Seven Days in May

A remarkable week in England and not just because the country went a week without coal power for the first time since 1882.  No, I mean the four days of EPL action that sorted out most of the important stuff, two incredible Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday and Wednesday, and two EPL teams grabbing the Europa League final berths on Thursday.  I'll cover it in chronological order.


Who's Wearing Flip Flips?

The short answer is not too many.  The expression "playing with their flip flops on" refers to that time of the year when there's nothing left to play for and the players are winding down for the summer.  One might have expected many to be in that particular style of footwear this weekend but surprisingly this was not the case.  Let's take a look at those who had little to play for but showed up anyway.

On Saturday, Bournemouth, heading for somewhere between 12th and 15th in the table, put what coulda/shoulda been a huge dent in Tottenham's top four chances with a 1-0 win.  Though a draw wouldn't have been great for Spurs, the loss meant they were no closer to clinching a CL spot.  That the winner was in stoppage time was also a killer.  We all stayed away from Michael B for a while.

This play could have been a real problem for Liverpool
had Newcastle not scored anyway

The late afternoon Newcastle-Liverpool match was even better.  Like Bournemouth, the only thing at stake for the Magpies was maybe a 12th place versus 15th place finish.  Newcastle rallied twice from a goal deficit and only Origi's goal in the 86th minute kept Liverpool's title hopes alive.  The hosts gave them all they could handle, which was more than we could say for Barcelona midweek (see below).  Three side notes.  Liverpool probably lucked out in that before the referee could whistle defender Alexander-Arnold for DOGSO, Rondo had put away the rebound.  Had Rondon not scored,  Newcastle would have had a PK and Alexander-Arnold would have been sent off.  The referee was correct in not sending him off but we are still puzzled why there was no yellow.  Second, Liverpool did not luck out as Salah sustained a head injury that was serious enough that he was taken off on a stretcher.  He missed the CL match versus Barcelona (spoiler alert, Liverpool scored four without him) but will be back for Sunday's final EPL.  Lastly, there was a disturbing amount of fan violence which has been attributed to Liverpool fans infiltrating Magpie sections and the Saturday evening start.

Huddersfield had sewed up not only relegation but last place in the table weeks ago yet there they were giving Man United fits on Sunday.  There was a bit of bad luck there too, as Pogba hit the woodwork twice.  Mbenza's goal in the 60th minute to earn a 1-1 draw came off a Luke Shaw mistake.  And thus endeth the fairy tale for Ole Gunnar - no CL for you, come back one year.

Did we really just draw with Brighton at home?

Brighton did the same thing to Arsenal later Sunday, grabbing a 1-1 draw from the Gunners.  The Seagulls' safety had been assured by Cardiff's loss to Crystal Palace on Saturday but no flip flops here either.  Arsenal did push them around quite a bit but could only manage a spot kick from Aubameyang.  That was matched by Murray's PK in the second half and the picture at left tells the implication of the draw for Arsenal.  Absent some incredible (impossible?) swings in goal differential and goals scored, they will not be finishing in the top four either.  At least they have one additional shot to next year's Champion's League via winning the Europa Cup final against Chelsea.  So Tottenham lose but basically clinch the fourth spot anyway.

On to Monday where Leicester faced Man City with nothing to play for except maybe protecting a top half of table finish.  So of course they played their hearts out and gave Man City a real hard time.  It took a wonder strike from Vincent Kompany in the 70th minute for Man City to get the 1-0 win.  We've always appreciated the fine work of Kompany and have watched as things maybe haven't gone the way he would have liked in recent years.  So though we are pulling for Liverpool for the title, there were no hard feelings here to see him help his team with a goal like that.  An easy pick at the time for this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Look how his foot cuts across the ball to put the proper slice on the ball that takes it away from Schmeichel and how it fits into the upper right hand corner of the net.  Fabulous stuff made better by the context.

I was going to award Watford the golden flip flop for their 0-3 loss to Chelsea but game accounts suggest that Watford were actually the better side in the first half so apparently they came to play.  Fulham lost 0-1 to Wolves but outpossessed them so they appear to have played hard too.  Everton-Burnley wasn't awful and didn't see West Ham's 3-0 win over Southampton but it's possible that the flip flops stayed in the locker room last weekend.

To sum up, the title is still on the line but Chelsea and Spurs look good for the Champions League and the relegation trio is Cardiff City, Fulham and Huddersfield.


Superlatives Fail

Hope you got to watch both the Champions League semi-finals because there is no way I can do either justice.  Barcelona took a 3-0 lead to Anfield and seem poised to step into one of the final spots; I mean there's no way they surrender four unanswered goals, right?  But this is not your father's Barcelona.  Origi got the first at seven minutes.  Wijnaldum got two in three minutes (54 and 56 minutes) and Origi got the game winner at 79 minutes.  As Dennis pointed out, what are the chances that Liverpool score four and Mane' or Salah aren't involved?  Within minutes of the final whistle, Michael B wondered if Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde was on the chopping block.  The answer looks to be yes.

Pochettino looks for lost contact in the aftermath of
celebrating Champions League semi-final win

As incredible as that comeback was, Wednesday was even more unbelievable.  Recall that Spurs had fallen behind 0-1 to Ajax in London last week, not a good result but certainly not irretrievable as they headed to Amsterdam.  Apparently the task wasn't challenging enough so Spurs allowed two first half goals.  Walking into the locker room at half time, Ajax must have thought it was over.  Pochettino made a key adjustment, putting Llorente up top and having his players send long balls to the Spaniard, who was able to control and distribute them most of the time.  Took a little while to work but Moura scored twice in five minutes (55 and 59).  With the second away goal, an aggregate draw would be enough to send Spurs through.  But, after a long period of Spurs dominance, Ajax grabbed momentum back and seemingly had done enough to survive.  Then, one more long ball to Llorente, which he volleyed off his leg to Dele, who slipped a clever pass to Moura, who slotted the ball passed two defenders and the keeper and pandemonium ensued.  Did I mention it was in the 96th minute? We make it this week's  year's  millenium's   YouTubeableMoment.  Back in the studio, Stuart Holden and NBA great Steve Nash (long time Spurs fan) go beserk, this week's Bonus YouTubeableMoment.  Dennis asks what are the odds that Tottenham score three and Kane or Son are not involved?

So we have an all EPL Champions League final on June 1.


EPL Sweeps European Semis

With the two CL final spots sewed up, all that was left was for Arsenal and Chelsea to take their Europa League semis.  Which they did.  All four European competition spots go to EPL.  Chelsea had to go to spot kicks to take Eintracht but Arsenal took Valencia 7-3 over the two legs.  The London rivals will meet on 5/29 for that final.


First Place Union

After a dud of a first half that saw them lucky to escape with a 1-1 draw, the Union let loose on visiting New England with a five goal barrage in the second half.  Ilsinho got it started quickly, Santos added two, then shuh-BILL-koh and Accam each got in on the action.  Good to have Wagner back and third string keeper Carlos Miguel Coronel has done more than well enough in Blake's absence.  Toronto's mid-week loss to Atlanta means the Union are truly in first place.

The glass is one quarter empty side reminds me that New England are not very good and that this not very good side was carving us up for the first 45 minutes.  Happy to have the romp but we need to stay grounded.  Cory Burke it turns out is not in Jim Curtin's dog house but is having work visa issues.  He's out for at least three months, maybe longer.  Also, the Union sold David Accam to Columbus for $500k and an international roster slot and sold Derrick Jones to Nashville for $175,000.  The company line is that they need money and flexibility to do things like keep Monteiro for longer than a few months.  I'm okay with that rationale but do wonder what this means for the depth of the squad.  This is the first time I can remember Jim Curtin having multiple options within a game if things aren't going well and coverage when injuries (or visa problems) keep players out of the line up. 


Silly Season

With most matters wrapped up, teams can proceed immediately to the crazy/puzzling things they do in the summer transfer window.  Newcastle are out in front as they:

- haven't finalized a contract for Benitez
- look likely not to sign Rondon to a contract when his loan expires because Ashley doesn't like signing players 30 or older
- could easily lose Ayoze Perez to a "bigger" club

Other fun news is that on the heels of their down-up-but-ultimately-down season, Man United look poised to break transfer spending records.  We also hear that Eden Hazard may leave Chelsea for Real Madrid; this could be especially problematic for the Blues if the proposed two-window transfer ban for violating rules is sustained after appeal.  Yeah, should be a fun summer.


Only Two Matter

The upshot of last weekend's action is that all that's left to decide is the title.  Man City enter with a one point edge over Liverpool.  City travel to Brighton while Liverpool host Wolves.  Who knows what's left in the tank for Liverpool after Saturday's and Tuesday's matches.  Plus Wolves are a handful anyway.  Hard to imagine Man City not taking care of business in Brighton.  But a loss or draw would open things up.  Theoretically, a tie is still possible.  City would have to lose by four goals and Liverpool would have to draw Wolves but score four more goals than whatever City got in their match at Brighton.  In the words of Lloyd Christmas "So you're saying there's a still a chance."  If it does happen, there would be a one game playoff to decide the EPL title.

Newcastle will finish at Fulham, looking for a win that could yet net them 13th in the table.  Every other match (except the two noted above) is for similar stakes.  All matches kick off at 10 am.

The Union now have something to defend and will be tested this Saturday afternoon (3 pm) at Toronto.  On opening day, Toronto smacked the Union around pretty good in Philly.  This will be a tough match. Fabian is likely to return but probably not Blake.  Aaronson may be out as well.

Who needs a sports bar for multiple TV viewing?

Gonna rain all Sunday so plenty of time to watch.  With concurrent matches, viewing is a bit more tricky.  Fortunately, with kitchen renovation in full swing, our temporary set up may be perfect.