Rising American soccer talent was on display this week on both sides of the Atlantic. We present two examples here - both from the "greater" Philadelphia area.
Medford's Brenden Aaronson was in the middle of Philly's three-goal, 15 minute outburst that carried them past Sporting Kansas City 3-1 and into the MLS Is Back semi-finals. Check out the shoulder dip after receiving the pass from Bedoya that allows him to beat two defenders before he sends an incredible pass into the box for Sergio Santos to deposit into the goal - an easy choice for this week's YouTubeableMoment.
This was not your father's Union. The goals came quickly and easily. By the 39th minute, they were up 3-0. Things weren't as awesome after that point but how could they be? They surrendered a goal in first half stoppage time and SKC definitely had the run of play in the second half. But that's the advantage of creating and converting opportunities early and often. The victory seemed deserved to me.
Santos had two goals, including a more-than-half-field breakaway. Blake had another six saves. Also, Jose' Martinez got his requisite yellow at 25 minutes; I think the over/under was 31 minutes. Martinez is the prime beneficiary of this tournament's no suspension for accumulation of yellow cards policy. He's picked up three cards in four appearances at 34, 27 and 25 minutes. I guess it's saying something that he's played that many minutes on a yellow card without picking up a second one.
Record 14th FA Cup for Arsenal
An ocean away, Hershey's Christian Pusilic got Chelsea off to a promising start with this superb effort. See how his first touch drags the ball into space and he deftly lifts the shot in the opposite direction. Yeah, Giroud's flick pass was pretty cool too. Unfortunately, for Chelsea, things went downhill from there. Aztecupilate Apsequilta Dave got whistled for a foul in the box and Oboomerang Obamayeng Aubameyang converted the PK. Not 10 minutes later, Dave is hobbling off with a thigh injury. Two minutes into the second half, Pulisic joins him on the bench with a hamstring injury. Certainly Christiansen and Pedro are more than adequate replacements but this is not the team Lampard wanted out there.
Yet Chelsea arguably still have the run of play. Except it is Arsenal who take the lead at 67 minutes, with Aubameyang again the goal scorer. Hope for a rousing finish was muted when Kovacic picked up his second yellow at 73 minutes. Soft yellow maybe. Chelsea's day is perhaps best symbolized by the injured Pedro being stretchered off after seriously hurting his elbow with a minute to go.
This is not meant to cheapen Arsenal's historic win. They clearly played better in the second half of the season and maybe Arteta has them moving in the right direction. Arsenal fans will probably relish the fact that the win consigns Tottenham to the qualifying stage of the Europa Cup. For Spurs, this means some September and October matches in Faroe Islands, Greece or maybe Kazakhstan. Frequent flyer miles, baby.
Ashley to Retain Ownership of Newcastle for the Present
With mixed emotions I report that the proposed sale of Newcastle to a Saudi-backed consortium has fallen through. The official reason given:
“Unfortunately the prolonged process under the current circumstances coupled with global uncertainty has rendered the potential investment no longer commercially viable.”
On the surface that makes some sense but one wonders if there is more to it. Details can be had here.
This is mostly a disappointing development. After years of relegation-challenged seasons, there was hope that a well-heeled ownership group would lift Newcastle to top half of the table and maybe some top six challenges. Worse, my preliminary dive into Newcastle's season suggests that they seriously overachieved in 2019/20 and are nowhere near as good as they appeared. Under Ashley's ownership, we can expect a tepid transfer window with minimal upgrades and another season in the bottom quartile.
The only positive I take away is that Newcastle will not be owned by a government with a less than savory recent history. I was already getting tired of defending the ownership with "well, there are alleged human rights violations but nothing has been proven yet" or "show me a country without some skeletons in the closet."
The Most Lucrative Match in Football
Wanna see what a £150 million goal looks like? Watch here as Joe Bryan, in extra time, puts in a free kick from about 40 yards out to give Fulham a 1-0 lead over Brentford in the Championship division promotion final. This was a tense match with neither side distinguishing itself as finishers. Bryan added a second goal before Brentford got one back in the closing seconds for the 2-1. The promotion final earns the winner a final spot in next season's Premier League, with all the TV and other revenue, making it worth about £150 million to the winning team.
Memorable commentary from the announcers. When Anthony Knockaert returned to the lockerroom prior to be subbed in, at first they expressed disbelief that a professional wasn't fully prepared to enter the match. Quickly though they suggested that maybe he had to take a "nervous wee." With the prospect of £150 million PKs looming, this might be understandable. He was then left waiting on the sidelines forever waiting for a break in play prompting the comment, "he was standing there like he was waiting for a night bus." And with the score still 1-0 and Brentford pressing like crazy, a moment of chaos was like someone "threw a cat among the pigeons." Great visuals.
Keep It Coming
Action continues on three fronts.
Europa League competition resumes Wednesday and Thursday to complete the Round of 16. Wednesday, Man United take on LASK at Old Trafford holding a 5-0 lead after the first leg so they look like a good bet for the quarterfinals. Wolves have work to do on Thursday as they are 1-1 with Olympiacos; at least it's a home match for them. The quarter finals will be 8/10-11, the semis 8/16-17 and the final 8/21. I had thought maybe you could see these on TNT or B/R Live but not seeing them on the schedule.
The Union are featured in Wednesday's MLS Is Back semi-final against Portland at 8 pm on FS1. I am surprised to see that 538 has them favored over Portland (57-43). Many things have been going right for the Union in this tournament but this seems like a long shot. Orlando - Minnesota is the other semi, Thursday at 8 pm on ESPN2. The final is Tuesday night at 8:30 on ESPN.
Champions League matches also resume this weekend. Friday has Juventus - Lyon (0-1 after the first leg) and Man City - Real Madrid (2-1). Saturday is Bayern - Chelsea (3-0) and Barcelona - Napoli (1-1). All matches are at 3 pm. All four can be seen on CBSSports (594 for Philadelphia FIOS customers). The catch is that only the Man City and Barcelona matches will be live. Juventus-Lyon is replayed at 7:30 pm Friday and Bayern - Chelsea can be seen at 12 am Sunday morning.
A decent list of fixtures that makes the delayed start of the 2020/21 EPL tolerable.
This was not your father's Union. The goals came quickly and easily. By the 39th minute, they were up 3-0. Things weren't as awesome after that point but how could they be? They surrendered a goal in first half stoppage time and SKC definitely had the run of play in the second half. But that's the advantage of creating and converting opportunities early and often. The victory seemed deserved to me.
Santos had two goals, including a more-than-half-field breakaway. Blake had another six saves. Also, Jose' Martinez got his requisite yellow at 25 minutes; I think the over/under was 31 minutes. Martinez is the prime beneficiary of this tournament's no suspension for accumulation of yellow cards policy. He's picked up three cards in four appearances at 34, 27 and 25 minutes. I guess it's saying something that he's played that many minutes on a yellow card without picking up a second one.
Record 14th FA Cup for Arsenal
 |
| FA Cup still means something, at least to these guys |
Yet Chelsea arguably still have the run of play. Except it is Arsenal who take the lead at 67 minutes, with Aubameyang again the goal scorer. Hope for a rousing finish was muted when Kovacic picked up his second yellow at 73 minutes. Soft yellow maybe. Chelsea's day is perhaps best symbolized by the injured Pedro being stretchered off after seriously hurting his elbow with a minute to go.
This is not meant to cheapen Arsenal's historic win. They clearly played better in the second half of the season and maybe Arteta has them moving in the right direction. Arsenal fans will probably relish the fact that the win consigns Tottenham to the qualifying stage of the Europa Cup. For Spurs, this means some September and October matches in Faroe Islands, Greece or maybe Kazakhstan. Frequent flyer miles, baby.
Ashley to Retain Ownership of Newcastle for the Present
With mixed emotions I report that the proposed sale of Newcastle to a Saudi-backed consortium has fallen through. The official reason given:“Unfortunately the prolonged process under the current circumstances coupled with global uncertainty has rendered the potential investment no longer commercially viable.”
On the surface that makes some sense but one wonders if there is more to it. Details can be had here.
This is mostly a disappointing development. After years of relegation-challenged seasons, there was hope that a well-heeled ownership group would lift Newcastle to top half of the table and maybe some top six challenges. Worse, my preliminary dive into Newcastle's season suggests that they seriously overachieved in 2019/20 and are nowhere near as good as they appeared. Under Ashley's ownership, we can expect a tepid transfer window with minimal upgrades and another season in the bottom quartile.
The only positive I take away is that Newcastle will not be owned by a government with a less than savory recent history. I was already getting tired of defending the ownership with "well, there are alleged human rights violations but nothing has been proven yet" or "show me a country without some skeletons in the closet."
The Most Lucrative Match in Football
Wanna see what a £150 million goal looks like? Watch here as Joe Bryan, in extra time, puts in a free kick from about 40 yards out to give Fulham a 1-0 lead over Brentford in the Championship division promotion final. This was a tense match with neither side distinguishing itself as finishers. Bryan added a second goal before Brentford got one back in the closing seconds for the 2-1. The promotion final earns the winner a final spot in next season's Premier League, with all the TV and other revenue, making it worth about £150 million to the winning team.
Memorable commentary from the announcers. When Anthony Knockaert returned to the lockerroom prior to be subbed in, at first they expressed disbelief that a professional wasn't fully prepared to enter the match. Quickly though they suggested that maybe he had to take a "nervous wee." With the prospect of £150 million PKs looming, this might be understandable. He was then left waiting on the sidelines forever waiting for a break in play prompting the comment, "he was standing there like he was waiting for a night bus." And with the score still 1-0 and Brentford pressing like crazy, a moment of chaos was like someone "threw a cat among the pigeons." Great visuals.
Keep It Coming
Action continues on three fronts.
Europa League competition resumes Wednesday and Thursday to complete the Round of 16. Wednesday, Man United take on LASK at Old Trafford holding a 5-0 lead after the first leg so they look like a good bet for the quarterfinals. Wolves have work to do on Thursday as they are 1-1 with Olympiacos; at least it's a home match for them. The quarter finals will be 8/10-11, the semis 8/16-17 and the final 8/21. I had thought maybe you could see these on TNT or B/R Live but not seeing them on the schedule.
The Union are featured in Wednesday's MLS Is Back semi-final against Portland at 8 pm on FS1. I am surprised to see that 538 has them favored over Portland (57-43). Many things have been going right for the Union in this tournament but this seems like a long shot. Orlando - Minnesota is the other semi, Thursday at 8 pm on ESPN2. The final is Tuesday night at 8:30 on ESPN.
Champions League matches also resume this weekend. Friday has Juventus - Lyon (0-1 after the first leg) and Man City - Real Madrid (2-1). Saturday is Bayern - Chelsea (3-0) and Barcelona - Napoli (1-1). All matches are at 3 pm. All four can be seen on CBSSports (594 for Philadelphia FIOS customers). The catch is that only the Man City and Barcelona matches will be live. Juventus-Lyon is replayed at 7:30 pm Friday and Bayern - Chelsea can be seen at 12 am Sunday morning.
A decent list of fixtures that makes the delayed start of the 2020/21 EPL tolerable.
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