Almost There

A pair of home 1-0 wins for Newcastle and the Union that probably should have been draws.  We are not complaining.  The Magpie win means they are almost out of danger.

Wolves Huff and Puff But Don't Score 

Maybe not the most egregious foul but Sa did trip Wood

While the 1-0 final over Wolves might flatter Newcastle a bit, there were many things to be please about, other than just the three points.  After the collapse at Tottenham, they got the defensive balance right; they held Wolves to five shots, just two on target.  Second was the possible re-emergence of Miguel Almiron.  He's not been a part of the resurgence as Ryan Fraser has been in form.  But Fraser got hurt early and Almiron, not Jacob Murphy, was the sub.  He did not disappoint, working well with Bruno and generally using his pace to create offensive chances.  He's a favorite here so we hope it continues.  Lastly, there was a full 90 minute performance from Bruno.  He was seemingly everywhere, making plays and creating chances.  Piano carrier indeed.  The Chronicle gave him a perfect rating of 10 for the match.

As usual, Newcastle were outpossessed but they did outshoot Wolves.  Chris Wood put the ball in the net twice, but one was chalked off correctly for a narrow offside call.  He did convert the PK he earned after getting tripped by Sa in the box.  Hopefully there are more to come from him.  

They are not quite over the line but 538 has them with just 2% chance of going down.  Obviously the win over Wolves was a big lift but so was Burnley's 0-2 loss to Norwich.  

I Thought His First Name Was Danny

How many times in the Villa - Spurs game did we hear the phrase "Shirley Ings must score there?"  Aston Villa had plenty of chances in the first half but failed to convert any.  Son got player of the match for his hat trick but I thought it should have been Lloris for keeping the match scoreless in the first half.  Without his saves, the second half is probably a lot different.  Just like last week, in the second half, Tottenham seem to be able to score at will.  Check out this flick from Harry Kane that sent Son on his merry way to make the score 3-0 on their way to the 4-0 win.  An odd statistical artifact from this match is that xG favors Villa 2.2 - .85.  That's further evidence for me that Lloris was the POM.  

Reversal of Fortune

Good weekend for Spurs fans.  Barely two weeks ago their CL chances were slim.  After the win at Aston Villa combined with losses by Arsenal (to Brighton), Man United (to Everton), West Ham (to Brentford), and Wolves, the fourth spot is theirs to lose.  But, recall we wrote that about Arsenal recently and they proceeded to do just that with consecutive defeats to Crystal Palace and Brighton. 

A Game of the Year That Lived Up to Its Billing

Great viewing, especially for the neutral.  The Reds were awful in the first half, giving away possession frequently, often in dangerous locations.  Somehow they came away down just 2-1.  Klopp must have said something good in the locker room as they came out much improved and leveled things almost immediately.  Good intensity the rest of the way, with both sides not exactly ready to settle for a draw.  That is where they ended though and the 2-2 final looks about right to me.  I thought it would have been a bigger boost to City's chances but the numbers barely moved with the result.

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place But Didn't

Dennis: Did you say Pep has found religion?

Steve: No, I said he's turned to Jesus for the big match against Liverpool.

Champions League Viewing Dilemma

At first it seemed like Tuesday's choice was easy.  Chelsea down 3-1 to Real Madrid heading for the Bernabeu while Bayern down just a goal to Villareal and playing at home.  As Bayern were pummeling Villarreal's goal without success, Chelsea started a comeback.  When Chelsea scored a second to level the match on aggregate, it was time to revise viewing strategy - stream Bayern-Villareal on computer, turn Real-Madrid on TV.

The stuff of Chelsea nightmares: Benzema had 4 goals in the two legs

Just a wild ride in from there.  Chelsea score to take the lead.  Nope, the ball touched Alonso's hand (btw, there was no need to go to the monitor on that call - once VAR confirms that the ball made contact with the hand, there is no need for further review based on the current rule).  Bayern finally break through and level things.  Surely they will cruise in from there.  Not so fast, and please don't call me Shirley. In the 88th minute, Samuel Chukwueze scored to give Villareal the victory, 2-1 on aggregate. we'll make that goal this week's YouTubeableMoment. Meanwhile, back in Madrid they "headed" for extra time.  Six minutes in, there was first leg hero Karim Benzema putting a no-doubt-about-header passed Mendy for what would give Real Madrid the win, 5-4 on aggregate.

How To Make Me A Man City Fan

Readers know that it's a rare day when Man City is my preferred side in an EPL contest.  Even in the European club competitions, where I'll almost always choose the EPL side over any other league, my support for City would be described as tepid at best.  Not so Wednesday in the second leg of their tie with Atletico Madrid.  By the end of this one I was in full throated voice hoping City would hang on to their 1-0 lead, which they did.  Fed up barely captures my feeling about the whole Atletico Madrid culture at this point.   Actually, the descent into the abyss started last week in the first leg when two Atleti players (Savic and Vrsaljko) told Grealish "we're going to get you next week."  Things did not start well on Wednesday, with the fans booing the players who took a knee.  They ended as badly, with Guardiola being pelted with bottles and helmeted police rushing down the tunnel to break up renewed altercations between the players, including an incredibly awkward attempt at a head butt by Vrsaljko.  The 90+ minutes in between were not pretty either.  Check out this write up from The Guardian's Barney Ronay.  So many money quotes; I'll pick two:

a match that had passed through, the gullet like a gnarly, gristly piece of mutton

And above all the spectacle of Atlético’s players shaking their heads in utter confusion, lost in red mist that felt like someone else’s red mist, self‑Atléticoed, playing that horrible game from the other side.

I saw another article noting that Savic got a yellow for his involvement in the stoppage time fracas but it was not clear whether the card was for the hair pulling against Grealish or the head butt against Sterling.  I won't give City a free pass here as they definitely knew how to milk the clock after robust challenges; did you see Foden's Neymar roll after the Felipe tackle in stoppage time?  However, that wasn't fake blood Foden was spilling after Felipe's challenge in the first half.  We can argue about what the Felipe's sanction should have been but that's not my point here; Foden wasn't milking anything on that one.  

I'm not saying that AM are the only club that practice that dark arts.  However, Stuart James points out in The Athletic (behind paywall) :

... it is hard to escape the feeling that Atletico are the market leaders when it comes to what has commonly become known as shithousery. In other words, play-acting, time-wasting, haranguing referees and generally trying to get opponents booked or sent off.

I'm always astonished at how tolerant referees are when multiple players surround them.  How is that not an attempt to physically intimidate the referee?  If it was me, I hope I'd have the balls to give one warning, then start handing out yellow cards like Pez to anyone who didn't back off.

Last week, I defended Simeone's defensive approach to the first leg at The Etihad.  But after watching Wednesday's match and reading about other incidents, I am forced to conclude that the pre-whistle through post-whistle ugliness is an inevitable - and calculated - result of Simeone's philosophy.  It's not a bug in the software, it is a design feature.  Of course, Simeone is free to choose whatever approach he thinks he needs to win.  And just as clearly, the rest of us are free to hope that he fails.

A final note on this.  I fully acknowledge that I got a lot of my information from the English press, which is possibly not unbiased here.  But, I also got stuff from US sources.  I doubt the Spanish coverage was unbiased.  In fact, Marca, a Spanish daily newspaper suggested:

"the world needs a leader like Savic."

Hmm, I understand that Putin may be new man in Ukraine. Maybe Savic should apply.

Oh, in Wednesday's other quarterfinal, Klopp got away with a gamble, sitting out some key players, but getting a 3-3 draw for a 6-4 win on aggregate over Benfica.  Actually it's not as close as it sounds.  The aggregate score was 4-1 at one point and 6-2 until two late goals made it a little tighter.

The CL semis will be Man City - Real Madrid and Liverpool - Villareal, a totally English - Spanish affair.

Ownest Goal Evah or Room For Improvement

We expected a tight contest with the Columbus Crew.  We did not expect an outright gift in the second minute.  Check out this "howler" from Crew keeper Eloy Room.  Turned out to be the only goal of the night.  Not that there weren't several good chances from both sides.  The Union did a better job of putting them on frame but neither side broke through.  So, finishing remains the primary area for the U to work on.  Certainly, the defense continues to shine, with the scoreless streak now extending to 418 minutes. BFS Keeper Consultant Graham R notes while Blake has made his share of good saves, the scoreless streak is more a reflection of the team's commitment to defending.  Elliott and Glesnes have been stellar in the center, Wagner and Harriel steady at fullback and the midfielders like Martinez and Flach (and even Bedoya) have pitched in. 

Five points clear at the top in April?  Not a typo.

FA Cup Semis

The weekend is fragmented because of the FA Cup semi-finals.  Man City and Liverpool will do it all over again Saturday at 10:30, this time at Wembley and there must be a winner.  The other semi is Chelsea - Crystal Palace at 11:30 on Sunday.  Looks like your only viewing option is streaming on ESPN+

Just six EPL games on Saturday-Sunday but there are another six on Tuesday-Thursday.  The four contestants for the final CL spot have winnable fixtures.  Spurs host Brighton (Sat 7:30 USA), Man United play Norwich (Sat 10 on USA), Arsenal travel to Southampton (Sat 10 am Peacock) and West Ham host Burnley (Sun 9:15 Peacock).  Yeah, some of those look more winnable than others but the odds suggest no change in that race.

A good chance we'll see Almiron
in the starting XI vs Leicester

Surprisingly, again, the best looking match of the weekend is Newcastle's fixture, a home match with Leicester (Sunday at 9:15 on USA).  This should be about the same as Newcastle - Wolves.  I expect Howe will set up with the 4-3-3 and let his guys go at it.  Leicester, in no danger of Europe or relegation, will probably do the same. 

The only other weekend match is Watford - Brentford (Saturday at 10 on CNBC); not sure why they felt this was worthy of TV.  Brentford are safe and Watford are pretty much toast.

Some very tasty midweek action.  Tuesday is Liverpool - Man United at 3 pm on USA.  Wednesday has Chelsea - Arsenal at 2:45, also on USA.  And once again, Newcastle offer maybe the most competitive contest, as they host Crystal Palace, Wednesday at 2:45 on Peacock.  Other offerings include Everton - Leicester (Wed at 2:45 on Peacock), Man City hosting Brighton (Wed 3 on Peacock) and Burnley - Southampton (Thursday at 2:45 on USA).

The Union match at Toronto Saturday night at 7:30 (PHL-17) will tell us two things.  First, we'll be watching to see how the Union fare on the road against a decent, if not great, side; this is not a gimme.  Second, the trip will reveal the vaccination status of the roster.  As of 1/15/22, Canada ended the exemption for unvaccinated pro athletes to enter the country.  So, if there are notable exclusions in Saturday night's roster, that might identify any unvaccinated Union players.  We have been told on several occasions that all Union players are vaccinated so hopefully it won't be an issue for this Philadelphia franchise.

What, another Monday with no football?