This Isn't Supposed To Be the NBA

You could have saved time by tuning in for just the last "quarter," or even the last five minutes, of several matches this weekend.  Frankly, you could have saved even more time by not tuning in at all for some of them (looking at you Bournemouth - Chelsea).

Results Not Performance

No goals from the run of play, just a lone PK and yet Newcastle got three points from a 1-0 win over Brentford and a point in the Champions League opener from a 0-0 draw at AC Milan.  Nothing to complain about here, right?  I mean, Brentford aren't a bad side and many teams would be happy to walk away with a draw at San Siro.

Well, let's start with Brentford.  The Magpies managed just two shots on target, one of those was Wilson's successful PK.  Howe used Tonali's injury to try a reshuffled lineup but it didn't result in improved attacking play.  There was a suggestion that the Magpies were already thinking about Tuesday's Champions League opener in Milan.  Whatever, the team still looked directionless.  While, it is true that Brentford really only threatened once and generally Newcastle controlled play, this kind of performance won't cut it in the long run.  

Tuesday in Milan was even worse.  The Magpies were lively enough and could move the ball okay but they generated just six shots, one on target.  Meanwhile, AC Milan were taking 25, getting nine on target.  Expected goals were 2.08-.19.  There were several flurries that required multiple saves, including clearances off the line by non-keeper personnel.  Take the point and get the hell out of there as quickly as possible.

They need to gel soon or we may be looking at a season wandering around mid-table.  I know, I know.  Three years ago that would have sounded awesome.  But as Inspector Clouseau would say, not anymure.

Nah, I'll Just Watch the Last Quarter

So, Doku could be the new goal scorer
that Man City so desperately needs

Soccer is not supposed to reward that behavior but this weekend it did.   Let's see.  Man  City were only 1-1 through 75 minutes against West Ham but grabbed two more in the closing minutes for a 3-1 win.  Arsenal didn't get their goal against Everton until the 69th minute; that 1-0 result keeps the Toffees winless and their fans restless.  Liverpool were down 0-1 to Wolves through 84 minutes yet managed a 3-1 win.  Villa were down 0-1 to Crystal Palace through 86 minutes but walked away with a 3-1 win; that match included two stoppage time goals and this week's YouTubeableMoment, the 87th minute equalizer of the highest quality from Jhon Duran.

For late game heroics though we go with Spurs.  They were down 0-1 at home to Sheffield United well into stoppage time.  They were peppering the United keeper without any luck until Richarlison snuck a header in at 90+8.  Not content with the draw, Kulusevski put another in at 90+10.  And they played for another five minutes after that.  You can check out the highlights here (should open to about 8:00 of the clip).  Must have been a contentious day - 27 fouls and 11 yellow cards.  But I can't say for sure as I only tuned in for stoppage time...

Man United Flunk Early Test

Which means of course that Brighton must have passed with flying colors.  The Seagulls appear not to have been troubled much, easily beating back Man United at Old Trafford no less.  Expected goals suggest a slightly tighter contest but at 1.94-.72, this looks like a legitimate A for Brighton.  

Chelsea continue to flounder, putting up a 0-0 draw with Bournemouth.  I did watch have this game on but am hard-pressed to remember much about it, except feeling like Chelsea didn't do anything to deserve the win.  Expected goals at 1.33-1.40 (in favor of Chelsea) suggest that finishing may have been less than clinical.  Also, there were 35 fouls (20 by Chelsea).  Probably part of the reason my attention wandered.  

Fulham got a 1-0 win over still pointless Luton Town while Nottingham Forest played Burnley to a 1-1 draw.  That latter contest would be an excellent video for a referee clinic - a lot of VAR and close decisions.

Forest Green Sighting

A different Forest - Scott McKenna (r) plays for Forest Green,
not Nottingham Forest, in my FM game

I hadn't realized that Scott McKenna, a center back that I acquired this season for my FM Forest Green side, plays for Nottingham Forest.  Fun to see him in action vs Burnley on Monday.  He would have been an accessory to allowing a goal if not for a VAR call that pulled the goal back.  But, he also made a number of important clearances and looked to lead Forest's back line well.  Just like he does for my Forest Green

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place But Didn't

Steve: Did the announcer say Haaland was carrying a piece of fruit when he scored that goal?

Dennis: No, he said Erling took that shot with aplomb.

Buh Bye Supporters Shield

The good news for the Union coming off of 2-2 draws with Cincinnati and Charlotte is that they 1) have clinched a spot in the playoffs, 2) remain just two points behind second place Orlando with a game in hand and 3) sit in fourth place.  The bad news is that 1) their hold on 4th is precarious 2) they pissed away a two-goal lead in the draw with Cincinnati and 3) they had to claw their way back from 0-2 against 12th place Charlotte.

Can we please find some more minutes for this guy?

I could only follow the Cincinnati match through internet updates and did see the highlights.  I'm left with the impression that Cincinnati are probably a better team and just took their time showing it on Saturday night.  As in, the draw feels like a bad result only because we had the lead for awhile.  Kind of like me getting some pars early in a round only to get some double bogeys later; feels crummy but the final score is an accurate reflection of my game.

Charlotte was a little different.  Curtin didn't start some regulars and Elliott was out for getting a two yellows and the requisite red on Saturday.  Not much to separate the teams in a 0-0 first half.  Then Charlotte got two thanks to some loose play and give aways.  On come Carranza and Uhre, then McGlynn and Sullivan.  Turns out the mighty Quinn (apologies to Manfred Mann) Sullivan was the key change.  He came on in the 66th minute and in the 70th minute he worked some great wing play with Carranza, got a return pass in the box and buried. it.  In stoppage time, Mbaizo got tripped in the box and (stop me if you've heard this one) Gazdag converted the PK.  

Second or fourth place would offer some home field advantages for the playoffs, especially given potential opponents like Atlanta or Nashville.

No Messi? No Mercy

Lionel Messi sat out of Saturday's match against Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.  Depending on who you want to believe, it was either because Messi will not play on artificial turf or he was carrying a slight injury and Miami were not willing to risk him at this point.  Atlanta were happy to take advantage and put a 5-2 hurting on the Herons.  We don't think this put a huge dent in Miami's playoff chances as we didn't see them coming away with points here anyway.  Meanwhile, DC United did drop two points in a 0-0 draw with Charlotte.  

On Wednesday vs Toronto, Messi did start but left late in the first half with muscle fatigue and the score level at 0-0.  The Herons went on to win 4-0 anyway.  Down in DC, United dropped two more points with a 1-1 draw against Atlanta.

The math actually got a bit worse for DC United.  Miami's max did drop to 49, a number DC can't reach.  But Miami still have a reasonable shot at 43 points with wins over NYCFC, Chicago and Charlotte twice.  Even with the two draws, DC need eight points in four matches to be sure of beating to get to 44; that's even worse than the 10 points from six matches we cited last week.

The wrinkle here of course is Messi's injury (and Alba's too for that matter).  Miami coach Gerardo Martino tells us there's no way either will play versus Orlando this Sunday.  But that's not really the issue.  The question is will he (they) play in the more winnable matches.  

Europe

Yeah, I know there was a full slate of Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League stuff this week but I didn't get to take much of it in.  Besides Newcastle, the only other action I saw was Villa fall to Legia Warszawa 2-3.  Emery gambled a bit with a heavily rotated line-up and almost got away with it.  Hopefully I'll get to see more in Matchday 2 in two weeks.

Hard Choices

Interesting schedule this weekend, with some odd timing and four Sunday morning matches at 9 am.  At least there's no 7:30 am Saturday game. 

Three choices at 10 am Saturday.  The TV game is Man City hosting Nottingham Forest.  I'm inclined to go with the London Derby between Crystal Palace and Fulham on Peacock; that's likely to be most competitive fixture in this time slot.  Third option is Luton Town - Wolves, which is probably pretty competitive as well.

The NBC feature match is Brentford - Everton at 12:30.  The Bees are a handful at home.  Then there's an added bonus, a 3 pm match on Peacock between Burnley and Man United.  The Red Devils might be a touch angry after last week's defeat to Brighton.

The aforementioned logjam at 9 am on Sunday presents some hard choices.  The North London Derby is big, with Arsenal hosting Spurs.  You'd expect that to be on USA but it's Peacock so you can't DVR it.  But, I'd like to see how Aston Villa handle Chelsea; that's also on Peacock, not DVRable.  Opta says 45.3% to 26.2%  favor Chelsea with a 28.5% chance of a draw.  That sounds a bit pessimistic about Villa's chances given their relative forms.  Also on Peacock is Liverpool - West Ham.  Curiously, the TV game is Brighton - Bournemouth; they are both south coast teams but this is not a derby - they're 100 miles apart.  And it doesn't look like a particularly close contest, arguably the least interesting of the four choices.  Watch it be a barn burner.  

Last but not least, Newcastle continue to get their own time slot.  They'll face Sheffield United away at 11:30 on USA.  This should be a chance to for the Magpies to get things going, even if it is road game.  Opta has Newcastle with 42.9% chance of winning and a 29.6% chance of a draw.  I don't think a single point here is going to satisfy Geordie fans.

I'll be at Subaru Park Saturday night as the Union take on LAFC.  Though not the LAFC of last year, still expecting a tough match here and frankly a draw wouldn't be awful.  We have Wednesday match as well, vs. Dallas, also at home.  More optimistic for a result in that one.

The Miami playoff push is on the road at Orlando on Sunday.  DC United have Red Bull at home.  Miami also have a shot at their second trophy of the season as they face Houston for the US Open Cup.  It's not clear if Messi will be ready for that one.  

The forecast calls for lots of rain, which likely means my referee assignments will be cancelled.  Plenty to watch if that happens.