Matching 3-0 wins for Newcastle and the Union. Uninspiring FA Cup semis.
Ten or Eleven Doesn't Matter
Newcastle were doing okay against Ipswich everywhere but on the scoreboard. With the score still 0-0, the Tractor Boys decided to make it a bit easier by getting Ben Johnson sent off for a second yellow at 37 minutes. The first yellow for a dive was maybe a bit harsh but the second was fair. The Magpies got another break when Jacob Murphy was grabbed in the box in first half stoppage time and Isak converted the penalty. Newcastle added two in the second half and the 3-0 final says it all. Alas, it also means Ipswich are going back down to the Championship.
BTW, VAR official Matthew Wilkes has taken heat for his decision to send Michael Salisbury to the monitor on the Murphy foul. You can see the play here. Once again, the focus is misplaced. Wilkes did not tell Salisbury to overturn his call, just to take another look at the play. The decision to overturn is completely Salisbury's. And how can you then take Wilkes to task for recommending the review when Salisbury himself, after the review, decided he got it wrong?
Action Elsewhere
Kind of a sleepy weekend. Chelsea slipped by Everton 1-0 and Man United rescued a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth on a second half stoppage time goal. Biggest news is that Liverpool clinched the title with an easy 5-1 win over Spurs. Brighton and Fulham kept their slim hopes for a berth in Europe alive with a 3-2 win over West Ham and a 2-1 win over Southampton respectively.
The other consequential result was Brentford's 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest. With Newcastle, Man City and Chelsea all getting wins, Forest slipped from third to sixth in the table. Their chances for a Champions League berth took a serious hit, though they still look good for one of the other two spots.
I Hate This Place These Places
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Moyes: Get me the hell out of here
Photo credit:Imago |
David Moyes ran his Premier League winless streak at Stamford Bridge to 20 matches with Saturday's 1-0 loss. He's got seven draws and 13 losses over that span. Additional research reveals that this is only his
third worst venue! In 20 matches at Anfield and he's got no wins and just six draws. But his real "Little Shop of Horrors" is Old Trafford, where across 17 matches he has just four draws, or .24 points per game. See the chart below for some other managers' nightmare locations.
Note that with the loss to Chelsea, Moyes' record at Stamford Bridge ties him for 10th on the list with Harry Redknapp.
Meh
Two less than scintillating FA Cup semis. Aston Villa never got untracked and fell 3-0 to Crystal Palace. The match was so bad, Dennis suggested I could skip the replay. I did go through the replay with generous use of the FF button. He was right. Man City - Nottingham Forest was no better. City scored in the second minute and Forest never really threatened. They only managed one shot on target.
Don't Break Out the Flippies Yet
The EPL's allocation for European competitions this year is:
Champions League: 1-5
Europa Cup: 6 and FA Cup Winner
Europa Conference League: Caraboa Cup Winner
However, given the high probability that the FA Cup and Caraboa Cup winners will finish in the top six, any team within shouting distance of 8th place should definitely not be breaking out the beach attire at this point.
This mind-numbing article from ESPN provides a more comprehensive explanation but key things to watch are:
1) Does Newcastle finish higher than 7th?
2) Does Arsenal win the Champions League but finish lower than 4th?
3) Does Man City win the FA Cup but finish higher than 6th?
4) Does Chelsea win the Conference League but finish higher than 6th?
I'm going with a definite yes for 2) and 3) but 1) and 4) are by no means sure things at this point. Neither Chelsea nor Newcastle have an easy path to the finish and they face each other at St. James' Park on 5/11. Let's say for the moment that Newcastle make the top five and Chelsea finish 6th. So the top five would go to the Champions League. Chelsea would go to Europa Cup (regardless of whether they win this year's conference league and so would 7th place (in Man City's place). And, 8th place would go to Conference League in Newcastle's place.
Note that up to 10 teams could make Europe this year. Half the league makes it to "playoffs?" What is this, the NBA?
Another Misleading Result
The scoreboard says 3-0 for the Union over DC United but that seriously overstates the U's performance. They got opened up several times in the first half and were lucky to be up 1-0 at half time. BFS Goalkeeping Expert Graham R, who attended the match, said they were better in the second half but still thinks the final score is quite misleading. Expected goals, at 1.9-1.1 favor the U, backs his opinion. The good news is they are getting results against bad teams. The bad news is that the U probably aren't as good as their record. May is a crowded month and includes matches against Columbus and Miami so stay tuned.
Just Keep Going
Full EPL calendar plus all the second legs of the European semis. The chase for spots in next year's European competitions makes some of the EPL matches relevant.
We have a Friday 3 pm fixture between Man City and Wolves; who doesn't like Friday afternoon football regardless of who's playing? The early 7:30 match is important, with Aston Villa hosting Fulham; this is probably win or give up on Champions League hopes for the Villans. The two 10 matches might be contested in flippies; we have Leicester - Southampton and Everton - Ipswich. The "feature" 12:30 match doesn't excite either, with Arsenal hosting Bournemouth.
Sunday is more interesting. Well, not the London Derby between West Ham and Spurs but the other two 9 am matches are relevant. Brentford are still clinging to a shot at 8th place so they'll need to beat Man United. The best choice is clearly Brighton hosting Newcastle. That's probably the tightest match of the weekend, Newcastle need the points to solidify their Champions League aspirations and Brighton still have an outside chance for a spot in Europe too. The 11:30 match - Chelsea vs Liverpool - is critical for the Blues, not so much for the newly crowned league champions.
Add in a Monday match with meaning as Nottingham Forest continue their fight for a Champions League spot with a trip to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace.
For the European stuff, just reverse everything they did last week. In Champions League semis, Arsenal are in Paris, down 0-1 to PSG on Wednesday. Inter and Barcelona continue their epic struggle, level at 3-3; the replay of that first leg is worth checking out even if you know the result. Here's a spoiler, Thuram's goal 30 seconds into the match, this week's
YouTubeableMoment.
In Europa Cup semis, Spurs and Man United switched back to their "innie" versions and will take decent leads into the second legs. Spurs handled Bodo/Glimt 3-1 and United went 3-0 on Athletic Club. Chelsea also take a lead into the second leg, up on Djurgarden 4-1. Those three second leg matches are on Thursday.
The U are in Canada to take on Montreal Saturday at 7:30.
So football every day this week. Woo-woo.
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