Mitro's On Fire, Your Defense Is Terrified
True, but our defense is terrifying. Three times on Saturday Newcastle managed to let Norwich take the lead. The first was a set piece just as the first half was ending. Then, a scant three minutes after Mitrovic had leveled things at 71 minutes, the defense didn't close down Mbokani and he fired a shot past Darlow. But the final dagger came after Mitro had converted a PK in the 86th minute and Newcastle showed some interest in taking the lead. Right. In the 93rd minute, the defense failed to close down Olsson and his fine shot beat Darlow and the three points went to Norwich.
A draw would not have been completely unjustified and Newcastle did display moments of heart. But for such a critical match they came out flat and certainly didn't play like a team facing Premier League extinction. The second half was better but still a notch below where it needed to be. And even had they managed a draw, that would have left the Magpies with serious ground to make up.
The math is extremely daunting at this point. I now have Newcastle coming up four points short. Where to make those up? Well, I only have Norwich getting one more point (a draw with Sunderland) so that can only get worse. I have Newcastle getting draws against Crystal Palace, Swansea, and Aston Villa; turning two of those into wins gets the four points. Points from Southampton, Man City, Liverpool and Tottenham matches would help but don't seem likely.
Are they playing better under Benitez? Maybe but the first half against Norwich left me unimpressed. He doesn't seem likely to stay. I'll give him a pass if he leaves to take over as the manager for Spain. But a club like Valencia?
On a positive note, even disasters like this game have their lighter moments. Check out this "tickle incident" between Steven Naismith and Daryl Janmaat; in many countries they are now considered married, in others, felons. What's that Emily? You say he had it coming?
Car Crash for Aston Villa
As suggested, nothing good came out of Aston Villa's home match against Chelsea. Fans littered the field with torn up protest signs and walked out in protest late in the 0-4 beating. Actually, there was a positive aspect; American Matt Miazga made his EPL debut and did very well thank you. Hopefully this means he's going to get some regular playing time. Or was it just because the opponent was Aston Villa?
The worst part about this to me was actually the first Chelsea goal. Look, we all knew Chelsea was going to win, and likely by a lot. But Aston Villa were playing decently well and at least showing a little spirit to start the match. Then Chelsea scored on a weak shot (which was also right at Guzan) that was majorly deflected. Then the flood gates opened. It's not like we were ever going to win, but do we also have to the luck go against us as well? Can't Chelsea at least really earn it? I guess not.
Somewhere Where the Sun Is Shining Bright
All kinds of points at the top of the table. Leicester ground out another 1-0 win, this time against Euro contender Southampton. Arsenal (4-0 over Watford), Man City (4-0 over West Brom) and Man United (1-0 over Everton) all got three points. Tottenham played well but Liverpool at Anfield is never easy so a 1-1 draw isn't awful, even if it drops Spurs seven points behind the Foxes. Elsewhere, Crystal Palace cut into West Ham's momentum, after Kouyate's red card in the 67th minute left the Hammers a man down the Eagles took advantage to grab a 2-2 draw and steal a point at Upton Park.
The BFS exclusive model now shows Leicester winning the league by three point over Tottenham. The worse news for Spurs fans is I have them with five wins and draw in the final six matches. Looks like it will require stumbles from Leicester; I have them with wins over Sunderland (A), Swansea (H) and Everton (H) plus draws against Man United (A), Chelsea(A) and West Ham (H). Certainly some chances to drop points but not obvious ones.
We Do Not Dream
Claudio Ranieri wrote a piece for the Players' Tribune in which he attempts to explain the Leicester mentality for this season. In most sports, I assume most players do a lot of listening to their manager but don't exactly "buy into the system". In this instance, it is impossible to deny that the Foxes bought what Ranieri was selling. In particular, before the first match of the season, he said this to the players:
"I want you to play for your teammates. We are a little team, so we have to fight with all our heart, with all our soul. I don’t care the name of the opponent. All I want is for you to fight. If they are better than us, Okay, congratulations. But they have to show us they are better"
I'm not sure there is a description that better fits the way Leicester started the season - by making bigger name teams show them who was better. Things have obviously changed since then (see the 5 1-0 wins in their previous six games) but it's interesting, for me at least, to see a manager really affect his players this way.
Union Shorthanded
Warren Creavalle's ill-advised challenge earned him a second yellow and a sending off early in the second half. Chicago scored shortly afterwards. But the Union frankly looked to be the better side, even down a man. Twice they hit the crossbar and once the post and always looked capable of leveling the match at any point. A lost opportunity no doubt but a positive performance given the circumstances.
Smoke and Mirrors
That's all I can figure it is. Chester hosted AC Milan in the first league of the Europa Cup semi final and bested the Italian side 3-1. But I played with a squad made up of entirely second teamers and set up in a 4-1-3-2 with a very defensive philosophy. How did this happen? Maybe things will be different in next week's away leg; I'll be playing the second string again. We now have Chelsea away on 4/21, Stoke away on 4/23, and Tottenham at home on 4/26; going to be juggling line ups to keep fresh players on the pitch.
Getting Down To It
Sunday morning has the good stuff. First Leicester travels to the Stadium of We're Ahead of Newcastle But Still Going Down to face Sunderland at 8:30; this one might not be a 1-0 win for the Foxes. Then at 11 we have Spurs hosting Man United; pretty close to a must win for Tottenham. Saturday morning's 7:45 match is London derby probably worth checking out - West Ham hosting Arsenal. I have the Gunners coming up six point short in the title chase and a win here would cut that to four points. Man City probably gets to keep pace with the leaders since they'll be hosting West Brom; with DeBruyne's return they've been looking better - even snatching a draw against PSG in Paris despite this U-11 moment.
Down in Relegation Land, Newcastle travel to Southampton; I see no reason to believe the Magpies come home with any points here. Meanwhile, Norwich are in London to face Crystal Palace. Not sure what delusions I was under when I put this down as a win for the Eagles; Norwich could easily steal a point or three here, which would of course, basically seal Newcastle's fate. Aston Villa take on Bournemouth; after littering the field and storming out, not sure what's left for Villa fans - not show up all? A loss (or a Norwich win) would make clinch relegation.
On the MLS side, the Union take on Orlando Friday night at home with a chance to move into first with a win. The Red Bulls, still struggling, host Sporting KC.
Not a word about Champions or Europa Leagues?
ReplyDeleteI mentioned MCI-PSG and included a video, albeit not a flattering one.
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