What Now?

The frantic spring is about to be replaced with a relatively quiet early summer.  A month or so of light viewing might not be a bad thing.

PSG Celebrate: This is definitely a major award

I managed to get through the weekend without hearing the Champions League result so it was with some anticipation that I sat down to watch the DVR late Sunday afternoon.  The excitement was short-lived.  PSG was on the front foot from the opening whistle and had a 2-0 lead on Inter within 20 minutes. Though the match wasn't officially out of reach until later in the second half, it was essentially over.  With the third goal at 63 minutes, I started fast forwarding, pausing only briefly to check out the goals at 73 and 86 minutes.  The final 5-0 score seemed about right.

Desire' Doue had two of the goals in the 5-0 rout and got Player of the Match for his efforts but this felt like a true team effort.  Not to minimize the individual effort, the goals seemed like inevitable result of good passing and players knowing where they needed to be on the pitch.  Check out the first goal, this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Note that had Hakimi not been there to put it away, it would have simply rolled to another teammate who would have put it away.  "Put it in the Louvre" indeed.

Always A Bridesmaid

Dennis points out that Aston Villa fell to PSG in the Quarterfinals, 5-4 on aggregate. They also lost to eventual FA Cup winner Crystal Palace in the semis of that competition.  He is using that information to claim that Villa are the second best team in the world.  

Opportunity Missed

This is by no means a comment on the wedding reception - it was an awesome party - but Dennis's teammate Jeremy and I did check in on the Union's progress.  Our expectations were stepped up when a Dallas defender got a second yellow late in the first half.  By the second half we were watching on Jeremy's phone.  And growing more disappointed by the minute.  The final, 0-0, was a lost opportunity for the Union.  A few stats tell the frustrating story.  Possession was 63/37, shots were 23/7 and xG was 2/.6.  On the other hand, shots on target were 1/2; that's right, out of 23 shots, just one was on target. Clinical finishing was in short supply.  The lineup was heavily rotated and maybe the congested match schedule finally took its toll.

Turning to the positive, Cincinnat lost to DC United so despite the less than thrilling result, the Union have a four point lead at the top of the conference at the halfway mark.  

What Are You Doing for Summer Vacation?

Well, the MLS schedule continues.

Looking forward to Sullivan's USMNT debut
Photo: Elizabeth Robertson/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Then there's the Concacaf Gold Cup, which runs from 6/14 to 7/6.  Details can be had here.  Key points are there are four groups of four, top two in each advance from group stage and it's three knockout rounds from there (quarters, semis and final).  This competition is only about money and bragging rights.  For the USMNT, it is their only "competitive" action before the 2026 World Cup because, as a host country, they do not have to go through qualifying.  The team has a noticeable Philadelphia Union flavor with seven current or former players on the roster for this competition.  Current starters Quinn Sullivan and Nathan Harriel will make their USMNT debuts.  Union alumni include the brothers Aaronson (Brenden and Paxten), Mark McKenzie, Matt Freese and Jack McGlynn.  I guess we could count Zack Steffen as well since he was briefly with the Philadelphia Union academy.

The other competition to follow is the FIFA Club World Cup.  The tournament was originally set up as a competition limited to just the winners of each confederation (Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, "North America" and Oceania) championship.  But, like everything in soccer, if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing for the purpose of making more money.  So now we have a 32-team tournament that runs from June 14th to July 13th.  This year the tournament is being held in the US, with several matches at Lincoln Financial Field.  Our group decided to pass on the group stage mismatches and even the Round of 16 knockout match.  We did however score tickets for the Quarterfinal match on July 4th.  We can't be exactly sure of who will be left at the point but potentially it could include two of Bayern Munich, Benfica, Chelsea, Porto, Atleti and PSG. 

The full schedule for Club World Cup can be found here.

There are also two more match days in European WC qualifiers running from June 6-10.

So, it won't be a desert but it won't be the daily viewing we got used to over the last few months.

We are going to take a two week vacation so the next post will be June 20th.