Moral Victories Are Usually Worth Zero Points

Several examples of that this weekend.  On the other hand, there was no such qualifier on the Union's win over FC Cincinnati; that was a just plain old victory.


Little Shop of Horrors

The trip to London to play Arsenal ended as it usually does for Newcastle.  While they weren't awful in the 0-2 loss, you do feel they could have played for another three days and the Magpies still wouldn't have scored.  The positives are that they didn't park the bus and at least had some ventures forward and, despite the final score, the defense was not terrible.  The first goal was actually a double ricochet off Lascelles then Yedlin that ended up on Ramsey's foot; he did not miss.  The second was a either a brain cramp by Lascelles or miscommunication between him and Dubravka.

This article forwarded to me by off again-on again Everton fan Jeff K gets to the heart of the Newcastle problem.  We are definitely a better team than last year (though the final table standing may not reflect it) but they still need scoring power and it does not come cheap(ly?).  We anxiously await the resolution of Benitez's contract situation because that will probably answer whether Ashley is going to spend that kind of money.

Since we had no expectations of a result in London, the outcome doesn't change the relegation situation.  Some combination of points against Crystal Palace, Southampton and Fulham would certainly do it; there are also numerous scenarios where the Magpies point total of 35 might already be enough.


Immoral Losses 

When I was going through matches to recommend to Dennis, I kept coming up short.  Just not a great weekend of viewing.  Sunday had the best, and to certain fans (looking at you Michael B), cruelest contests.

Yeah, just a bit offside

Cardiff City were giving Chelsea fits in Wales.  They were up 1-0 late until they ceded a goal by Aztecpueta AspenColorado Dave (first explanation here,  more info here - see there's a British sit com in which everybody calls this guy Dave even though his real name is Rodney).  Wait, where was I?  Right. Dave's goal.  Replays show that Dave was actually offside, and not by just a little bit.

Sir, excuse me sir, I can't see the play

The explanation as to why it was missed is awesome - Willian's afro.  I am not making this up.  Willian added insult to injury by nicking the game winner in stoppage time.  Cardiff went from a potentially lifesaving three points to a single but helpful point to a goose egg in 7 minutes.  That Rudiger was only shown yellow for a potential DOGSO situation (I didn't think it was nor do I think VAR would have overturned it) compounded Neil Warnock's displeasure.  As of Thursday, I hadn't seen that he had been fined for any statements but I see he's just made some unkind remarks about the head of referees Mike Riley so he could still lose some pocket change.

Perhaps even crueler was Spurs 1-2 loss to Liverpool at Anfield.  The Reds had an early lead but a 70th minute goal from Lucas Moura leveled things.  Looking very much like they would snatch a much needed point, Spurs then surrendered an own goal in the 90th minute.  Alderweireld appears on the scoresheet but the blunder actually belongs to Lloris, who parried the shot off his teammate and into the goal.  On paper, both Chelsea and Liverpool had been expected to take all the points, so some talked about moral victories for Cardiff City and Tottenham.  Maybe, but they came with no points.  For Spurs, this was a four point turnaround as Chelsea flirted with dropping three points while they were grabbing one.

Though not necessarily exciting, at least to the neutrals, Burnley's win over Wolves and Southampton taking the measure of Brighton were certainly consequential in the relegation struggle.  Combined with Cardiff's loss, those wins gave Burnley and Southampton a five-point cushion between them and the relegation zone.  And Brighton missed chance to pretty much guarantee their safety.

City got an unimpressive win over Fulham to match Liverpool so the race for the top spot continues.  Man United temporarily stopped the bleeding with a 2-1 win over Watford only to see the tourniquet taken off with 1-2 loss to Wolves.  Ashley Young's rash challenge, minutes after he had already been carded, saw him sent off in the 57th minute with the score level at 1-1.  Special note there in that the red card was the 100th of Mike Dean's career; he is the first in PL history to hit that mark, which means of course, he's held the record for some time now.  Again, where was I?  Right, Wolves up a man.  They actually seemed to be less threatening after the sending off before Chris Smalling did the work for them with an own goal at 77 minutes.  The damage to United's top four chances cannot be overstated.  They now need to come up with wins against Man City and Chelsea and hope that others stumble against lesser opponents.

Crystal Palace put an end to Huddersfield's stay in the top division with a 2-0 win on Saturday.  Watford did the same for Fulham with a 4-1 defeat of the Cottagers on Monday.  The non-result against Chelsea put Cardiff into a big hole that got bigger with the loss to Man City on Wednesday.


The New White Hart Lane

After multiple (interminable?) delays, Tottenham finally played in their new venue, unceremoniously dubbed Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.  The match was quite disjointed but Spurs fans will clearly be happy about the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.  Certainly the stadium and the pitch looked great, though we did hear complaints about too much garlic on the butternut squash in the press club.  The win by no means puts Tottenham in the clear for a top four finish but does mean they are still in charge of their own fate.  Wins over Brighton, Huddersfield, West Ham, Bournemouth and Everton would make it tough for Chelsea or Man United to catch them.


What Would Freud Say?

Apparently other teams are coveting Newcastle's young midfielder Sean Longstaff.


First Ever Win for Union over FC Cincinnati

Of course, it was also the first time they ever played the expansion franchise.  Another assist and another goal for Accam.  We'll make his assist this week's YouTubeableMoment. Great composure in the box from Accam and a nice put away by Fabian; bonus points for the goal celebration, a nod to the Sixers.  The Union were not tested that much, and Blake came up big the one time he had to.  I know there is debate about how good Blake is as complete keeper but he is a good shot stopper.  In the past, that ability has only served to keep the margin of loss down; hopefully now it means protecting leads.  The Union looked better on the stat sheet too -  more possession (56-44) and shots (16-5); though it would be nice if we could get more on target (Picault and Burke are the primary culprits there - though Picault's work rate is still solid.  High marks for Fabian, Aaronson, and Wagner (again!).  Monteiro looked decent in his debut.  Bad news was Accam left with what looked like an injury - haven't found any update.  If he is back to anything resembling his form at Chicago, we could be set for some good times. 


Schedule

The FA Cup semis dominate and abbreviate this weekend's schedule.  Man City host Brighton on Saturday at 12:30 while Wolves go to Watford for an 11 am Sunday match.  That latter contest looks like a "Best of the Rest" match up; which team is the best of the non top six?  So far I find no evidence of live TV coverage in US for this.  I think that means your only hope is ESPN+

The EPL offers up a special Friday afternoon match between Liverpool and Southampton.  The Reds simply cannot afford to drop any points during the run in if they hope to catch Man City.  Unlikely that this match will do anything to improve Southampton's relegation situation.

There are three 10 am matches on Saturday.  We'll be focused on Newcastle-Crystal Palace, which will be on NBCSN.  A win for either side should take care of the relegation threat; even a draw would be a good result.  At 538 Newcastle are a slight favorite but this does have all the markings of a draw.  The other two matches are Bournemouth - Burnley and Huddersfield - Leicester, which I suspect will be of interest only to fans of those sides.

Everton - Arsenal is the only Sunday match - 9 am on NBCSN.  This is of way more importance to Arsenal, who have a legitimate shot at third place given their schedule.  Monday's 3 pm match with Chelsea hosting West Ham completes the shortened fixture list.  The Blues need all three points to keep their hopes of a top four finish alive.

I'll be at Talen Energy on Saturday night to see them take on FC Dallas.  That's a good club so I'm surprised to see the Union as a solid favorite according to 538.  Curtin has some personnel decisions to make as he'll have all the key players at his disposal.  I would expect to see Accam (if healthy) over Burke, Aaronson over Monteiro and Elliott over McKenzie.

Somehow you'll have to survive three straight days without EPL action Tuesday-Thursday.  At least on Thursday you can watch the Masters.

Update per Michael B - Champions League matches on 4/9 are Tottenham vs Man City and Liverpool vs Porto.  Matches on 4/10 are Ajax vs Juventus and Man United vs Barcelona.  Arsenal (vs Napoli) and Chelsea (vs Slavia Praha) play on Thursday so that's three more days in April on which EPL teams are in action.