Want a second opinion? It was ugly too. Newcastle get the win but lose Trippier. Most of the contenders for the coveted fourth spot in the EPL did little to distinguish themselves.
We've Seen This Before
As in, Newcastle get a great result but lose a key player. The 1-0 win over Aston Villa was an unexpected two or three points but Kieran Trippier picked up a serious injury. He was somewhat of a surprise starter after hurting his calf last week. He looked fine and provided the only goal of the match with Aston Villa, a free kick just outside the box that eluded the wall, deflected off Buendia's leg and past Martinez. We'll make it another Kieran Trippier YouTubeableMoment; watch Buendia move around (he started in a kneeling position) before the ball hits his leg and deflects into the goal. The bad news is that in the second half, Trippier got stepped on; he left the stadium on crutches. A scan the next day revealed a fractured fifth metatarsal. He's out for two to three months. I realize that the Magpies already got a pretty good return on that investment - 10 points in four matches - but this is a cruel blow. We have to hope that his attitude rubs off and shows in everybody else's performances.
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| Joelinton (c) put up some great defensive stats against Aston Villa, including a team-high 6 tackles |
Help From My Friends (apologies to the Beatles)
Unlike last week, results elsewhere were mostly favorable for Newcastle. Man City beat Norwich, Liverpool dispatched Burnley (though not easily) and Brighton took care of Watford. Thanks guys. I might have preferred a draw in the Everton - Leeds contest but the Everton 3-1 win was the second best choice as it keeps both of those sides within whispering distance. Similarly, a Brentford loss would have been best but their 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace means they are still close.
Whatever Man United Has Is Contagious
Things haven't been too great at Man United. Hard to figure out how that team continues to struggle. Now it looks like Tottenham have come down with the same thing. And West Ham appears to have milder symptoms of the malaise as well. All three had less than stellar performances in their chase for the fourth Champions League spot. Only Wolves, who got a 2-0 win over Spurs, and Arsenal, who had the weekend off, didn't drop points.
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| Though it wasn't his fault, Ryan Sessegnon found himself yanked at 30 minutes with Spurs already down 0-2 to Wolves Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) |
unimpressive against Brighton on Tuesday but came away with a 2-0 win anyway, in large part thanks to a red card for DOGSO to Brighton defender Dunk. West Ham were lucky to come away with a 2-2 draw at Leicester. They needed a goal in stoppage time from Craig Dawson to get that. Spurs wish they had been unimpressive against Wolves. They were awful and though it doesn't show on the stat sheet, the 0-2 final looked totally believable while watching.
Surprisingly lackluster efforts from teams in the thick of a fight for a Champions League spot. Oh, and Aston Villa may have caught whatever these guys have too. The 3-3 draw with Leeds was puzzling enough but the performance against Newcastle was nothing like what we expect from them, especially after the addition of Coutinho and Digne. You can't blame this one on still missing Jack Grealish; it was about multiple players having a bad day. Gerrard will be earning his money in the next few weeks.
First of Five for Chelsea?
Probably not, but Chelsea did complete the first step of the mythical quint as they bested the Brazilian club Palmeiras 2-1 in extra time to win the World Club Cup title. The winning goal came from Kai Havertz on a PK in the 117th minute. Can't say it was a thrilling match; Palmeiras pretty much went the full Mourinho and was mostly interested in containment and limited counterattacking.
So what about a quintuple for Chelsea? Well, they are in the League Cup final later this month against Liverpool. If I understand odds correctly, the bookies are saying they have about a 40% chance of winning that one. They are still in the FA Cup and their fifth round opponent is Luton Town so they have a good chance to at least get to the quarterfinals there. In the Champions League, they are paired with Lille in the first knockout round of 16; advancing to the next round is possible. At 538 they have the Blues with a 10% chance of winning the whole thing. A long shot for sure but these three seem possible.
But then we get to the biggest stumbling block - the EPL. They trail Man City by 16 points. The 538 table shows them with a less than one percent chance of winning the league. That would be the height of irony - win the other four cups but not the league.
Do You Know the Way to San Jose?(apologies to Dionne Warwick)
Somewhat out of the blue we read this week that Jamiro Monteiro was sold to the San Jose Earthquakes for various kinds of money that only make sense to MLS accountants. Except it really wasn't out of the blue. He was clearly unhappy here. And, though there were often times when he was the best Union player on the pitch in the last two years, the move makes good sense. This year it seemed like there was no effective way to have Daniel Gazdag and Monteiro on the pitch at the same time. Gazdag can go back to playing behind the strikers where his creativity is most useful. Plus, it probably means more time for academy products Quinn Sullivan and Jack McGlynn. The financial side of this isn't great as it does not fit the buy low, sell high strategy we've seen recently. But it was probably the best way to handle a player who didn't want to be here and wasn't the right person for the job anymore. Excellent additional points about why this move is okay are offered in this article at The Philly Soccer Page.
Age Is Just A Number - No Matter How Big It Is
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| Nobody picked this winger up in the January window? |
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| Sportif Allentown looked solid in win over West Chester |
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| Martinelli will be eligible for rematch with Wolves |
No room for the Olympics at BFS?!
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