No Hardware This Year

With Barcelona's second half onslaught leading to an 8-3 aggregate loss, Newcastle is now officially out of the running for any hardware this year.  The Union is officially out of Concacaf Champions League and sucking wind in MLS play.

On A Brighter Note

Newcastle's week did get off to good start with a surprise 1-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.  Guimaraes is still out and Tonali was absent due to illness so the 2 in the 4-2-3-1 were Willock and Ramsey.  Ruh roh.  Both came through big time.  The game's only goal came on a through ball from Livramento to Willock, who waited just long enough to make the pass to Gordon, who despite nearly blowing the first touch, slotted the ball in for the game winner.  We make it this week's YouTubeableMoment.

The stats are somewhat mixed, suggesting maybe the Magpies stole this one.  Possession was 67/39 and shots were 22/7 in favor of Chelsea; on the other hand shots on target were 5/3 and xG was 1.41/1.39 favor Newcastle.  Watching, it felt like the win was deserved.  

The three points notwithstanding, Newcastle are officially out of the title race.  Actually, they were mathematically eliminated last week but I just didn't notice.  So there will be no trophies Tyneside this year.

ICYMI

Blues on three everybody?

The first image from the Chelsea - Newcastle match was quite jarring.  There stands referee Paul Tierney in the middle of Chelsea's huddle (see picture left).  Tierney says it wasn't his fault, he told them he wasn't moving off the midfield spot.  Of course opinions abound on this issue, ranging from the optics were horrible and Tierney should have moved to Chelsea were being disrespectful.  However, as detailed here, it looks as if Chelsea were told specifically not to do the huddle around the kickoff spot.  If true, then Tierney's error was in not sternly telling them to move their party elsewhere.

And Another Thing

BFS Spurs' correspondent Michael B suggests that Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior is actually Darryl Nelson, the actor who played Elaine's "black" boyfriend on Seinfeld.  Hmm, come to think of it, have you ever seen them together?

Villa Still Ailing

Granted going to Old Trafford to face a new manager bouncing Man United side wasn't the best way to get back in form.  And, they did play somewhat better.  The problem of course is that "somewhat better" is not good enough for a top five finish.  The game was close on the scoreboard for a while until Man United pulled away with goals at 71 and 81 minutes.  The 3-1 final felt about right, although note that xG was 1.1/1, barely favoring Manchester.

Signs of Life From Spurs

Relegation is still a threat however as all six of the bottom sides picked up a point this weekend.  Still, this was important as Spurs were down 0-1 at Anfield but played a solid second half and fully deserved the 1-1 draw and the point.  West Ham, on the other hand, clearly stole their point from Man City.  The final was 1-1 but the stats were highly skewed; possession was 71/29, shots 24/1, shots on target 6/1 and xG 2.03/.54.  Yes, West Ham scored on their only shot of the day.  Didn't see Burnley -Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest - Fulham or Crystal Palace - Leeds and that looks to be a good thing as all three were 0-0.  Wolves' 2-2 draw at Brentford was a good watch; the problem for Wolves is that one point at a time will not get them out of the bottom three.

Realistically, there is little to no hope for Burnley or Wolves.  The last relegation spot however is up for grabs:

15. Leeds - 32 points

16. Spurs - 30 points

17. Nottingham Forest - 29 points

18. West Ham - 29 points

Spurs' superior goal difference over all three rivals is essentially worth a point.

Is The Race Over

Thanks to Man City's draw with West Ham, Arsenal's lead grew to nine points as they beat Everton 2-0 on two very late goals.  One of them was from Max Dowman, who at 16 years and 73 days became the youngest goal scorer in Premier League history.  You can see the play here. Don't want to be too much of a spoil sport here, but, notice that his run came after a stoppage time corner when every Everton player, including keeper Jordan Pickford, were crammed into the Arsenal penalty box.  So, his solo run was unopposed and he put the ball into an untended goal.  Just sayin'.

Three Goal Leads Are Tough to Overcome

Not much of an improvement for EPL sides in Europe this week.  Chelsea surrendered a goal right away, then allowed two more to complete their 2-8 loss to PSG.  Man City gave up a goal and had a man sent off at 20 minutes.  Somehow they managed to only lose 1-2 for a 1-5 aggregate loss.  At least Spurs scored the opener and cut into their three goal deficit.  That set up a back-and-forth with Atleti that ended with a 3-2 Spurs result but a 5-7 aggregate loss.

Of course, you don't have to start with a three-goal deficit to get blown out.  Newcastle were 1-1 starting the day, fell behind quickly, responded, fell behind again, responded, then gave up five unanswered.  The first half was possibly one of the most fun 45 minutes of the year; well, except for Trippier's late foul in the box (which could have been DOGSO) that put Barca up 4-3.  Things fell apart from there and ended in an 8-3 aggregate loss.

So the EPL is left with just Arsenal (2-0 second leg for 3-1 overall against Leverkusen) and Liverpool (4-0 second leg versus Galatasaray for a 4-1 win).  

Europa Cup results were better as both Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest advanced to the quarter finals.  Crystal Palace also advanced in Europa Conference League play.

Fast Forwarded Through the Union

It has come to this.  We dvred the Union vs Atlanta because it started while the Newcastle -Chelsea match was still in progress.  We got an ominous text from Dennis's teammate Jeremy (who by the way as a Wolves and Union fan deserves a special place in heaven) before we even started to watch the game.  Still we plunged in.  The first half offered little reason for optimism, with Atlanta scoring in the 28th minute with a goal from the awesomely named Emmanuel Latte Lath.  The U had a chance to level right before half time but Iloski could not convert the PK.  When Atlanta scored early in the second half, Dennis and I looked at each other and I knew what to do - move to fast forward.  Note that you can still follow the game so we felt the decision was correct after we saw Atlanta add a third at 68 minutes.  We did get to see Anello's nice but irrelevant header goal at 88 that made the final 3-1.  

A curious stat is that xG was 3.0/2.3 favor the Union.  Even taking out the PK, that suggests a level xG from open play.  I can't say that it felt that way viewing, though maybe speeding through leaves the wrong impression.  With Atlanta, Orlando and New England picking up their first wins, the Union fall to the bottom of the table, the only pointless side in the Eastern Conference MLS.

Move to mid-week and there was a moderate improvement in their 1-1 draw with Club America in Concacaf Champions Cup play.  The bad news is that wasn't a goal from open play but another PK.  Also, the 1-1 draw meant a 2-1 aggregate loss so the Union are out of this competition.  Buried deep in MLS standings, though it is early, it is hard to see the Union taking home any trophies this year.

And Another Thing

We also found out about this:

Major League Soccer has suspended Philadelphia Union sporting director Ernst Tanner without pay through June 1, 2026 for violating the policies and standards of professional conduct required of league and club leadership.

More details can be had here.  Sorry, but this leaves me feeling that the organization is not just poorly run but is morally bankrupt.  Same for the MLS.  The allegations were out there and supposedly both the Union and MLS investigated but took no action.  Then, a reporter for The Guardian published a story about the situation that looked so bad that MLS and the Union "reopened" the investigation.  And the upshot is this three month suspension?  Hard to think this is not a slap on the wrist. Then look at Tanner's statement:

“I regret the impact that this situation has had on the Philadelphia Union organization and its supporters.  I remain proud of my work with the Philadelphia Union and look forward to my return and future work with the team.”

He's basically saying I'm sorry if you were offended by my actions, not I'm sorry for what I did.  I don't care how good a job he did as a sporting director, this is not cool.

The "We Fired Nuno and Now Face Relegation Derby"

Nottingham Forest and Spurs face off in a critical match fraught with relegation implications.  Hey wait a minute.  Wolves fired Nuno too and they now face relegation.  And West Ham hired Nuno and find themselves in the relegation mix too.  As my investment advisor consistently reminds me, past performance does not guarantee future results.  However, none of Wolves, Forest or Spurs were relegated when Nuno was in charge so we're going with West Ham to stay up.

Tiny Weary Derby

People are certainly making a big deal of Sunday's Newcastle -Sunderland Tyne Wear Derby.  As Dennis has asked in the past, are these derbies more of a thing for fans than the players?  Both these sides are pretty much buried in mid-table with no threat of relegation but little chance of qualifying for European competitions.  I just want the three points and it doesn't matter that Sunderland is the opponent.  But then I live 3,415 miles from Newcastle so what do I know?  Newcastle are big favorites  - 61/19 at Opta.  That's at 8 am on Sunday (England moves their clocks forward Sunday at 2 am).

The "bigger" fixture is the EFL Carabao Cup final between Man City and Arsenal, Sunday at 12:30.  They play at Wembley and the match is on Paramount+.  Opta has Arsenal as the big favorite at 52/25 with a 23% chance of the match going to extra time.  

That final means a truncated EPL schedule.  There is a fun Friday 4 pm fixture between Bournemouth and Man United.  Saturday has games lined up all day but they won't exactly leave you drooling:

8:30 Brighton - Liverpool

11 Fulham - Burnley

1:30 Eveton - Chelsea

4 pm Leeds - Brentford

On Sunday at 10:15, we have the Nuno Derby referenced plus Aston Villa vs West Ham. 

Between the FA Cup action next weekend and the international break, the EPL will be off until April 10th.

If you can stomach it, the Union are home versus Chicago at 4:30 on Saturday.  

After seemingly non-stop football for most of the winter, the schedule won't be as demanding for a couple of weeks.