The World Turned Upside Down

(apologies to  Lin-Manuel Miranda)

After a crazy weekend, the EPL top ten now includes Leeds, Brighton, Newcastle, Fulham, Brentford, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.  Okay, it's only three matches in but it's still weird.  

Performance and a Point!

With Newcastle level at 1-1 versus Man City in the first half, I texted Dennis to say that regardless of the result, I was going to be happy with the performance; even if they ended up losing, the effort was awesome.  I stand by that view, even though we had a 3-1 lead before finishing with a 3-3 draw.  The point was a bonus.

This was not the expected massacre and Lloyd Christmas was correct - there was still a chance. Far from a blowout, this 3-3 draw with Man City was probably the most watchable match of the weekend for the neutrals.  Not too bad from the Toon Army perspective either.  Didn't look like it would be that way when Newcastle fell behind in the fifth minute.  Rather than wilt though, Newcastle responded well, arguably capturing the run of play.  Almiron's diving leveler was deserved and so was Wilson's side footer to take the lead.  Things got nuts when Trippier put in a free kick from 25 yards out. We make it this week's YouTubeableMoment. 

Trippier is a tripper but not guilty of serious foul play
Getty Images

Of course, this being Man City, we had to wait for both shoes to drop.  And boy did they drop fast.  City scored two in three minutes.  At 3-1 I texted Dennis that 3-5 was still in the cards and after City leveled I feared I was going to be right.  And there were plenty of hairy moments before the final whistle.  Nick Pope continues to make the case to be England's Number One Keeper; it wasn't just the saves, it was his command of the box and decision making.  City got three goals but Pope was MoM for me.  Another scary moment was Trippier's tackle on DeBruyne that initially earned him a red card.  Fortunately, a judicious use of VAR got that reduced to a yellow, which was the correct call.  There was no excessive force or dangerous play, just a cynical trip deserving of a yellow.  So they held on for the draw.  Would have loved to be with the crowd walking down the hill from St. James' Park after that one.

Stranger Things

There were other unexpected results besides Newcastle.  Strangest of all would clearly be Leeds 3-0 beatdown of Chelsea.  Check out the first goal in that match, Brendan Aaronson's first in the EPL. Part (largely?) a howler from Chelsea keeper Mendy and part sheer cheekiness from Aaronson, you can see the former Union star's goal here.  Tuchel's strange post-match comments, seen here, are moving him up the list of dislikable managers for me.  Also, don't be fooled by the red card in the scoreline; that happened late with score already 3-0.

Milner reams Van Dijk - who looks in disarray now?

Man United's 2-1 win over  Liverpool result was a surprise. Erik Ten Hag (ETH from here on out) sat Maguire and Ronaldo in the most notable benchings since Ted Lasso pulled Jamie Tartt at halftime against Crystal Palace.  And for the first time in awhile, they looked like a team.  Yes, Liverpool were missing some key parts (Nunez, Jota, Matip, Keita, etc.).  But it was United that had the Liverpool players yelling at each other, most notably Milner getting in Van Dijk's face.  And how about, with the score 2-1 late, ETH making defensive subs that did not include putting Maguire on the pitch.  What to make of that?  Does the story line shift from why is Man United in disarray to what's the matter with Liverpool, who have dropped seven points points from three matches?

Maybe not as weird but it was surprising to see Brighton dominate West Ham 2-0 despite being on the road.  Southampton with a late goal to beat Leicester 1-2 at King Power wasn't an obvious result either.  Everton needing a late goal at Goodison Park to draw 1-1 with Nottingham Forest doesn't sound right to me as well, though maybe with the "new" Toffees, that is to be expected. 

Tottenham didn't exactly steamroller the Wolves.  They eked out a 1-0 wind and I'll give Conte credit because Spurs were nowhere, nay, being outplayed in the first half.  He made enough adjustments that they were the better side in the second half and probably just about earned the victory. 

About the only thing that looked on target was Arsenal's 3-0 defeat over Bournemouth.  What a waste of NBC's prime time 12:30 spot.  Heck, they would have done better to show the crazy 3-2 Fulham - Brentford contest, which was actually a contest.  The Cottagers were up 2-0, the Bees came back to tie, then Mitrovic got the game winner in the 90th minute.

Saving maybe the worst for last.  Probably trying to forget Aston Villa's disappointing 3-1 loss at Selhurst Park.  I won't say the final flatters Crystal Palace; they bossed the midfield for most of the match and xG says 3-1 is about right.  But a non-call for a PK and Bailey's shot that hit the crossbar might have been unlucky.  This is still a work in progress. 

Who's in the Technical Area - Answers

Sorry, forgot to include this last week.

In Case You Caraboa It

This week was second round action in the EFL Cup.  Thirteen top tier sides entered at this point (last year's top seven get a bye to the third round).  Twelve will continue, with Fulham finding themselves bounced out of the competition by fourth tier Crawley Town.  Newcastle didn't exactly dominate in a 2-1 win over fourth tier Tranmere.  Other sides had even closer scrapes - Bournemouth and Leicester advanced only after getting to kicks from the spot.  

The third round fixtures are out and of the 16 matches, seven pit EPL sides against each other.  This means that no more than 11 [Ed note: He means 12] of the final 16 will be from the top tier.  But it turns out that's not all that weird; the number of EPL sides in the 4th round for the last three years was 12, 13, 11.  

Missed Extra Point

Ay Carranza - three more for Julian
Photo: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

In yet another miscalculation by BFS, the Union did in fact nearly equal their 7-0 home thrashing of DC United with a 6-0 win on the road.  The first 15 minutes were a bit shaky; Blake and the post helped keep the game 0-0 until the Union found their feet.  They didn't get on the board until the 37th minute.  A VAR PK after the halftime whistle had blown made it 2-0.  Carranza then put up a natural hat trick, scoring the next three goals.  Burke, who has started to find the net, added the sixth.

Montreal and NYCFC kept pace but the Harrison Pink Cows only got a draw against Cincinnati.  The lead over them is now 10 points and it's another five to fifth place.  They trail LAFC by six points with seven to play so maybe the Supporters Shield is gone.  But they are looking good for at least a home playoff spot.

Midweek Action!

A full slate of weekend matches plus fixtures Tuesday-Thursday.  A lot of dark orange in the 538 predictions, suggesting too many mismatches.  And we'll be at Subaru Park Saturday night. 

Newcastle have two away matches and could be looking at no points.  The trip to Molineux to face Wolves (9 am Sunday on Peacock) could yield a point and even a win there is not out of the question.  But so is a loss.  Wednesday is more daunting as they take on Liverpool at Anfield.  It's possible Alexander Isak will be a Magpie by then, which is good because Callum Wilson is injured again.

Earlybirds on Saturday get Southampton - Man United.  This is an important test for the Red Devils; if the ship is righted, they should win here.  Five choices at 10 am.  Interesting that the TV people have passed on  Chelsea vs Leicester, Liverpool vs Bournemouth and Man City vs Crystal Palace for the USA game and have gone with Brighton - Leeds.  Probably seeing possible routs so going with something more competitive.  If that was the objective, I might have gone with Brentford - Everton.  

Arsenal seem to have the franchise on the 12:30 "feature" match on NBC.  This time their victim is Fulham.  Sure it's London derby but doesn't look all that competitive.

Two matches besides Newcastle on Sunday are Aston Villa - West Ham (9 am USA) and Nottingham Forest - Tottenham (11:30 USA).  Not an easy fixture for the Villans.  Before the season this is one we would have expected them to show their strength; now it's a mystery what we'll get.  Life doesn't get easier either has they have to travel to face Arsenal on Wednesday.  

TV schedule for the midweek fixtures wasn't out at time of publication.  Tuesday I'll probably go with Crystal Palace - Brentford or Leeds - Everton over the other choices of Southampton - Chelsea or Fulham - Brighton.  Wednesday I go with Newcastle but others might be more interested in West Ham - Spurs.  Your other choices are Bournemouth - Wolves, Arsenal - Aston Villa or Man City - Nottingham Forest.  Thursday you can sit back and take in Leicester - Man United.  So the Red Devils have two road matches that offer the chance to prove that they are not in as much trouble as they seem.

Saturday night we'll be at Subaru Park for a match with Colorado.  Union are solid favorites for this one.  Our closest pursuers are on the road - Montreal at Chicago and NYCFC at Orlando.  Several MLS matches on TV if you're interested.  There's a double header Friday night with Austin - LAFC at 8, then Portland - Seattle at 10, both on ESPN. The Orlando - NYCFC match is on Fox 1 Sunday at 7:30.  

Hope you find something you like.