Spoiler Alert - Everybody Ties

Well, not everybody but there were draws in several of the key matches.  Hopefully you didn't follow last week's viewing advice too closely as many of the matches did not pan out as we had hoped.  There was good viewing to be had, just not where we expected.

One Dimensional Offense

Gordon Not - Pickford denies the PK

Some kind of power glitch caused our DVD to malfunction so I only saw the last 20 minutes of Newcastle's 0-0 draw with Everton.  This turned out to be a good thing.  For the third straight match, the Magpies failed to score from open play.  Also for the third straight time, a penalty offered them the chance for a result.  Except this time Anthony Gordon's weak attempt was easily saved by Jordan Pickford.   The Goodison Park faithful were eminently pleased to see the ex-Toffee mess up.  He also missed a pretty good opportunity late to steal the match as well.  Guess it's true you can't go home.

It's hard to win with an offense that relies on PKs, especially when you miss them.  Clearly the side is missing Isak, who may or may not be back for next Saturday's match versus Brighton.  That they are seventh in the table maybe speaks more to mediocrity of everyone below Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal; the Magpies still look no better than upper mid-table.

Incomplete for the Course

Our high hopes for the Aston Villa - Man United match were not realized and we were treated to a 0-0 draw and not the good kind of 0-0 draw.  We saw this as an important test for both sides and regrettably we must give them both incompletes.  Though Man United may be the slightly happier of the two, the draw leaves them in 14th place with just eight points, their worst start to a season in 35 years.  For Villa this was a chance to put down a marker as a nouveau top four that went begging.

So Where Was the Better Viewing?  

Almost anywhere.  Crystal Palace - Liverpool was a tight 0-1 win for the Reds.  Fulham did not exactly go quietly into the night, making Man City work for a 3-2 win.  Brentford - Wolves had five goals between them by 28 minutes; that one ended 5-3 favor the Bees.  We didn't get to see the Chelsea - Nottingham Forest 1-1 draw but that looked pretty tense, especially with Forest down a man after 78 minutes.  

"Best" match of the weekend was probably Brighton - Tottenham.  Spurs went up, fairly easily, with goals by Johnson and Maddison; leading 2-0 at half they seemingly had everything in hand.  Shockingly, Tottenham proceeded to allow three unanswered goals and by 66 minutes, they were down 3-2.  We make Welbeck's game winner this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Other than possession, the stats suggest this was result was about right.  The win moved Brighton past Newcastle and into sixth place.  Arsenal's 3-1 win over Southampton keeps them level on points with Man City; the Gunners and City remain the only two unbeaten teams.

In other news, Michael B announced he no longer follows the EPL.

The Window Is Closing

The Union got off to a terrible start in Columbus, falling behind on a Hernandez goal in the 4th minute.  Nathan Harriel got one back at 25 minutes but the U couldn't keep it level until half time as Farsi got one in the 41st minute.  A second goal by Hernandez looked to have put the matter to rest but McGlynn responded quickly so there was still hope they could scratch out a point.  Alas, it was not to be and the 3-2 final leaves the Union's playoff hopes dangling by a thread.  I won't be able to calculate the exact numbers until Opta puts up its predictions next week but the scenario can be described in one sentence:

Union beat Cincinnati AND either DC United lose to Charlotte OR Montreal lose to NYCFC

Playing around with some win percentages, it turns out the probability isn't as low as I would have guessed.  It's probably going to be something in the 14-18% range.  That's better than Lloyd Christmas territory, though still very much a long shot.  

 

International Break

We've been clear that international friendlies are not our cup of tea.  We will be making an exception this week when Mauricio Pochettino makes his debut as the USMNT manager.  They have a match with Panama Saturday night (9 pm on TNT) and another against Mexico on Tuesday (10:30 pm also on TNT).   Not sure exactly what I'm hoping to learn about the team except maybe to see if there is any chance to their system of play.

Normally, we'd be getting ready for the World Cup qualifying process but for 2026, as one of the host nations, the US get an automatic berth.  I wonder if this is a good or bad thing.  Pochettino will be taking a team to the World Cup that will have very limited (no?) competitive opportunities before the tournament.  

Short post I know but not as much action as usual, I missed a lot due to refereeing, and my dog ate my homework.  Also, the sun was in my eyes.