Didn't Mean to Be Mean to Ruud

So Newcastle roughed up Ruud van Nistelrooy's Leicester squad, pouring cold water on their new manager bounce but we really needed an easy W like that.  Especially when easy W's seem in short supply right now.

Jacob Murphy's brace could have easily been a hat trick
JAMES GILL – DANEHOUSE/GETTY IMAGES

Newcastle were all over Leicester from the opening whistle but didn't convert until the 30th minute, leaving me fully expecting to see a goal against the run of play.  Not this time, as the Magpies executed a corner play fresh off the training ground, as seen here.  Not that a 1-0 lead at half felt all that great.  Quick second half goals at 47 and 50 minutes pretty much put the thing to bed.  Murphy's second goal at 60 left no doubt.  Certainly on the screen, 4-0 looked about right (actually even a little light given some missed chances) and the stats fully back it up - possession 59-41, shots 27-4, shots on target 11-1 and xG 3.75 - .23.

Not According to Form

Martinez could only do so much to save Aston Villa
Photo:SkySports

On balance, you'd have to say the weekend was full of surprises of varying degrees.  I put Newcastle's rout in that category, though maybe not the biggest.  Liverpool went down a goal, then down a man to Fulham.  Diogo Jota rescued a 2-2 draw for the Reds.  Everton managed no shots on target and just 23% possession but still came away with a 0-0 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates no less.  Man City contined to puzzle as they looked listless for most of the match and eventually surrendered two late goals to fall to Man United in one of the more tepid Manchester derbies in recent memory.  Aston Villa duplicated that feat, allowing Nottingham Forest goals at 87 and 90+3 minutes in a 2-1 loss.  That match featured this incredible save from Emi Martinez.  

We'll include Crystal Palace's 3-1 beat down of Brighton in the non-derby derby in the list of surprises.  I include the Ipswich 2-1 win over Wolves in the group too but Dennis says Wolves are prone to late collapses so it wasn't a shock.  Thanks to Newcastle's strong showing I was able to turn one eye to the last 30 minutes of this match and it was proper relegation six-pointer.  Ipswich got the game winner at 90+4 minutes on this header from Jack Taylor.  

All of these failures to follow form are highly entertaining to the neutrals but not so much to the partisan ending up on the wrong side of the decision.

Late Goals

I counted five matches with goals after 85 minutes that affected the results:

- Liverpool in 86th minute to get a draw with Fulham

- Ipswich in 94th minute to get a win over Wolves

- Forest in 87 and then 93 to get the win over Villa

- Man United in 88 and 90 to get win over City

- West Ham score in 87 but Bournemouth get equalizer in 90th

Fleeting Grab My Ass AKA This Week in Refereeing

Several incidents of note that became talking points this week.  ESPN has a more complete review here.  I'm mostly interested in the non-penalty call against Elliot Anderson for his pullback on Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers. You can see the play here.  The word from the VAR was that Anderson's tug was a "fleeting grab."  Really?  ESPN argues that refs do seem reluctant to make that particular call but it certainly looks like a foul to me and deserved at least a look on the monitor.  I think it's likely that Sam Barrott would have concluded he made a mistake.  However, he would also notice that he missed the shirt pull on Anderson by Rogers; he didn't quite pull it over Rogers' head but it was clear.  Former EPL referee sums up nicely what should have happened:

I think it's a foul [by Rogers on Anderson before he enters the box] and he [Anderson] then grabs hold of him going into the box. I think it's then a penalty but I think the best outcome here in fairness is the VAR to recommend to the referee to go to the monitor so he has all options open. He then would have seen Rogers ripping his [Anderson] shirt right off his back and he can then give a free-kick [to Forest]. You've got the same net result of no penalty but people accept it better because that's actually happened.

Right, don't try to justify the non-call on a clear pull, but don't overlook the shirt pull in the build-up.  Seems much more honest.

I Come to Bury Antony, Not to Praise Him

Et tu Lee Dixon? Antony got a hard
 time from USA announcers

The USA broadcasting crew gave Man United winger Marcus Matheus Antony a pretty hard time on Sunday.  As Antony came onto the pitch in the 78th minute of the Manchester derby, Lee Dixon noted:

He's scored one goal in his last 40 Premier League games.  If you think he's made up for it with assists, you would be wrong.  That is a very round number.

Effing brutal as Dennis points out.  He also notes that this was perhaps not the unkindest cut of all.  During the pre-game discussion about Amiron's interesting line-up choices, one of the Robbie's said:

You wonder what Rashford and Garnacho did to not be on the bench but Antony still is.

Ouch again.  We note that United did get two goals after Antony entered the match but that may be as relevant as the fact that both came right after I went to the bathroom.

Lee Dixon was also vocal about Kyle Walker's flop after contact with Hojland.  Seen here, Dixon is absolutely correct that Walker should be embarrassed and the internet is having a field week with the footage.

BFS Halo Effect?

Last week, we did have a clip of a University of Vermont golazo and noted that UVM was playing in the NCAA semi-final Friday night vs Denver.  The Catamounts leveled that match at 1-1 in the 84th then beat Denver 4-3 in penalty kicks to advance to the final against Marshall.  In the final they again fell behind but equalized in the 81st minute before winning on a golden goal about five minutes into the first overtime period.  The winning goal came from Maximilian Kissel, seen here in this week's YouTubeableMoment; a true thrill of victory agony of defeat scene in the aftermath.  This was UVM's first national soccer title and we note that it comes after we mention them in BFS.  Coincidence?  Totally.  

Holiday Three Pack

As is usual, the schedule makers have contrived to cram three match weeks over the holiday period.  One is this weekend covering Saturday/Sunday, one is the Boxing Day extravaganza that runs Thursday and Friday and the last goes from Sunday to Wednesday.  Surprisingly there are some off days in there, including a very rare footballless Saturday (12/28).

Newcastle's schedule has them at Ipswich on Saturday, home versus Aston Villa on Boxing Day and at Old Trafford on Monday 12/30 to face Man United.  I realize that it is silly to say the expected haul could range from zero to nine points.  But, all three fixtures are tricky yet are also winnable.  We really should beat Ipswich, even at their place.  Villa are tough but we are home.  And Man United are a real enigma.  Zero seems unlikely but three or less could easily happen.

With so many fixtures, I'll just try to suggest what could be highlights, fully cognizant that my track record is not so good.

We would watch anyway but think the 7:30 Saturday matchup between Aston Villa and Man City is one to check out.  For some reason, I'm always more optimistic about Villa's chances in games like this compared to Newcastle.  Sunday's best choice looks like Spurs - Liverpool at 11:30.  As a warmup, you might want to check out a relegation six-pointer at 9 am between Leicester and Wolves.

For Boxing Day, though I'm biased, Newcastle - Aston Villa looks like the best choice.  In fact, we have a beef with the schedulers who chose Bournemouth - Crystal Palace over the BFS derby for the USA game.  It's not even the seconde best choice - Nottingham Forest vs Spurs looks more interesting.  Actually the Thursday/Friday contests are mostly upper table versus lower table affairs.

Slight schedule change next week - we will post on Saturday rather than Friday as the match week doesn't start until Sunday.  Enjoy the holidays - watch football whenever you can.