A Bump in the Road

 A pair of 1-0 losses slowed Newcastle's momentum, although their chance of staying up is largely unchanged.  The Union were a tad better and got another three points.

A Better Quality Bus

Havertz bursts Newcastle's bubble in the 89th minute

I was dismayed to see Newcastle come out in a 5-4-1 against Chelsea.  Parking the bus against the superior team.  And to be clear, defense was the Magpies' top priority here and it shows in the possession stats (27/73).  But there were two important differences from the Newcastle of a few months ago.  First, the defending was solid; Chelsea only took eight shots and didn't get one on target until very late in the match.  Second, Newcastle actually mounted some serious attacking threats.  Enough that Michael B kept texting me that he predicted a smash and grab win for the Magpies.  Unfortunately there was no fairy tale ending here, at least for Newcastle.  In the 89th minute, with a point in sight, Kai Havertz took a perfect pass from Jorginho, controlled it brilliantly with a single touch and flicked the ball past Dubravka for the game's only goal.  

Though they brought home no points, there were still positives to take away from the 0-1 loss.  They were minutes away from a draw on the road to third place Chelsea.  This with Eddie Howe somewhat shorthanded due to illness (Shelvey and Willock) and injuries (Joe L Linton out and Allan Saint-Maximin only available as a late substitute).  Matt Targett had another excellent performance and was probably the Magpies player; Dan Burn, though beaten by Havertz on the game winner was also solid in the back again.  Though a loss on the scoresheet, this was not a step in the wrong direction.  

We Didn't Deserve to Win Anyway

"I got the near post"

Maybe the 1-0 loss to Everton wasn't a step in the wrong direction but it felt like it.  After a wildly
entertaining first half that somehow ended 0-0, the second half became mostly a slugfest.  Newcastle got a pretty clear break when Allan was sent off for a yellow card challenge that Pawson decided was a red card.  The Magpies had some okay chances but it wasn't like they were knocking on the door. As the match proceeded into 14 minutes of stoppage time (a protestor zip tied himself to the goalpost to call attention to Britain's terrible energy policies - see picture right), I was very much feeling like let's call this a draw and go home.  But then Everton executed an excellent counter. leaving Newcastle to rue the missed chances.  I soon realized that I wasn't annoyed that they had lost but that they didn't deserve to win in the first place.  Not a devastating loss but a missed chance to end the relegation threat.  For Everton on the other hand, the three points were critical.  So important that Frank Lampard broke his hand celebrating the goal.  I am not making this up.  

When Do We Get Our Apology from PGMOL?

Other than the shirt pull and the trip, Chalobah's tackle was clean
Photo: BBC Match of the Day

You may recall a few weeks ago the outrage sparked when Rodri of Man City was not called for handling in the box.  In that one, PGMOL felt compelled to make an apology to Everton management. Well check out this play (should open to 4:03) in the Newcastle - Chelsea match.  Chalobah could have been called for tripping or holding Jacob Murphy but instead we got a corner kick.  Hmm, I guess two wrongs don't make a PK.  Real time I was skeptical about a foul but the replay was pretty clear.  Readers know that I don't pin results on referees' decisions.  Who knows, maybe Wood or whoever misses the PK.  Still, this looks at least as egregious as the Rodri non-call and I eagerly await the PGMOL phone call apologizing.  

Mixed Results

We are not quite done with scoreboard watching.  Newcastle did get some help from other clubs, although some of the "help" came from teams below us in the table.  For example, Brentford stung Burnley 2-0, a result that nearly has the Bees clear while putting the Clarets in more jeopardy.  Likewise, Leeds grabbed all three points at home with a stoppage time goal against Norwich; the Canaries had just leveled things in the 91st minute but were denied a result with Gelhardt's late goal.  Wolves also aided our cause with a 1-0 win over Everton.  Aside from the Leeds and Brentford wins, Watford also pinned back Southampton 2-1; 

The Title Race Tightens

Crystal Palace put up a brave effort against Man City at Selhurst Park and were rewarded with a 0-0 draw.  City might be said to have a type; there are certain sides they just seem to have trouble with.  They lost twice to Tottenham, drew twice with Southampton, drew once and lost once to Palace and drew with Liverpool.  No other teams have taken points from them.  

Liverpool took advantage with a workmanlike 2-0 win over Brighton on Saturday and a 2-0 win on Wednesday against Arsenal, closing the gap to just a single point.  The two sides have now played the same number of games played; Liverpool have a slight advantage on goal differential.  They meet on 4/10 at The Etihad.  At 538, City are slight favorites in that contest and are projected at 66% to win the title versus 34% for Liverpool.  Note however that this is the lowest that number has been since it was 56% back on 12/15/21.

Despite the loss to Liverpool, Arsenal hold onto the fourth spot thanks to a solid 2-0 win over Leicester on Sunday..  They remain a strong favorite to keep that spot even though they lead Man United by just one point.   Man United may have put an end to Tottenham's CL hopes with 3-2 win over Spurs.  That was a good watch for the neutrals, with Tottenham rallying twice from a goal behind.  Ultimately they were done in by the third of Ronaldo's hat trick.  Ouch.  West Ham kept their slim hopes alive with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa.  That one was also pretty good entertainment.  I thought maybe a draw was a fairer result; Dennis wasn't as sure.  Villa look to be the best "non-Europe" side in the league right now.  Given the rigors of playing in either the Europa League or the Europa Conference League, Dennis prefers it that way for this year.

A Different Kind of Visa Problem

We are used to football clubs (especially the Union) having trouble with visas, the immigration approval that allows players from one country to play in another country.  Chelsea have a slightly different issue, as detailed in this ESPN article.  Yes, their credit cards are frozen.  Cash reserves are sufficient right now to allow them to meet expenses but as the article notes, the situation is complicated.    

Hard to Be Mad

Sometimes a player does something that hurts your team but you look at the player and the situation and smile because it's okay.  I saw it twice this weekend.  First, we can't help but be happy to see Christian Eriksen's comeback continue as evidenced in this letter perfect cross to Ivan Toney to set up the go ahead goal late in Brentford's win over Burnley.  That result may be enough to ensure that the Bees will stay up in the Premier League. The second one is more geopolitical as Ukrainian Andriy Yarmolenko put West Ham up on Aston Villa with this marvelous touch and finish.  Would have preferred he do it against someone other than Villa but what an emotional moment.

A Half Step Up

Slight improvement for Union on a frozen night at Subaru Park.  Our new striker duo was not dressed with Carranza suspended and Uhre out with a quad injury.  Overall, the performance was a little better than what we saw against Montreal, especially on the passing and possession.  The good news is that they are still creating chances.  The bad news is that we are still having trouble finishing.  Fortunately San Jose are not one of the better sides but 2-0 is good enough right now.  

Cory Burke got the Union on the board in the 23rd minute, burying a pinpoint pass from Santos.  We make it this week's YouTubeableMoment, not so much as a stunning goal but more of example of how simple the game can be at times.  Great run from Santos to get deep in the box, and pass on the ground in front of the goal to the properly positioned Burke.  Easy peasy.  Wish there had been more of them.  The U did add a second in the 58th minute to make things less stressful when Gazdag cheekily converted a PK.  The defense was pretty close to airtight, as San Jose had but one shot on goal and an xG of .3.  

FA Cup and International Break

The breakneck pace of fixtures finally slows as the FA Cup quarterfinals truncate the weekend schedule and the international break shuts down domestic competition for two weeks.  Not that there still isn't plenty to watch.

The FA Cup quarters feature six Premier League and two Championship Division sides.  No true minnows left at this point.  The schedule:

Middlesbrough - Chelsea Saturday at 1:15
Crystal Palace - Everton Sunday at 8:30
Southampton - Man City Sunday 11:00
Nottingham Forest - Liverpool Sunday 2:00

Three of these teams are not like the others.  Didn't spend a lot of time digging but I think you need ESPN+ to watch.

Just four EPL contests but most are important in one way or another and on USA.  Friday afternoon football, our favorite, is back with Wolves hosting Leeds at 4 pm.  Wolves probably don't have shot at Champions League but are in the mix for other European leagues; Leeds are still perilously close to relegation.  Saturday has Aston Villa vs Arsenal at 8:30; the Gunners will be looking to solidify their hold on 4th but Villa have shown they can play with anyone even if they don't get a result.  Actually, Leicester - Brentford is dangerously close to both teams not having much to play for; that's at 10 on Sunday.  The weekend wraps up Tottenham hosting West Ham at 12:30, two teams whose Champions League hopes are hanging by a thread.

The Union get to play NYCFC in my least favorite venue - Yankee Stadium.  That's 1 pm on Saturday on ABC.  Figure this will be a tough one for the U.

And we have the final three matches of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.  For the US, this means Mexico Thursday night, Panama Sunday and Costa Rica on Wednesday.  A win over Panama is probably enough to send the US, although there are some ugly scenarios that might require a win plus at least a draw against Costa Rica.  Of course, we're assuming we get nothing from the trip to Mexico.  Recent history says nothing is easy here.

The games have been fast and furious so we will use the international break to give BFS staff some well-deserved time off.  We'll be back for the EPL run-in.