Distracted Viewing

Caught a surprising number of matches despite a busy weekend.  In truth, much of it was distracted viewing.  For example, I watched the end of Liverpool-Spurs while doing initial set up for the concert.

Routs

Distracted viewing works better when the match is a blowout and you'd have to say that seven of the ten matches were not close.  Happily, one of those was Newcastle's 4-1 win over Burnley.  It all seemed pretty easy.  Heck, even Sean Longstaff scored.  The window is slowing closing on Burnley's time in the top tier.

Actually it was four; Haaland had a good day
Photo: Richard Sellers/PA via AP

Chelsea flattened West Ham 5-0, ending the latter's hopes for Europe next year and probably ensuring that David Moyes will not be managing the Hammers next year.  In fact, later in the week, West Ham announced that Moyes will "leaving next year."  I guess technically that's not an in-season sack but it's sure close.    Crystal Palace put a dent in Man United's plans for Europe with a 4-0 win at Selhurst Park.  At this point you have to wonder if even winning the FA Cup will save ten Hag.  Liverpool made hash of Tottenham in a 4-2 win that was nowhere near as tight as that scoreline suggests.  Not a surprise but Man City blew past Wolves in a 5-1 final.  Haaland had four in that one, likely sealing another scoring title for him.   At a measly 3-0, we can't call Arsenal's win over Bournemouth a blow out.  It was more of slow and steady outing in which the Gunners did just what they needed to.

Relegation Watch

Down at the bottom, Nottingham Forest had their turn with Sheffield United and got a 3-1 win.  Luton Town managed just one point against Everton and as we noted above, Burnley took it on the chin.  Forest are now up three on Luton Town and five on Burnley.  Big advantage with just two to play.

What If They Had A Match and No One Played?

As we mentioned last week, nothing was at stake in the Brentford - Fulham match and both sides played like it.  This was a 0-0 draw with a total of six shots on goal.  

Tired Legs?

Injuries and a deep run into the Europa Conference League looked to have finally taken a toll on Aston Villa.  They fell at home last week to Olympiacos, then struggled at Brighton on Sunday, losing 1-0.  They managed just two shots and just one on goal.  The sting of that one was probably lessened a touch when Tottenham lost later in the day, meaning they maintained their seven point lead over Spurs.  The Villans looked a bit more lively against Olympiacos in the second leg of that semi-final on Thursday but fell 2-0 in that one too, losing the tie 6-2 in aggregate.  Though they haven't clinched it yet, they do still look like a good bet for fourth and the Champions League spot for next year.

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place But Didn't

Steve: Is one of the Olympiacos defenders named Marinara?

Dennis: No, it's Retsos.

Now You Raise the Flag?

We have written in the past about the directive to assistant referees to keep the flag down for offside if they feel it is a close call.  Let the play continue and if a goal results, the VAR can always review.  We are generally okay with this policy but feel that there are times when the ARs are too cautious.

Given the directive, we were stunned by two aspects of the offside call against Bayern Munich in stoppage time of their semi-final against Real Madrid.  Bayern had appeared to score the equalizing goal but the play was called offside.  You can see the play here.  First, have you seen a play that better fits the situation where the AR should keep the flag down and let the play run?  Textbook tight call in a crucial situation.  But second, and more importantly, referee Marciniak blew the whistle when he saw the AR's flag go up.  That meant that VAR could not intervene.  ESPN provides a good break down of the issues here.  As noted in the article, we will never know whether he was offside.  Several sources are trotting out pictures that claim one or the other but those are not reliable compared to the semi-automated process used in CL matches.

So Real Madrid advance after scoring two late goals to come from behind.  They will face Dortmund, who moved past PSG 2-0 on aggregate, in the final.

A Closet Full of Ties

Missed another Union match, this one a 2-2 draw away to DC United.  On the one hand, it's another two points dropped.  On the other, they rallied once again from a 0-2 deficit with goals from Bedoya and McGlynn.  The latter's laser strike in the 79th minutes is this week's YouTubeableMoment.

While we were keeping DC United at bay, Charlotte were slipping past us with a 2-0 win over Portland.  The bigger issues may be social media posts by Blake and Martinez.  Blake's comment was "When you are no longer happy it's time."  Kind of vague but when coupled with earlier comments about ownership's lack of ambition, somewhat unsettling.  Martinez made a post that suggested he was less than pleased about being subbed off in the Seattle match.  He took down the post but not before people noticed it.  

Football Manager/Peacock Crossover Event?

Forest Green defender Football Manager
Charlton defender in real life

While rewatching Parks and Rec on Peacock we caught the trailer for a new show Love Undercover.  The show's premise:

In the hot new Peacock Original dating show Love Undercover, five international soccer superstars come to L.A. on a secret quest for the one. The men take on fake, everyday identities and try to win over a group of unsuspecting women who have no knowledge of their outrageous fame and wealth, with finding true love as their #1 goal. So who are these men, really? Take a look!

Sounds like a can't miss hit.  Sure.  We mention it only because one of the five players is Lloyd Jones, who has been an incredibly reliable center back for my Football Manager Forest Green side.  He's in his fifth season with Forest Green, one of the few who's been on the roster all through our journey from League Two to the Premier League.  His ratings are consistently over 7.0.  His career in reality hasn't been quite as successful and I'm not sure I would call him an "international superstar."  He currently plays in League One.  

 

Not Much Time Left

More matches with no implications this weekend and not all the ones that matter are intriguing.  Choose wisely.

Arsenal will be hoping the same Man United that showed up for the 0-4 pasting against Crystal Palace is on the pitch at Old Trafford on Sunday at 11:30.  Man City have a much easier task, taking on Fulham at Craven Cottage.  Note that although Arsenal still lead by a point, Man City have a game in hand.  City have Spurs on Tuesday and West Ham on the final Sunday.  Arsenal will face Everton on the final Sunday.

We are interested in the Aston Villa Liverpool contest on Monday at 3 pm.  A Villa win would clinch 4th place and the CL berth while simultaneously ending Liverpool's title chances.  Newcastle cannot clinch a spot in Europe this weekend but a win at home versus Brighton would be a big help.

The right (or wrong depending on your perspective) set of results could end the relegation battle.  Should Nottingham Forest beat Chelsea they will essentially be safe from relegation given their massive goal differential advantage over Luton Town.  The same holds true for Luton Town - a loss against West Ham will all but confirm their ticket back to the Championship.  As for Burnley, even an unlikely win at Spurs is probably not going to be enough to save them either.

You can skip Bournemouth - Brentford and Wolves - Crystal Palace and Everton - Sheffield United.

Besides the City-Spurs contest, there are two other midweek fixtures involving teams still in the hunt for Europe.  On Wednesday, Newcastle will face Man United at Old Trafford and Chelsea travel to Brighton to face the Seagulls. 

We will miss yet another Union match as they will take on Orlando at 7:30 at Subaru Park.  It's on MLS Season Pass.