You Can Tie?

As the legendary Ted Lasso discovered during his short tenure at Tottenham, EPL matches can end in a draw.  Six of the 10 matches this weekend went thusly.  Not all were bores but as a whole the weekend was a little light on excitement.  As we shall see, a draw can be a positive result – or not.

Despite spending much of the match on the back foot, Newcastle’s performance in the 0-0 draw at Old Trafford was quite solid.  The defense, with inspired work from Coloccini, was well-organized and only gave up a few clear cut chances.  We got to see the aerial threat that Mitrovic is going to pose as he peppered the Man United goal, hitting the cross bar on one attempt.  The major negative was a carelessness in possession, with the ball being lost cheaply on many occasions.  But this was definitely a step in the right direction.

Tottenham’s 1-1 against Leicester City is the opposite.  Once again, Spurs could not hold a lead – this time not even for a minute after newcomer Alli had put them up.  I will say that Leicester were atypically closed down tight for this match, often putting everybody behind the ball.  But after getting the go ahead goal, one would have thought Tottenham were going to get the win.  Michael B continues to lament his team’s fortunes.

The other draws are less clear cut as to the teams’ relative satisfaction.  Arsenal-Liverpool – at 0-0 a bit of a bust for the neutral – could cut either way.  Liverpool might be pleased with the road result but may have been looking for more with Arsenal forced into a makeshift central defense; Arsenal might have hoped for more at home but maybe feel like they escaped with a point given the shorthanded defense.  The Norwich-Stoke, Sunderland-Swansea and Watford-Southampton draws don’t seem all that great for the away sides but maybe the fact that they were on the road make them acceptable.

Chelsea could beat West Brom with one hand tied behind its back.  Fortunately, we had the soccer equivalent – a sending off that left Chelsea with 10 men – that helped make that 3-2 win for the Blues entertaining.  Plus, we had the away crowd again cheering the first appearance of the Chelsea physios; wonder how far into the season that will continue?  Despite a generally strong effort from Tim Howard, Everton went down to a hot Manchester City side 0-2; it’s early but the Citizens are looking really good at this point.

And down in London, the news was not great for Aston Villa but there are some very promising signs.

Remember last week when I mentioned that Traore looked like a good long term signing?  Apparently 3 days and 78 match minutes counts as long term because that is when he did this to the left side of the Crystal Palace defense:

I can only imagine Agbonlahor watching this and dreaming of his youth.  Yes, it was technically an own goal, but that is irrelevant to me.  Traore provided a glimpse of pace and skill that is unrivaled on this team and could prove to be just the spark they need.  I am going to deliberately go against Sherwood'd advice and proceed to get very, very excited about this guy.

Naturally, that moment came in the midst of an otherwise mediocre team performance that ended in a late, but deserved, 2-1 loss to a solid Crystal Palace side.  Many players had uneven performances - in particular Amavi, who had several solid defensive plays but whose late sloppy giveaway led to the winning goal - but the team in general still seemed to take a small step forward.  Regardless, Villa have 3 points after 3 matches and a slew of exciting players, putting them on pace for more points and way more exciting contests than last season.

Union Win on the Road!?

What ho? A road victory over Montreal.  Le Toux's 78th minute goal was enough to spoil Didier Drogba's Impact debut.  All the stats suggested Montreal dominated but I don't remember it feeling that way, much of the possession time was in the midfield.  The match was also the season debut for Andre Blake, our much heralded but seldom seen first round draft pick from two years ago.  I thought he played well and made some riskier decisions that he can pull off with his athleticism.  Though the win pulls the Union to within one point of the last playoff spot, I must continue to be the wet blanket and point out that Montreal still has four games in hand.

However, if Montreal fritters away these games in hand just like the Red Bulls did this week in their 2-3 loss to the Chicago Fire, maybe there is hope.  That match featured the silly fake corner thing that you see all the time in youth soccer.  Except that it actually worked.  Except that it probably shouldn't have counted.  The ball was touched twice by Lloyd Sam before Sacha Kljestan came over to play it; that should be an indirect kick coming out.  The incident is shown here in full, filed under this week's U-12 Moment.

The Weekend

For the second Saturday in a row, Newcastle have the first game of the weekend, facing a tough opponent in Arsenal.  Not sure if Koscielny and Mertesacker are back for this match; that could make a big difference given the new crossing/aerial threat of Thauvin and Mitrovic.  This is historically an awful fixture for the Magpies.  In the last 10, Newcastle have managed just two draws; in the last twenty they have one win and five draws.  You’ll forgive me if I’m not holding my breath for a result here.

The televised 10 am games are the London derby between Chelsea and Crystal Palace (USA) and Man City hosting Watford (NBCSN).  Also at 10, Aston Villa face Sunderland at Villa Park (no doubt where our allegiances lie in that one) and Liverpool, which have seven points but just two goals so far, host West Ham.  The 12:30 match on NBC looks tasty, with Tottenham welcoming Everton to White Hart Lane.

Sunday’s matches are quite as appealing, with Southampton hosting Norwich and Man United traveling to Wales to face Swansea City.

The more interesting match on Sunday may well be DC United and the New Jersey York Red Bulls at 7 pm on Fox Sports 1.  This is the most played match in MLS history (82nd meeting?) and these teams truly do not like each other; both are in contention for the top spot in the East and for the Supporters Shield.

The Union are hosting the Revolution on Saturday night at 7 as they attempt to keep their playoff hopes alive.

I'd say here's to more goals and fewer draws but with Newcastle playing Arsenal another 0-0 draw would be okay with me.