We're From Philly

Which means we'll find any way we can to discount good news surrounding our sports franchises.  But the Union's success is getting hard to ignore.

Stunningly Easy?

Mbaizo's play as wingback is a reason the U score so much

Even if they are a mid-table side, Orlando are also the recently crowned US Open Cup champions. Thus, I didn't expect to see them swept aside this easily.  Though the Union didn't get on the board until the 39th minute, they did look comfortable.  The first goal was initially credited to Mbaizo, but everyone knew it was an own goal and in the end, Ojee got credit.  Not that Mbaizo didn't do great work down the right side to make it happen.  Uhre added a second at 43 minutes for a 2-0 halftime lead; that one was set up by a great through ball from Gazdag and is this week's  YouTubeableMoment.  A softish PK made it 3-0 and Bedoya added another with an awesome diving header.  That one came at a cost, as the captain suffered some kind of groin injury.  The teams traded late goals to make the final 5-1.

This was a more complete performance than the win over the Red Bulls.  Orlando managed just two shots on goal and I don't remember Blake being tested.  With three matches remaining, the U have a chance for 70 or more points (only three other clubs have done that), will most likely exceed 70 goals scored (only five have ever done that), and with just 22 goals conceded could break the record for the fewest goals allowed in a 34-game season (27).  Further, with a goal differential of 46, they could surpass the previous high of 48.  

Going to be real annoyed if, as could happen, they don't win Supporters Shield and/or the MLS Cup and people start pooh-poohing the season.  This was one of the best seasons ever for an MLS franchise and should not be defined by a two or three single games.

Games No Longer in Hand

Both of the sides chasing the Union - Montreal for the Eastern Conference title and LAFC for the Supporters Shield  - cashed in their games in hand on Tuesday.  Montreal did fine, handling Chicago 3-2 at home in a match in which the visitors could only threaten the goal on PKs.  The good news is that this was paired with a 2-2 draw on Friday to Columbus.  What the scoreline doesn't tell you is that Montreal were down 0-2 when the Crew had a man sent off at 76 minutes; Montreal scored at 89 and 94 minutes to snatch that point.  The Union lead over them is seven with three to play.

LAFC had an even tougher time.  Minnesota gave them a good contest and the 1-1 final looked right - maybe even flattering LAFC - to me.  The better news is that this was paired with a 1-2 loss at Dallas, as they played a man down for 77 minutes.  Five dropped points for them and now the Union are in the lead for the Supporters Shield by two points.  

Champions League

The EPL had another uneven week in Champions League.  Man City handled Dortmund okay and Liverpool rebounded with a win over Ajax.  But, Chelsea could only draw RB Salzburg at home; you could hear a "murmuring of boos" at the final whistle in Graham Potter's first match at Stamford Bridge.  Also, Tottenham fell to Sporting 2-0 on the road.  Didn't see that one but the stats make it look like Spurs were a bit unlucky.  

Dennis notes that through six EPL and two CL matches, the only sides to take points from Man City are ...Newcastle and Aston Villa.

He Cleans Up Nice

At Stamford Bridge, black tie required

Speaking of Graham Potter, anybody notice the upgraded wardrobe and haircut since his arrival at Stamford Bridge?  Check out the before and after shots.

At Brighton with no jacket or tie 

The Sounds of Silence (apologies to Simon and Garfunkel)

Checking in on the AC Milan - Dinamo Zagreb Champions League match, the commentator offered this gem:

Dinamo Zagreb will hope for a good start to take away the home field advantage; a silent crowd would be music to their ears

Oxymoronic but somehow you know exactly what he means.

 

It's Hard Out There for a Premier League Manager 

With all the traveling this summer, there hasn't been much time for my Forest Green Football Manager side.  The quieter weekend did allow for some catch up, but still only in August in the virtual world.  We were off to a surprisingly good start in the Premier League, winning our first four matches, including a totally lucky 1-0 win over Arsenal.  Virtual reality reared its ugly head though as we were totally outplayed in an 0-2 loss to Man United; we were outshot 27-2.  We normally play a 4-2-2-2 but figuring we'd be under the gun, we went with 4-1-2-2-1.  You wouldn't believe the crap I took from the press and the fans like this was a disastrous decision on my part.  One post on social media (yeah, that's how complete this game is - it comes with simulated Twitter) was:

He thinks he's a tactical genius but he's just a muppet.

Well that'll leave a mark.  Here's the thing.  Just for fun I went back and played the match with our usual 4-2-2-2 and we lost 0-5, getting outshot 32-4.  Leave me alone.

Good to have the early points in the bank but I suspect we'll still end up in the relegation mix.

And We're Back - Mostly

With a few exceptions, the EPL is set for a return to action.  The Brighton - Crystal Palace postponement came even before the queen's passing, due to an expected rail strike, which is apparently not going to materialize.  Chelsea - Liverpool and Man United - Leeds are off due to the funeral.

But we have Friday Football so it's all good.  You can catch Aston Villa - Southampton (USA) or Nottingham Forest - Fulham (Peacock) at 3 pm.  Villa really need to step up here; this is a match they need to be winning.  The latter match could be highly competitive and a preview of the relegation battle.

Thumbs up from Bruno but he might still be rested
ahead of the international break

Three more matches on Saturday, none on Peacock, which is very helpful for those of us refereeing or attending Michael B's wedding or stuff like that.  The earlybird special is Wolves - Man City at 7:30 on USA; Wolves have revealed their desperation for scoring punch with the signing this week of Diego Costa.  Probably won't help against City.  The 10 am match is Newcastle - Bournemouth.  Eddie Howe won't have Saint-Maximin and Wilson but might get Guimaraes back.  The Magpies will be favorites for this one.  The feature NBC match at 12:30 is Tottenham - Leicester.  That would be last place Leicester.  Facing Spurs at home doesn't look like a potential result for the Foxes to me.

Sunday's fixtures include Brentford - Arsenal at 7 and Everton - West Ham at 9:15, both on USA.  Good that we can DVR these two unnecessarily early matches because who knows how late we'll have to sleep after the wild wedding the night before.

The Union have a Saturday matinee (3:30) down in Atlanta.  This is probably the trickiest of the three remaining fixtures, though 538 has them as solid favorites (47/30/24).  Hope Atlanta aren't too upset about the 4-1 loss in Chester a few weeks ago.  On Thursday Jim Curtin said Bedoya trained all week and should be good to go.  Note that you'll need to go to TUDN to catch this one on TV.  You can watch in Spanish or follow the directions here to get commentary in English.

New England, fighting for its playoff life, might give Montreal a hard time this weekend.  That's Saturday at 7:30.  A combination of three points earned by the Union or dropped by Montreal will give the U the conference title.  Houston, already eliminated, may not help us much against LAFC.  That match is Sunday at 10:30.