Non-Stop

Once again, the news was much better on this side of the Atlantic.


Can't Say No to This

Union stock went up again as they battled likely Supporters Shield winner LAFC to a 1-1 draw at a sold-out Talen Energy Stadium.  For the second straight Saturday, this was the place to be.  Jeff H and I hadn't even finished our sausage sandwiches before shuh-BILL-koh gave our boys the lead with a looping header off a cross from Picault.  I would be remiss if I didn't mention Bedoya's role in that goal; he accurately read that Picault was going to win a header and positioned himself properly to receive that ball and send it right back to Picault down the wing.  So I spilled some peppers and onions on my lap - totally worth it.

I am not throwing away my shot - Mark McKenzie has
made the most of the chance he was given

LA drew level late in the half after a shot glanced off the cross bar that Carlos Vela deposited into the net.  That was it for the scoring but the game was great end-to-end stuff.  Consensus is that the Union actually played better than in the 3-1 win over Atlanta.  McKenzie was solid again.  We got some offensive push out of Gaddis.  Blake had to make some fingertip saves and also made better decisions in his box.  By the end, it looked like both sides were content with a draw.

Meanwhile, Atlanta were losing at home to Columbus.  They rallied with a road win over the other Ohio squad (Cincinnati) but the tables are turned now.  The Union hold a one-point lead over them for second place with both teams at 30 games played.  Both must play NYCFC and San Jose during the run-in.  Atlanta also have Montreal and New England while the Union have Red Bulls and Colorado.  Second place would mean that a likely second round match up with Atlanta would be at Talen Energy; of course I get ahead of myself here because they would need to win the first round match up for that to matter.   A top four place isn't in the bag yet either but any combination of two points added by the Union or dropped by any two of DC United, Toronto and Red Bulls, well that would be enough.  Second place would mean that a likely second round match up with Atlanta would be at Talen Energy instead of playing in front of 50,000 on turf, indoors in Atlanta.


Outgunned, Outmanned

Willems gives the Magpies an early lead. We were satisfied
 at the time but it was only momentary.
  Jason Cairnduff/Action Images via Reuters

It was fun while it lasted.  Willems gave Newcastle a short-lived lead at Anfield with a beautiful curling shot in the 7th minute.  The illusion lasted until the 28th minute when Sadio Mane got the first of his two goals; the second came at 40 minutes.  Salah put the match away in the 72nd minute.  Adding injury to insult, Schar limped off with some kind of calf injury sustained trying to stop Salah.

Actually 3-1 is an improvement over last year's 4-0 defeat at Anfield and meant minimal damage to our goal differential.  Realistically, there were no expectations of a result here.  But clearly, these are teams in two different leagues, at least figuratively.  Plus we are back in the relegation zone.


The League Turned Upside Down

Elsewhere the big news was clearly the Norwich 3-2 upset of Man City.  Yes, I know I pooh-poohed that fixture last week and it turned about to be the best of the weekend. Even after spotting the Canaries two goals, the late first half tally by Aguero made you feel like this was a case of a world class sprinter who, after getting the baton way behind, would eventually blow past the opposition.  That's why we'll make the goal from Pukki that restored the two goal lead this week's  YouTubeableMoment.  Not especially pretty but plenty exciting.

Sunday saw more craziness as Watford let Arsenal get out to a two goal lead before rallying to grab a 2-2 draw.  Commentator Lee Dixon had no shortage of words as Arsenal looked nearly helpless trying to play the ball out from the back.  Surprisingly, Unai Emery remains fairly far down the list in the Sack Race, though that may be due to a surfeit of candidates.  Cough, cough, looking at you Steve Bruce.

One those candidates would be Everton's Marco Silva, who saw his side fall to Bournemouth 1-3.  Roy Hodgson did himself no favors with an 0-4 pummeling by Tottenham; the score actually flatters Crystal Palace - they were totally outclassed.  Ole Gunnar may have bought himself some time with a 1-0 win over Leicester; that was important to re-establish their top four credentials.  Nuno Santo is also farther down on the list than we might expect.  His Wolves were easily handled by Chelsea 2-5 and they sit in 19th place with just three points, behind, ahem, even Newcastle.

Dennis F didn't take much joy in Aston Villa's 1-1 0-0 draw with West Ham.  That's because they played the final 25 or so minutes a man up and looked frankly like they were playing even up.  His lament - where are the goals going to come from?  Still the result was enough to edge the Villans ahead of Newcastle on goal differential.


EPL Refuted

Decidedly mixed results for English sides in the first week of group play in the Champions League.  Man City were fine in a 3-0 win over Shaktar Donestk but Chelsea went down 0-1 to Valencia at home and Liverpool fell on the road at Napoli 0-2.  Spurs will be kicking themselves after giving up a two-goal lead at Olympiacos to settle for a 2-2 draw.  Second set of games will be mid week in early October.


It Must Be Nice

To have your side at the top of the table.  Ze Roberto couldn't help but send this along:

Not convinced that Sevilla is going to blow us all away but look good right now.

What Comes Next?

Massively important contest for Newcastle on Saturday at home versus Brighton (12:30 NBC).  I really hate the idea of "must win" matches in September but this is close to that category.  Injury situation is not great, with Saint-Maximin, Ritchie, and Longstaff still out (never good to have your Longstaff out of commission).  The good news is that Andy Carroll may be a named substitute for the match.  At 538, Magpies are a healthy favorite but this has all the feel of a draw to me.

Bonus Friday football this week as Southampton and Bournemouth square off in a South coast derby, except they don't like to call it that.  Check it out at 3 pm on Friday on NBCSN.

Saturday starts out with a good one -  Leicester hosting Spurs at 7:30 on NBCSN.  The Foxes flunked last week's top six test against Man United and maybe loaded for bear; Spurs got into the top four and will be looking to stay there.   Saturday's 10 am TV match is Man City taking on Watford on NBCSN.

Full slate on Sunday headlined with Chelsea-Liverpool at 12:30 pm on NBCSN.  Wonder if Liverpool will take out the midweek loss to Napoli on Chelsea.  You can also see West Ham versus Man United at 9 am on NBCSN.

Several key matches in the MLS.  The Union could put the Red Bulls in the rear view mirror with a win on Sunday in Harrison - that's at 6:30 for your Sunday dinner time viewing.  Even a draw would be enough there but the Union are clear underdogs.  On Saturday Atlanta will be big time favorites at home against San Jose.  We can look to LAFC and Seattle for help against Toronto and DC United respectively.  A good chance we might not be in second but may clinch home field for the first round by Sunday night.

Got through refereeing two matches on Saturday so I'll be out there again this weekend (with Dennis F!), which means heavy reliance on the DVR.


For those paying attention, yes I did see Hamilton this week.