Three Amigos Tyneside

Newcastle get an improbable comeback win over Everton as the bottom of the table has a good weekend.


A Tale of Two Halves

Almiron, Perez and Rondon

Through 64 minutes all I could do was grouse about Newcastle being down 0-2 while watching teams below them beating better sides.  Then, an entirely different team took the pitch.  The comeback started with some incredible link-up play that ended with Rondon's volley into the net.  Clearly this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Don't miss Hayden's long pass to Rondon.  Next was Perez putting away the rebound of Almiron's blistered shot that Pickford could only parry.  And lastly came Perez with the game winner off a Hayden pass that first went to Rondon.  We'll ignore for the moment that Rondon was clearly offside. Though not as obvious as the contributions of the Three Amigos (Rondon, Perez, and Almiron), Hayden, Shelvey and Dummett were also key; the latter two were subs that suggest Benitez got things right again.

A huge win as the Magpies were staring at 16th place, just three points above the drop zone.  Sitting 13th with a six-point cushion doesn't sound all that much better but with so many teams below them, the chances of relegation are dramatically reduced.  In fact, 538 is listing them with a less than one percent chance now.


Relegation Rivals Do Well

Cardiff, Southampton, and Brighton also picked up wins - some more improbable than others - that made the Magpie comeback all the more important.  Cardiff took the measure of West Ham at home; that was probably two (or three?) unexpected points. Brighton got all three at Selhurst Park; a little surprising.  Then there was the stunner from the coast, where Southampton came from 0-1 to beat Tottenham 2-1; the win kept the Saints out of the bottom three while dropping Spurs squarely into race for the last two Champions League spots. On other weeks, the free kick from Ward-Prowse might have been the YouTubeableMoment; you can see it from the fans' perspective here (sorry Michael B).

Man City and Liverpool got their expected wins.  We advised here last week, don't take Wolves lightly; only a stoppage time goal rescued a 1-1 draw for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.  And Arsenal looked very much in control as Man United finally lost under Ole Gunnar.  Spurs are still clearly in the race for a CL spot but can't be happy that their once secure position is under siege.  Don't want to count Man United out but the loss to Arsenal puts them at a big disadvantage.  538 says Spurs and Arsenal (on goal differential over Chelsea).  BFS says Arsenal and Spurs (on goal differential over Chelsea.  A great title race and a great CL race.


A Word About Selhurst Park

You all know the reverence we here at BFS hold for St. James' Park.  But where the Toon Army can be negative, the fans at Selhurst Park know only one way - singing and chanting regardless of the score.  On Saturday the Eagles, with their fans already in full-throat, were dominating play against Brighton.  Then a smash-and-grab goal from the Seagulls put them down 0-1.  A goal like that would have sent shivers down the collective spine of the St. James' Park crowd; instead, the Palace faithful increased their volume. Though the Eagles leveled things early in the second half, Brighton got a late goal to take all three points.  But the crowd's enthusiasm never diminished.  The "Five Guys from the USA" saw this on our trip; that day the Eagles fell to Chelsea 0-1 but the noise never stopped.  Simply an awesome venue.


WWVD (What Would VAR Do)? 

Ball is on Hayden's (far left) foot; Rondon (far right) will
 play it. Yeah, he's offside.

T'would have been a busy weekend for VAR, if the EPL was using it.  A quick summary based just on personal viewing.
1) Would Pickford have been sent off for DOGSO against Newcastle?  Probably not because of presence of defender but he might have picked up a yellow for a tactical foul.
2) Would the Newcastle winner have been reversed for offside?  Almost certainly yes (see picture).
3) Should the AR's initial call of offside that was overruled by Paul Tierney stood?  Almost certainly yes.
4)Should Burnley opening goal against Liverpool been overturned due to foul on keeper Alisson?  Tough call, but VAR probably should leave that one alone.
5) Was Hazard fouled in the box or just outside as referee called? VAR probably upholds call.
6) Was Aubameyang fouled in the box to give Arsenal and PK against Man United?  VAR probably upholds that one too.

I think there a few others that might have been reviewable but my notes are too cryptic to decipher.  Still a supporter of VAR but getting worried that it will be overused.  If one or two looks at full speed don't change your impression, let the call stand.  Definitely shouldn't be using slow motion either.  The point isn't to be perfect, it's to be better because it will never be perfect.


EPL Champions League Success

With Liverpool's 3-1 win over Bayern and Man City beating Schalke by a touchdown, the EPL now has four sides into the Champions League quarterfinals.  The news was not so good for Atletico, as they lost away to Juventus 0-3, completing Michael B's bad, awful week.  Barcelona struggled a little with Lyon before pulling away to a 5-1 win.  Fixtures for the quarters and semis will be drawn Friday morning, probably after this is published.  Not sure how meaningful odds provided before the draw are but Man City and Barcelona seem to be getting most of the love right now.


Another Fast Start

Not necessarily surprising but the Union fell to Sporting KC on the road 0-2.  The score is actually unflattering.  SKC got goals on a soft but correct PK on Trusty and an own goal off of Elliott.  Fabian missed a PK and we played the last 30 minutes down a man after Fabian was sent off on a straight red card.  In other words, we were mediocre, not awful, and a draw would not have been an unreasonable result.  The fullback play of Kai Wagner was a bright spot. Metrics at 538 say the Union had more good chances, leaving us with the question again of are we unlucky or ungood.  Some are already answering the latter but that might be too quick.

 Clearly the team is not fully adjusted to the new system.  We should be expecting more offensive pressure than we're seeing but we also know that more will be required of the center backs and the holding midfielder.  Medunjanin seemed to do better this time but Trusty struggled; the PK call was soft but he did foul the attacker because he wasn't back quickly enough.  Hoping we don't go 0-for-March but it could happen.


FA Cup Affected Schedule

FA Cup quarter finals are this weekend so the EPL schedule gets shortened.  As far as I can tell, you can only see the FA Cup matches on ESPN+; schedule is here.  I'm most interested in Wolves - Man United match; Wolverhampton have been very tough against top six teams.  Watford - Crystal Palace could be good too.  Man City should keep hopes for the quadruple (League Cup, FA Cup, EPL and Champions League) alive as they face Swansea City.  Millwall, at home, could give Brighton some trouble.

Meanwhile, back in the EPL, Newcastle travel to Bournemouth, possibly a little short-handed at center back with Schar suspended (yellow card accumulation) and Lascelles maybe still injured.  Not expecting a result here but a point would be awesome.  Burnley-Leicester is the NBCSN game at 11 am and West Ham - Huddersfield, like Newcastle will be on NBC Gold at 11.

Sunday has two more matches with Liverpool traveling to London to face Fulham (and likely moving back to the top of the table for the time being) while Chelsea face Everton at Goodison Park (the Blues can't afford to drop any points here).  Those games are on NBCSN at 10:15 and 12:30.

The Union's bad awful start isn't likely to improve with a road trip to Atlanta.  That's at 7 pm on Sunday.

Get ready for international break next week, which includes qualifying matches for the 2020 European Championship.