The highlight match of the weekend was supposed to be Arsenal at Chelsea which turned into a Chelsea win that was every bit as dominating as the 6-0 scoreline would suggest. Giroux did not convert an excellent early opportunity and the rout began moments later when Eto'o provided yet another quality finish at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea never looked back, scoring twice more in the next ten minutes and 5 more overall. They were aided when Keiran Gibbs was sent off after a diving handball save by (non-keeper) Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain that lead to the third Chelsea goal. Wait, what? Gibbs was mistakenly sent off even though he was clearly innocent on the play. I understand that Gibbs is the left back normally occupying that space, but do they really look that much alike?
It shouldn't take more than 4 referees to get this one right.
Following the 4-3 come back win over Norwich and the dramatic 1-0 win over Chelsea, Aston Villa got absolutely hammered at home by a Stoke team who had 1 previous win in 15 away games this season. Villa scored early through the seemingly rejuvenated Benteke and then absolutely fell apart in every facet of the game. Sloppy defending all around led to some very easy Stoke goals and the Villans never really put up a fight. A very sobering loss after two weekends of celebration.
Newcastle decided to be take their sweet time this week against Crystal Palace, but managed to score a very late winner to further solidify their mid table spot. This was one of the few matches that I did not see so we'll complete the role reversal by supplying some comments from Steve:
Not as lifeless as against Fulham. Had good spells but finishing was weak. So was CP's. Missing Remy (injury?). Had resigned myself to a draw against a team we should beat, taking small consolation in the better effort. But in stoppage time Ben Arfa drilled a beautiful cross into the box that Cisse headed in for the winner. Three points and 8th is ours again.
Quick Trip around the rest of the league:
- Tottenham stole 2 points against Southampton in a very exciting back and forth game. Two early and quite awful Tottenham miscues gifted Southampton a 2 goal lead, but Tottenham got one back before the half and equalized just after the intermission. Sigurdsson struck in extra time to keep the Spurs in the race for the dreaded Europa League.
- Norwich thoroughly outplayed Sunderland for a 2-0 win that features this weeks YouTubeable Moment. There were several other candidates this week, but this 30 yard volley was simply stunning to watch in real time.
- Manchester City returned to their early season ways and blew last-place Fulham out 5-0. There were a few shaky moments early, but then City simply decided that they wanted to score a few more times and did so with a familiar ease.
- Everton comfortably held off Swansea with a 3-2 home win. A Baines penalty was matched by a goal from Bony leading to 1-1 halftime score, before Everton scored twice in 5 minutes early in the second half to put it away. Swansea scored too late to give the ending any real suspense.
- Didn't see any of the Liverpool - Cardiff (6-3), Man U - West Ham (2-0), or Hull City - West Brom (2-0) games, but the score lines all seem to be about what I would have expected before the games started. It would be a disservice not to award Rooney's 50 yard goal a bonus YouTubeable Moment for this week since amazing goals and kittens are basically the point of YouTube.
Midweek Games:
Manchester United continued their disappointing season with a home thrashing at the hands of their cross town rivals. City scored in the first minute and looked very comfortable for much of the game after a few tense minutes of United pressure in the first half. Seeing out the win would have been easier if Fellaini had received the red card he deserved for a vicious elbow to the head of Zabaleta. In any case, David Moyes is going to be under even more scrutiny as his team has now accrued the most losses by United in any single EPL season.
Speaking of teams disappointing their fans, Arsenal gave away 2 points with a late own goal and were possibly saved from losing the one point they did earn by the referee's whistle. Flamini scored an OG in the 89th minute and the referee ended the game during what looked to be a Swansea break away in the 95th. Swansea players argued the "call" but the referee can end the game whenever he sees fit so there really isn't much to argue.
Everton took the opportunity afforded by the Arsenal draw and blanked Newcastle at St. James Park to sort of maybe get back in the race for the Champions League. Two comfortable wins in a row has them dreaming big but they are still 6 points behind Arsenal, a deficit that looms large with only 8 games (give or take) remaining.
Liverpool held serve and took the three points they were expected to take over Sunderland, though not as easily as one might have guessed, winning 2-1. Sunderland might be feeling the pressure to avoid relegation and playing a little bit harder than they were earlier in the season. West Ham rounded out the week with a very nervy 2-1 win over Hull, who were down a man for more than an hour but managed to be very competitive nonetheless.
And let's not forget about those Chester Blues who have had an unusually long stretch of down time while their manager parties the nights away down in The Big Easy. A lavish manager vacation at the expense of valuable practice time may come back to haunt the newly promoted squad.
Following the 4-3 come back win over Norwich and the dramatic 1-0 win over Chelsea, Aston Villa got absolutely hammered at home by a Stoke team who had 1 previous win in 15 away games this season. Villa scored early through the seemingly rejuvenated Benteke and then absolutely fell apart in every facet of the game. Sloppy defending all around led to some very easy Stoke goals and the Villans never really put up a fight. A very sobering loss after two weekends of celebration.
Newcastle decided to be take their sweet time this week against Crystal Palace, but managed to score a very late winner to further solidify their mid table spot. This was one of the few matches that I did not see so we'll complete the role reversal by supplying some comments from Steve:
Not as lifeless as against Fulham. Had good spells but finishing was weak. So was CP's. Missing Remy (injury?). Had resigned myself to a draw against a team we should beat, taking small consolation in the better effort. But in stoppage time Ben Arfa drilled a beautiful cross into the box that Cisse headed in for the winner. Three points and 8th is ours again.
Quick Trip around the rest of the league:
- Tottenham stole 2 points against Southampton in a very exciting back and forth game. Two early and quite awful Tottenham miscues gifted Southampton a 2 goal lead, but Tottenham got one back before the half and equalized just after the intermission. Sigurdsson struck in extra time to keep the Spurs in the race for the dreaded Europa League.
- Norwich thoroughly outplayed Sunderland for a 2-0 win that features this weeks YouTubeable Moment. There were several other candidates this week, but this 30 yard volley was simply stunning to watch in real time.
- Manchester City returned to their early season ways and blew last-place Fulham out 5-0. There were a few shaky moments early, but then City simply decided that they wanted to score a few more times and did so with a familiar ease.
- Everton comfortably held off Swansea with a 3-2 home win. A Baines penalty was matched by a goal from Bony leading to 1-1 halftime score, before Everton scored twice in 5 minutes early in the second half to put it away. Swansea scored too late to give the ending any real suspense.
- Didn't see any of the Liverpool - Cardiff (6-3), Man U - West Ham (2-0), or Hull City - West Brom (2-0) games, but the score lines all seem to be about what I would have expected before the games started. It would be a disservice not to award Rooney's 50 yard goal a bonus YouTubeable Moment for this week since amazing goals and kittens are basically the point of YouTube.
Midweek Games:
Manchester United continued their disappointing season with a home thrashing at the hands of their cross town rivals. City scored in the first minute and looked very comfortable for much of the game after a few tense minutes of United pressure in the first half. Seeing out the win would have been easier if Fellaini had received the red card he deserved for a vicious elbow to the head of Zabaleta. In any case, David Moyes is going to be under even more scrutiny as his team has now accrued the most losses by United in any single EPL season.
Speaking of teams disappointing their fans, Arsenal gave away 2 points with a late own goal and were possibly saved from losing the one point they did earn by the referee's whistle. Flamini scored an OG in the 89th minute and the referee ended the game during what looked to be a Swansea break away in the 95th. Swansea players argued the "call" but the referee can end the game whenever he sees fit so there really isn't much to argue.
Everton took the opportunity afforded by the Arsenal draw and blanked Newcastle at St. James Park to sort of maybe get back in the race for the Champions League. Two comfortable wins in a row has them dreaming big but they are still 6 points behind Arsenal, a deficit that looms large with only 8 games (give or take) remaining.
Liverpool held serve and took the three points they were expected to take over Sunderland, though not as easily as one might have guessed, winning 2-1. Sunderland might be feeling the pressure to avoid relegation and playing a little bit harder than they were earlier in the season. West Ham rounded out the week with a very nervy 2-1 win over Hull, who were down a man for more than an hour but managed to be very competitive nonetheless.
And let's not forget about those Chester Blues who have had an unusually long stretch of down time while their manager parties the nights away down in The Big Easy. A lavish manager vacation at the expense of valuable practice time may come back to haunt the newly promoted squad.
This is a great blog and I love the "most wanted" photos at the top of Dennis' excellent post (though I take exception with his characterization of Spurs' last second victory v Southampton).
ReplyDeleteBut, if you guys aren't paying attention to La Liga then you are missing something special. Altetico took care of business v lowly Betis in Sevilla on Sunday. Then Barcelona beat RMA in an El Classico that is still the talk of the futbol world. Thus, Atleti stood alone at the top of the table due to head-to-head tie breaker rules. Midweek action (yesterday) enhanced Atleti's position when Bob Kaufman's beloved Sevilla hosted and beat RMA. Now we have Atletico, Barcelona and RMA in the 1,2&3 positons and a real dog fight might be shaping up for the 4th and final Chmapions League spot (between Athletic Club Bilbao, Sevilla, Real Sociedad (San Sebastian) and Villareal ("Yellow Submarine"). Now its Bob's turn to root for Atletico at Bilbao this weekend.
76 days till the World Cup and don't forget next week's first leg of the final 8 in Champions League. No need to watch US sports (including NCAA hoops with all those silly timeouts and commercials...).
Not just a clean sheet for our field player turned keeper; he makes a briliant save to preserve a 1-0 victory. Well done.
ReplyDeleteOriginally we were told that the red card would be transferred to from Gibbs to Oxlade-Chamberlain. Ultimately, the red card for Gibbs was rescinded and none was awarded to Oxlade-Chamberlain as it was determined that the shot was not on net and therefore no DOGSO. Before Arsenal fans (yeah I'm looking at you Luke and Michael P) start complaining, it would have still been a PK and the Gunners would have been down 0-3.
Dennis neglected to highlight some data he has collected. Number of times he has gotten up to make a sandwich during an Aston Villa match - 2. Number of times Aston Villa has scored while he was making the sandwich - 2. Limited observation points aside, I think it's pretty clear what needs to be done. Maybe do finger sandwiches to limit the weight gain.
I did see the Union match. Fell behind 2-0. Second goal looked soft to me but I await comment from blog keeper consultant Chris K for confirmation. To their credit, the Union got back one of those and tested Columbus a few times but could not get the equalizer.
I realize I neglected to report on the Chester Blues run in to the season's end. We won one, lost one and drew two on the way to first place by 16 points in the Championship division. My assistants have been pointing out we will need to upgrade to be competitive in the Premier League (duh). Recent time has been spent looking at keepers (want to sign or get on loan on older one because I have two that project well a few years out but might struggle this year) and a left defender (looking to sign a younger prospect as Danleigh Borman is sort of serviceable but getting old). I thought a few days in New Orleans was more than deserved after our brilliant campaign.
Re: the Union. The winner was a shot from a ways out off a defensive lapse, and seems like McMath should have gotten to it. Union looked the better side most of the game and had a ridiculous number of shots (16?) but not too many on target. The side is much nicer to watch but still seems to suffer from some of the old problems - defensive gaffs (LeToux lost his man on the first goal off a corner), and inability to finish. Leo Fernandez (born in Brazil, raised in NY or NJ) is looking more like a starter, scoring and causing trouble almost as soon as he was subbed in. If these new guys can continue to gel and Jack Mac or someone finds a scoring touch we should do well this season. Come to a game!
ReplyDeleteTwo words sum up my emotions: VIVA SEVILLA.
ReplyDeleteNot only did they hold serve at home vs RMA for the second straight year, but they have run up the table with 6 consecutive wins. 18 points out of a possible 18 will make anyone look good - including a Sevilla side with financial problems, a president now in jail, great players who've been sold, and half a house in its 48,000 seat stadium on the south side of a compact city of 1 million.
But last night was special. Stadio Ramon Sanchez Piczuan was rocking, full with loud, chanting fans. And remember ... the match started at 10p on a Wednesday night, so it ended a tad bit before midnight ... a perfect time to walk the 15 minutes from the stadium back into the middle of town & have a late, late, late tapas or bar session. And you can trust that no one went home to sleep quickly.
Saw the highlights from the Union game. Bad goal from MacMath. Good shot and the guy shouldn't have that much space to line up an attempt like that, but it's a save that a professional goalkeeper should make. My prediction (hope) is that we see Blake within the next 5 games.
ReplyDeleteWhat was the guy doing on the post on the first goal?? From the clip I saw, it looked like he swung at the ball and missed when he could have easily blocked it away. Also poor finishing from the Union in front of goal.
i,ve never been a big fan of mcmath, but was thinking he was growing into the job. not an expert on what goes on between the pipes but perhaps the late goals esp on set pieces are somewhat to do with his inability to set up his shop?
Deleteunfortunately to get Blake it will take some poor results that will be painful to live through.
i was surprised too that the guy on the post didn't clear it.
As Steve knows, I have never been a fan of MacMath. Luckily, I am not a Union fan, but I think all Union fans should be outraged that they have been subjected to watching him "develop" for the last few years. There are a handful of overrated keepers in the league (specifically Hamid and Rimando), but MacMath has been indisputably the worst regular starter in MLS over the last 2+ years. He is "average" at every aspect of the position, and that is being generous. If someone asked me what his best attribute was, I honestly wouldn't be able to answer.
DeleteMy issue with developing a keeper is that with someone like MacMath, his ceiling isn't that high. On the other hand, someone like Blake is a spectacular athlete and shot-stopper. I haven't seen him much, but you can develop the other aspects of his game to complement the skillset he already has. With MacMath, you are trying to develop each aspect of his game from "average" to "slightly above average".
I would say giving up goals on set pieces shouldn't be due to failing to set up shop, as much as it is execution and possibly bad decision making once the ball is in play. MacMath is not an imposing keeper and he doesn't like to come off his line in the air (and when he does he has mixed, often negative, results). Some of it may have to do with the defense failing to do their job, so some of the blame may lie with them. I haven't seen enough this year to make a judgement, but I would hope that the coaches have instructed him as to how they would like to defend set pieces.