the right call.

The one that caused the big stink was when Morgan Rogers nicked the ball away from keeper Altay Bayindir and slipped it into the goal for a Villa 1-0 lead.  Except referee Thomas Bramall had blown the whistle for a supposed foul by Rogers on Bayindir.  You can see the play here as this week's YouTubeableMoment.  

The laws of the game are fairly generous about when the keeper is in control of the ball:

A goalkeeper is considered to be in control of the ball with the hand(s) when:

• the ball is between the hands or between the hand and any surface (e.g. ground, own body) or by touching it with any part of the hands or arms except if the ball rebounds from the goalkeeper or the goalkeeper has made a save
• holding the ball in the outstretched open hand
• bouncing it on the ground or throwing it in the air

• A goalkeeper cannot be challenged by an opponent when in control of the ball with the hand (s)

Bayindir is not touching the ball when Rogers kicks it away

Bayindir did have "control" at several points in the play but not at the moment when Rogers kicked it away.  A VAR check would have likely suggested Bramall go to the monitor, at which point, he would have seen his mistake.  But that was not possible because he had blown the whistle, which meant the ball was dead and anything that happened thereafter was irrelevant.  I saw some headlines that this was a VAR failure, which it was not.  The rules are very clear and I would be interested to hear a defense of using VAR after the whistle has blown; yes let's speculate on what might have happened had the whistle not blown.  The other criticism was that Bramall needed to hold off on the whistle to see how the situation played out, knowing he could use VAR to sort it out afterwards.  That would mirror the advice to assistant referees on keeping the flag down on close offside calls and reviewing the play afterwards.  I get it but sounds easier in theory than in practice when it involves a foul.  

As for the claim that the call cost Villa $100 million or more in lost revenue from not making the Champions League, I note that 1) United ran them ragged in the first half, 2) Villa managed just one shot on target and 3) xG was 2.94-.36.  Even if we give Villa a big chunk for the disallowed goal, they were mostly outplayed.  Also, there were plenty of dropped points along the way so enough of that argument.

Participation Trophy?

So Chelsea got their cup.  They came back from 0-1 to defeat Real Betis in the Europa Conference League final.  It is a UEFA trophy but as the third tier of European football, it's not clear if it really qualifies as a major award.  I know you can only win the competition you're in but they were in the lowest level based on merit.   Pretty cheeky stuff from a guy who's team 1) has one "major award" in 50 years (a Carabao Cup League Cup to boot) and 2) finished behind Chelsea in this year's table.  

Not Again

For the second time this month, the Union carried a one goal lead late into stoppage time against a key Eastern Conference opponent only to surrender the tying goal in the dying minutes.  Maybe this is on me for saying before hand that I would gladly take a draw.

I was so thrilled that I had tuned into MLS Season Pass when Quinn Sullivan scored this beauty to give the Union an early lead over Miami.  Even happier when Baribo added a second before half time.  I was apprehensive when Miami got one back but buoyed again when Baribo restored the two-goal lead, though I wonder how he was not called offside on the play.  The sense of impending doom grew again when Glesnes fouled Messi just outside the box.  Yep, he converted the kick and it's squeaky bum time again.  And there it is at 95 minutes, the tying goal.  The match was a great advertisement for the MLS - an exciting, mostly well-played contest, even if the result was disappointing.  And I'm still not buying the "I told you a two-goal lead is the most dangerous" argument.  If it had been a one-goal lead, the Union would have lost both of those matches.  

Much of the sting of that draw was eased when the Union made a comeback of their own on the road in Toronto.  Down 0-1 late, they got a brilliant header from Harriel off a Wagner corner at 87 minutes and then the game winner on a deflected shot by Wagner in stoppage time.  Game highlights are here; scroll forward to about 5:00 to watch the two Union goals.  Stats suggest maybe a draw would have been a fair result, though xG at 1.4-.9 does favor the Union.  So close to six points but also not far from just one point so we should take the four and be happy.  Nearing the halfway point of the season and the U are in first with a three point lead.  Everybody who saw that coming, raise your hand.  Right, that's what I thought.

How You Like Me Now? (apologies to The Heavy)

So what do fans of the various clubs think about their seasons now that all is said and done?  Check out this graph from the NYT:

I think this was before Chelsea's triumph in the Europa Conference League so their numbers might be a bit better.  Nine teams had at least 90% Very Satisfied or Satisfied, including Spurs(!?).  A little surprised that Crystal Palace tops the list but they did come on nicely at the end of the season.  On the other hand, the majority of Man City fans (nearly 75%) are not satisfied with a third place finish and a Champions League berth; success has certainly created expectations.  Note that Arsenal fans aren't exactly overjoyed with their season either, despite a second place finish and a deep run in the Champions League.  

  

New Keeper, No Problem

How many Bucknell grads does it take to win the Friendship Cup?
Two - Darren C and Dennis F 

Recall that Dennis's team, Sportif Allentown, was headed to Canada for the Friendship Cup minus their goalkeeper.  Apparently he thought Canada was already the 51st state and therefore did not need to renew his passport.   They worked out a viable strategy though - just don't allow shots on target.  This worked out well for them as they won all four matches  and came home with the Friendship Cup.  

Now What?

Well, there is the Champions League Final on Saturday between PSG and Inter.  For the third time in five years, I will be a wedding for the final.  Well, not just any wedding but BFS Founder Dennis F and Brenna C.  I've been asked to do a reading, which I believe is going to be a review of highlights of the CL Final for all those who missed it.  

The Union close out a busy but productive May with an away match at Dallas.  I will refrain from commenting on what result will make me happy.

Denouement

Down to the final weekend for the EPL with lots to play for.  All the other relevant sides got three points this weekend so not the best set of results for Newcastle.  Two more wins for the Union.

Still A Loss

There was much to applaud in Newcastle's performance against Arsenal on Sunday.  Unfortunately, the result - an 0-1 loss - was not one of them.  Shots were 14/12, shots on target 5/4 and most notably xG was was 1.89/.84, all in favor of the Magpies.  Certainly a draw would have been a fair result here.  

Silver lining was that with Newcastle facing Arsenal away and Chelsea taking on Man United at home, there was every chance the Magpies +4 goal differential was going to be wiped out and maybe even flipped.  Instead, with both results at 1-0, Newcastle retain a +2 over Chelsea, which could play into the final placings after Sunday's matches.

No Help Elsewhere

Everybody else in the hunt for the Champions League spots got W's.  Aston Villa had a very controlled 2-0 win over Spurs, Man City took care of Bournemouth, Chelsea got their win over Man United, and Nottingham Forest bested West Ham 2-1.  

The Arsenal win over Newcastle clinches second place for them.  Third through seventh remain wide open.  The scenarios are mind-numbingly complex and are explained here.  Some of the clearer points

Man City, Newcastle and Chelsea finish top five with wins

Man City finish top five with a draw

Newcastle finish no worse than 6th even with a loss (assuming it's not a blowout)

Aston Villa need to win and have some others lose or draw

Crystal Palace Hoist FA Cup

And basically destroy the hopes of Brighton and Brentford.  Distracted viewing means I can only recall two key moments - Palace keeper Dean Henderson not getting a red card for DOGSO and then Henderson making a PK on Marmoush to preserve the 1-0 win.  

The Turning Point? Henderson pushes the ball away from Haaland
Jan Kruger - The FA/The FA via Getty Images

First, the possible DOGSO.  Haaland was running onto a long ball over the top as Henderson came out to the edge of the area.  Haaland tried to play the ball but Henderson swatted it away from the Norwegian.  Good idea, except though he was still in the box, the ball was outside the box.   This little detail was missed by the AR so play continued.  VAR cannot intervene on that basis alone but the possibility that this was DOGSO and red card situation did offer the chance for a review.  The decision was that as the ball was going away from Haaland, you could not call this an obvious goal scoring chance.  Of course, the ball was going away from Haaland because Henderson had illegally swatted it.  The second part I guess is that we don't know exactly where Haaland's touch would have left the ball so again, the "obvious" part of the equation is tough to nail down.  The minimum correct call here would have been a free kick just outside the box but that was not an option for VAR.  

That Henderson was still on the pitch for the PK must have been particularly galling to City.  That he then saved Marmoush's attempt made it worse.  You can see the save here.  

In times like these, we do like to point out BFS First Rule of Refereeing, namely that the referee did not cost you the match.  Despite dominating with 23 shots and six on target, City did not score, even given the PK to do so.  Crystal Palace played them tough and earn the Europa Cup place.

It's A Major Award

Before proceeding to trash the accomplishment, let me acknowledge that winning the Europa Cup is a "Major Award."  There are eight group stage matches, three two-leg knockout rounds and then the final.  This is fit in between the regular EPL schedule, the FA Cup and the EFL Cup.  

However, it is still difficult explaining European football to the casual observer.  So you have this competition that pits the best of European club teams from different countries.  Well, it's not actually the best.  The best (top four in the case of the EPL) go to the Champions League.  And they qualify for this year's tournament based on last year's results.  So this year the two finalists - Spurs and Man United - struggled mightily sucked in the EPL.  In any other year, they would be fighting relegation.  But now, by virtue of their 1-0 win, Spurs qualify for next year's Champions League, despite their 17th place in the EPL.  It's actually easier to explain what happens on the dropped third strike in baseball.

Micky van de Van saves Spurs' bacon

Anyway, so they had this final.  The good news for Spurs is they found some defensive resolve when it
mattered.  Ben Johnson's barest of touches was enough for the only goal.  Actually, Dennis and I think it was really an own goal off the shoulder of Luke Shaw.   The biggest play though was probably Micky van de Ven's clearance off the goal line, seen here as this week's YouTubeableMoment, that preserved the slim lead.  Man United did mount a charge in the closing minutes, providing some of the most interesting moments of the match, but they could not break through.    

Free Parking, Primo Hoagies and a Union Victory

Sure it was about 50 degrees and raining Wedneday night but things couldn't have gone better.  I parked my Forester in the FREE Subaru parking lot which is much closer to the stadium than the lot we used to frequent.  Most of the concession stands were closed (I guess because it was a mid-week US Open Cup match?) so Jeff H and I wandered the concourse and discovered there's a Primo Hoagies stand on the northside.  Then the Union proceeded to defeat the Pittsburgh River Hounds 4-1 with a heavily rotated line up.  

Handling or not?  Tough call

We couldn't really see the handling that gave the Union an early PK.  With no VAR, the call on the field stood.  I found the picture from the match highlights; not sure I would have called that but also not sure that VAR would have enough to overturn.  There were also some times when the U just seemed to be treading water against a weaker opponent.  But they got the goals they needed and the 4-1 final felt about right.

That was their second victory of the week, having stymied Atlanta 1-0 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday.  I only saw the highlights so can't tell you much.  Looks like fill-in keeper Andrew Rick has the same habit as Andre Blake - a key save somewhere in the match to preserve the Union lead.  With Columbus and Cincinnati playing to a 1-1 draw, the win puts the U top of the table.

All-time Keeper Howler

Dennis's team, Sportif Allentown, is off to Canada to defend their Friendship Cup title.  On the eve of their departure, Dennis informs me that their goalkeeper has let his passport expire.  D'oh.  Sounds like something that would happen to the Union.  

Up on the Roof (apologies to Carole King)

BFS Artistic Director Laura O sends along this clip that feels like the British equivalent of the kids from The Sandlot finding the treasure trove of baseballs in Hercules' yard.  

TVs, Computers and Phones

With so many meaningful positions in the table still unsettled, four matches are definitely relevant and two more could be.  All matches are at 11 am Sunday on the various NBC affiliated stations or Peacock.  We may end up with a game on the TV and maybe one or two on the computer and/or phone. We also note the schedulers seem to be more about the status of the teams as opposed to which matches are shunted to Peacock.  

Our choice will of course be Newcastle hosting Everton.  We like our odds here (68/14/18) and if they play like they did last week at Arsenal this should be a win.  Oh if it was only that easy.  Also, this match should be one of the TV games instead of, say, Liverpool - Crystal Palace or Southampton - Arsenal; seriously, neither of those matches has any meaningful relevance to the table.

For the neutral, we are torn between recommending Man United - Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest - Chelsea.  At least the schedulers got these right, as the former is on CNBC and the latter on USA.  Opta likes Villa, even at Old Trafford (52/25/23) and that seems right.  Chelsea are also favored on the road but not as much (43/32/25).  Brighton and Brentford certainly care about both of these matches as Chelsea must lose and Villa win or draw for 8th place to have any shot at next year's Europa Conference League.  In theory Man City - Fulham also matters but does anybody see the Cottagers taking all three points here?

Brighton will secure the sort of coveted 8th place with a win or draw over Spurs, who might still be hung over from their Europa Cup win.  Brentford need Brighton to lose and must beat Wolves at Molineux, which sounds like a tall order.  Of course, we won't know if 8th even matters until the matches are finished.

The Union get a stern test at Subaru Park Saturday night as they face Inter Miami.  The table says we're first and they're seventh, seven points back but I'm not buying it.  A draw would be a solid result here.

Don't forget Conference League final on Wednesday with Chelsea vs Real Betis

Better Odds to Make Champions League?

Everybody in the top 7 dropped points this weekend except Newcastle and Aston Villa.  Union delivered exactly what we hoped against Columbus - dammit - though they did come through mid-week.

Signature Win

Well yeah, if your trademark is to get three points when you don't look like the best team on the pitch.  The scoreboard says the Magpies beat Chelsea 2-0 but it did not feel that way at all.  Things started out well enough and included a great goal from Tonali, seen here as this week's YouTubeableMoment. They were the better team until they went up a man at 30 minutes.  From then on, they were second best.  The second half was terrible.  You would have thought Newcastle were down a man.  They couldn't string together a series of passes, were easily dispossessed and rarely won the loose ball.  Bruno's goal at 90 minutes meant that stoppage time wasn't scary but that was small consolation after watching nearly an hour of ineffective football.  Fair reporting requires me to note that final score is not terribly out of line with xG, which was 1.62-.67 favor Magpies.  Most of that 1.62 must have occurred before the sending off because this felt pretty one sided.  

Reading this, I realize it sounds pretty sour for a guy who's team just got a big win and now sit in third place.  Sorry about that but Newcastle didn't exactly look like a Champions League quality team despite the securing the important win.  I will try to cheer up.

Keep the Passports Current

As unimpressive as Newcastle were, Aston Villa couldn't even match that.  They walked away with a 1-0 win over Bournemouth in which the equalizing goal never seemed too far away.  Villa's goal, seen here, was the merest of touches by Ollie Watkins, though it may be fair to suggest it wouldn't have gone in without that touch.  The final 15 minutes or so were made even scarier when Ramsey got sent off for a second yellow at 80 minutes.  Like Newcastle though, regardless of the quality, the win moved them up to 6th in the table and guaranteed they'll be back in Europe next fall.  

It's Only A Rabbit

Surely Man City and Nottingham Forest must have been looking forward to notching wins this weekend as they faced the bottom two teams in the league.  Probably right, but please don't call me Shirley.  So how'd that work out?  Well, here's the pregame talk and some highlights from Nottingham Forest - Leicister.

Southampton defended ferociously 
against Man City

I kid, but only a little.  Forest conceded an early goal to 19th place Leicester but did rally on goals by Gibbs-White and this marvelous header from Chris Wood - his 20th of the season.  But three points weren't going to theirs as Buonanotte scored a late goal to get Leicester a 2-2 draw.  Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was decidedly not pleased with this result and came out on the pitch to express his dismay with Nuno Espirito Santo.  The gist of the his complaint seemed to center around Forest playing the last 10 minutes or so down a man when Elanga had to leave with an injury after they had used all their subs.  Geez, since the draw assured Forest a place in one of next year's European competitions, a simple thank you to Nino might have been enough.  This was a decent watch by the way so kudos to Leicester for showing up ready to play.

Southampton did their best to get City the win, managing just two shots - none on target - and an xG of .11; not surprisingly, they failed to score.  However, even with 26 shots, 72% possession and an xG of 1.66, City didn't manage to score either.  A 0-0 draw with the last place side doesn't exactly scream "we belong in the Champions League."  Glad I didn't tune in for that one.

Arsenal probably don't feel as bad about their 2-2 draw with Liverpool. Maybe they had been hoping that the Reds were ready for the beach but that didn't happen.  The City draw took some of the sting away but the Gunners have not locked up Champions League yet.

Severance: Season 2 Episode 36

Spurs and Man United "innies" racing to get away from their "outies"

Spurs and Man United outies managed duplicate 0-2 losses.  Man United's loss to West Ham was especially damning as it allowed the Hammers to leap over both United and Spurs.  Heading into the last two weeks, Spurs sit in 17th with 38 points, one behind 16th place Man United.  Dennis notes that in a normal year, both might have found themselves in a relegation battle.  

Careful What You Wish For

The Union's two results - a 2-2 draw with Columbus and a 3-2 win over the LA Galaxy - are like a pair of fours on my golf scorecard.  You need to know the details to understand the journey.  For the first one (a difficult par 4), I hit a good drive, then put my second shot about a foot from the pin.  Birdie baby!  But no, I miss the putt and walk away disappointed with what otherwise should be a good four.  That's the Columbus match.  Nice efforts from Baribo and Westfield help the Union carry a 2-1 lead into stoppage time.  But they yielded a goal in stoppage time on a set piece.  I know I said I would be thrilled with a draw against first place Columbus but you didn't tell me that the Union would be seconds away from taking all three.  Trying to remember that this is a good result on a difficult par 4 against a top team.

On the other hole - a relatively easy par 4 - I hit a terrible drive, don't reach the green with my second, and the chip leaves me 25 feet from the hole.  Miraculously, I make the putt for the improbably par.  That would be the LA Galaxy match.  Two goals against the run of play, left the Union down 0-2 to the winless Galaxy side.  Harriel and Baribo at least got them back in the game with goals at 48 and 50.  Then, in the 96th minute Baribo heads in the game winner, seen here as this week's YouTubeableMoment - This Side of the Pond.  It says W on the scoresheet but it was way harder than that.  

Playing Columbus even and coming back froma an 0-2 deficit suggest that maybe this is a decent team.

Distracted Viewing

Off to New Hampshire to put my dad's ashes in the ground.  Up there, if you pass away after November 1, you have to wait until the following May for the burial.  

Just one match on Saturday - the FA Cup Final between Man City and Crystal Palace.  Good to get this final in the books because of its impact on the European placements.  A Man City win most likely means 8th place gets Europa Conference League; a Crystal Palace win means they play in Europa Cup and 8th place gets you a handshake.

For the league matches, still a surpising number that still have relevance.  Though the top 7 are set, the order from 2nd-7th is still up in the air.  And, by Saturday afternoon, we'll know if 8th place is still a target.

The week gets started early with two matches on Friday afternoon, both with significance.  Aston Villa host Spurs at 2:30 and Chelsea take on Man United at 3:15.  Villa and Chelsea are level on points but the Blues have a big goal differential advantage.  

Sunday will be very busy.  Another Sunday 7 am match but only friends and family will likely be interested in the outcome of Everton - Southampton.  Same with Leicster -Ipswich at 10.  But the other three matter.  West Ham host Nottingham Forest at 9:15, Brentford face Fulham at 10 and Newcastle travel to London to face Arsenal.  Yes, another trip to The Emirates, that "Little Shop of Horrors" for the Magpies.  Since its opening in fall 2006, Newcastle are 2-2-16 and have been outscored 10-48.  They are however on a one game winning streak there, having pulled off a 2-0 win in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi.  A win would move them into second and guarantee a Champions League spot. 

There is Monday and Tuesday action as well.  On Monday, Brighton host Liverpool with the Seagulls clinging to faint hopes of Europa Conference League.  Crystal Palace take on Wolves with both teams packing for the summer.  Those games are at 3 pm.  Tuesday has Man City hosting Bournemouth with both teams vying for spots in Europe, albeit different levels.

Speaking of Europe, the first of the three finals is Wednesday at 3 pm with Spurs and Man United meeting in the Europa Cup Final.  Presumably, their innies will click in as they land in Spain (the match is at Bilbao) and we'll be treated to a good match.  A spot in next year's Champions League is on the line so they should be competitive.  Hmm, I wonder how "legitimate" their lineups will be on Friday for their league matches.

The Union get in two matches this week.  Saturday they are in Atlanta and Wednesday they are back home to take on the Pittsburgh River Hounds in a round of 16 contest in the US Open Cup.  Hoping to be in the stands for that one.

Working with a sketchy wifi connection up here in NH.  Hope this goes through.

Still In It

Not everything went our way but the week wasn't a disaster.

Unsurprising But Annoying Result

I didn't mention this last week but I was always concerned about the trip to Brighton.  We rarely do well there and Brighton were just as motivated as Newcastle to nail down a place in one of next year's European competition.  Thus, we were not surprised at all that the Magpies struggled to come away with a 1-1 draw.  

Third time's a charm; this PK call sticks (Photo:BBC)

What was annoying is that Newcastle arguably had the much better of play but simply could not put the ball in the net.  Possession was 55/45, shots were 13/5, shots on target 5/2 and xG 1.74/.7. Referee Craig Pawson tried to give Newcastle three PKs but VAR ruled out two of them, correctly in my opinion.  The first was a foul but it turned out to be outside the box and the second turned out to be a dive rather than foul.  At least the third one, for handling in the 89th minute, stood.  Taking into account the PK, the xG difference wasn't all the much.  And Brighton do defend well.  

The result wasn't much help to either team but it probably hurt Brighton more as Bournemouth and Brentford both got wins.

Useful But Boring Result

Yuri Tielemans scored in the 12th minute to earn Aston Villa a 1-0 win over visiting Fulham.  That's all that needs to be said except that I am so glad I got up at 7:30 to watch it.

Outies

Apparently, there is no Overtime Contingency that allows Spurs and Man United to play like their Europa Cup innies in EPL matches.  After big wins by their innies in Europa League last week, Man United and Spurs flipped to their outies right on schedule for their EPL matches.  Spurs scored early against West Ham but conceded the equalizer not long after and a 1-1 draw was the final; they remain a point ahead of the Hammers in 16th place.  Man United also scored first against Brentford, then conceded four unanswered goals before eventually falling 4-3.  They remain a point ahead of Spurs in 15th.  

Interesting But Confounding Results

The races for 2nd through 7th got more complicated after this weekend's fixtures.  Arsenal's 1-2 loss to Brentford combined with Man City's narrow 1-0 win over Wolves means that the Gunners are no longer a lock for second place.  Chelsea's win over over Liverpool combined with Newcastle's draw with Brighton is a lifeline for the Blues chances for a top five finish.  And slumping Nottingham Forest could only manage a draw with Crystal Palace, putting a serious dent in their top five hopes and maybe top six as well, given that Villa are just one point back now.  

Lucky But Welcome Result

I followed the Union's 2-1 win over Montreal on line, then watched the highlights and checked out the stats.  Seems like the U stole at least two and maybe three points.  After a 1-1 first half, on line all I saw was possession and shots for Montreal increasing the second half; I was fully prepared to see them take the lead.  Instead I was pleasantly surprised to see Uhre bag the game winner in the 84 minute.  Possession was 58/42, shots 14/8 and xG 1.8/.7 favor Montreal; the Union did have more shots on target at 4/3.  The good news is that it was the third straight win for Philly.  The bad news is that if you take a hard look at their performance in all three, you realize that they were a bit lucky in that 1) they didn't play all that great and 2) they were playing mediocre opposition.  We're nearly a third of the way through the season and I still don't have a sense of whether this team is good or not.  

The Union had a second match, their US Open Cup contest versus Indy Eleven.  They sent out a heavily rotated starting eleven, jumped to an early lead, then basically went flat.  Indy scored early in the second half and Carnell had to "unrotate" the lineup.  Though the U took control again, they did not score and the match proceeded to extra time, then PKs. The U squeaked by 5-4.  They will face the Pittsburgh River Hounds in the Round of 16 on Wednesday May 21.  

Champions League

Stay with for me a minute here, this is leading to a point.

Fact 1: I hate brussel sprouts

Fact 2: BFS Artistic Director Laura O is a great cook

Premise: If I don't like brussel sprouts even prepared by Laura, there's a good chance that I will never like them

Inter are going to the Champions League final

My point here is that if you watched the Inter-Barcelona Champions League semi-final and were not mesmerized, there's a good chance that you will never like soccer.  The first leg was crazy enough, ending at 3-3.  Inter took a 2-0 lead into the halftime lockerroom but Barcelona came back with goals at 54 and 60 minutes.  They looked like a lock to win it when Raphinha scored in the 87th minute.  Not so fast.  Francesco Acerbi tied it back up on the third minute of stoppage time.  You can see that goal here as this week's YouTubeableMoment Part I; yeah he got a yellow for taking the shirt off.  On to extra time and the 99th minute where Davide Fratessi scored the match winner for Inter.  You can see that here as this week's YouTubeableMoment Part II.  Okay, maybe the best view of the goal but this video does capture the emotion of the moment.  Best Champions League semi of all time?  The debate is underway.

The other semi-final is in no danger of making that list.  A sleepy 1-0 first leg left Arsenal needing a win in Paris.  And they certainly came out firing.  PSG can thank keeper Donnarumma for preserving the fragile lead in those opening 20 minutes.  Perhaps it was inevitable that the one-way attacking would leave the Gunners open to a goal against the run of play and it did indeed happen at 27 minutes.  Another goal at 72 minutes meant that Saka's goal at 72 was mere consolation.  

Outies!

This is getting too predictable.  The Europa Cup whistle blows and Spurs and Man United snap into their outie personalities.  Spurs took care of Bodo/Glimt 2-0 for a 5-1 aggregate win while United buried Athletic Club 4-1 for a 7-1 win on aggregate.

The two outies will meet on Wednesday May 21 for the Europa Cup title, which means that the EPL will have six in next year's Champions League.  Note that this does not change any of the regular qualifying process as neither of these teams will finish high enough to earn a place through the regular season standings.  

Chelsea, which don't seem to have a Severance issue, advanced to the Europa Conference League final with a 1-0 win in the second leg of their semi-final against Djugarden; the aggregate score was 5-1.  They'll face Real Betis on Wednesday May 28.  

The Race For Europe

Here is the updated analysis from ESPN on who can make one of the three European competitions next year.  The biggest news is that with the Spurs - Man United Europa Cup final, the EPL will have nine teams competing next year.  Ten is still a possibility if Crystal Palace were to beat Man City in the FA Cup Final.  However, if I read the article correctly, unless you qualify through some other route, you'll need to finish at least 8th in the EPL table to have a shot at Europe.

Matches That Matter

There are still some of those left.  In fact, 8 of the 10 matches have at least some relevance to spots in next year's European competitions.

The big one is Newcastle - Chelsea at St. James' Park Sunday morning at 7 am (?).  The two are level on points and goal differential, with Newcastle holding the advantage due to four more goals scored.  The winner takes a stranglehold on fourth place while the loser will be left to fight it out for 5th-7th.  

Second most important is Bournemouth - Aston Villa, the 12:30 feature match on Saturday.  Villa clinch at least 7th place with a win and keep themselves alive for a Champions League spot.  Bournemouth are currently 8th, which might be good enough for Europa Conference League, but a loss leaves them vulnerable to Brentford, Brighton and Fulham.  I am surprised to see that Opta has the Cherries as a slight favorite (41/34/25) for this one; I guess that's just the home field advantage.  

The Saturday 10 am slot has four matches that are relevant.  Fulham - Everton, Ipswich - Brentford, and Wolves - Brighton are still clinging to a chance at 8th place.  Man City have a perfect opportunity to bolster their hopes of a third or even second place finish as they travel to Southampton to face a team with two wins and five draws all season.  We'll probably go with Wolves - Brighton as that looks the most competitive.

The Sunday 9:15 slot has three matches but it's an easy choice. Nottingham Forest have a chance to stop the bleeding and maybe slide back into the top five as they host Leicester.  The other two matches have no relevance - Man United vs West Ham and Spurs vs Crystal Palace.

And technically, Liverpool versus Arsenal (Sunday 11:30) could affect the placements as the Gunners have not officially clinched a top five spot yet.  

Saturday is a big test for the Union as they host the first place Columbus Crew at 7:30.  A win would be enough to take over first but I'd be thrilled with a draw.