Bubble Didn't Burst Yet

Good results continue to pour in.  How long can it last?  Six of ten EPL matches ended in a draw.

An Acceptable Draw

Jacob Ramsey lowers his transfer fee to goals ratio
from $27m to $18m (Photo:Scott Heppell/Reuters)

We knew Bournemouth would be tough.  The Cherries manager Marco Rose had a game plan that effectively interrupted Newcastle's ability to move the ball.  When an own goal from Thiaw put Bournemouth up 2-0 at 35 minutes, things looked bleak.  The match turned a mere two minutes later on this pearl of a goal from Harvey Barnes. The team woke up and the crowd was back.  The Magpies were the better side in the second half but didn't grab the equalizer until the 88th minute.  The goal came on a precise shot from the top of the box by Jacob Ramsey, whose Newcastle career is still a work in progress.  Momentum at that point was such that a win didn't seem out of the question but it ended 2-2.

It seemed like a draw was a fair result but stats are telling me different.  Other than possession, they tilt in the Cherries favor, with shots 17/8, shots on  target 5/2 and xG 1.54/.81.  Rallying from a two goal deficit was cool though.

Two Out of Three Ain't Great (apologies to Meat Loaf)

Aston Villa entered the weekend's match with Hull City shotless, goalless, and pointless.  They did register a shot on target (two actually) and came away with a point for the 0-0 draw.  You'll notice that still leaves them goalless and winless so we're not exactly celebrating.  Watching live it felt like the Villans dominated and deserved more but maybe it was just the massive possession advantage (76/24).  Shots weren't all that different, though xG did favor Villa 1.66/.73.  

Spurs are basically matching Aston Villa with their poor start.  They could only manage a 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest.  Sure it was their first point but like Villa, they are still goalless and winless.  

The Rest of the Draws

Brighton got a 71st minute goal to rescue a 1-1 tie at home to Leeds while Sunderland went until the 82nd minute to get their equalizer for a 1-1 draw with Brentford.  Everton waited even longer, almost too long, to get their 2-2 draw with Man United.   This was a pretty lively contest that went down to basically the last second.  We make Maitland-Niles late equalizer this week's YouTubeableMoment.

At the Top

In the feature match up, the final was only 2-1 but Arsenal looked much better than Chelsea.  Somehow, the outcome never seemed in doubt. I didn't see the match so I have no idea why Man City was only a 1-0 winner over Coventry City.  With Hull City's draw at Aston Villa, these are the only two left with perfect records after just three weeks.  We note that predicted last place finisher Hull City are still in third.

EPL Perfect in Champions League

Aston Villa finally got goals and a win away at Club Brugge. Man City dispatched Porto, also on the road.  Arsenal dominated Napoli but slinked home with a 1-0 win.  Liverpool and Atleti played a tough match at Anfield with the Reds eventually prevailing 2-1.  And Man United cruised 4-0 over CL debutants Sabah.

Edu That Voodoo That You Do

Regular readers know that we are admirers of Nuno Espirito Santo and were quite annoyed last year when he got sacked by Nottingham Forest just three games into the season.  Difficulties with newly appointed Global Head of Football Edu Gaspar were among the reasons cited.  Also recall how Forest then proceeded to go through a string of managerial sackings that included Postecoglou (10/20/25), Dyche (2/12/26) and Pereira (7/1/26).  Now we read that Edu has been terminated from his position - details here.  This just enhances my opinion of owner Evangelos Marinakis.  All that chaos for a guy he doesn't even keep for 15 months.  Though I like many of the players, I'm rooting for them to be relegated.

How Little We Carabao It?

Didn't even know there were some third round matches this week.  Newcastle got past Millwall 1-0 with a late goal from Willock.  More matches next Tuesday - Thursday.

Trap Avoided But Barely

Certainly the first half versus Montreal played out like a trap game.  Though I was only following on my phone, Dennis live at Subaru Park confirmed that it was exceedingly boring.  The second half, which I did see, was an improvement but not awesome.  Danley got the Union up 1-0 at 57 minutes with a scruffy looking goal.  That lead looked like it would be short-lived after Pierre was whistled for a foul in the box but Owusu delivered perhaps the worst PK evah - a weak effort right at Blake.  Cavan Sullivan added the insurance goal at 75 minutes.  Stats indicate the Union dominated but somehow this still felt like a shaky effort against one of the weaker teams in the division.

Nightmare at Subaru Park for Cincinnati: Three assists for
 Cavan and a goal plus two assists for Quinn

They were back at Subaru Park Wednesday for what was expected to be a tougher test against Cincinnati.  After an indifferent opening complexion of the match changed when Nwobodo got sent off for a dangerous challenge on Westfield.  Graham noted at the time that this was not necessarily a good thing as Cincinnati would now park the bus and the Union are not very good at breaking down opponents in that situation.  And for the next 30 minutes or so, that's exactly what happened, to the point where you felt that Union were getting too tense and tentative.  Fortunately at 43 minutes, Quinn Sullivan forced a foul just inside the box and he deftly dispatched the PK for a 1-0 lead.  Things got even better when Damiani took a precise pass from Cavan Sullivan to make it 2-0 in first half stoppage time.  For the second half, the Union did not come out looking to protect the lead but rather to add to it.  Which they did.  Damiani got his second at 49 minutes courtesy of a nice pass from Quinn, then completed his "natural" hat trick with a third at 61 minutes, this time with the help of Cavan.  By this point they were playing so loose, like it was practice.  A late PK made the final 5-0.  

For a brief time, the win slipped the Union into 7th, a real playoff spot as opposed to a play-in slot, but Orlando's win over Atlanta leapfrogged them past both Philadelphia and Cincinnati.  The glass is half full people note that the U didn't mess up the trap game and then got the win in what was theoretically a sterner test.  The glass is half empty types say that it's hard to view the Cincinnati match as a serious test since they played most of it a man up so what have we learned.  Those who don't give a crap about how much water is in the glass point out the Union got six points.    

Still Crowded

And with refereeing starting up... 

No Friday fixture or 7:30 Saturday match so that's helpful.  It's a packed 10 am time slot.  Our choice is definitely Aston Villa - Nottingham Forest; we are definitely looking forward to Villa getting their first goals and first win.  We kind of expect Chelsea to burst Hull City's bubble and Liverpool to keep Fulham pointless.  Either Palace - Ipswich or Bournemouth -Brentford could be entertaining to the neutral.  The feature match at 12:30 on NBC is intriguing as two clubs in disarray - Spurs and Everton - face off.  And we have a "special" 3 pm fixture with Sunderland hosting Arsenal.  

Sunday is light but does include a Manchester Derby.  Coventry City host Brighton at 9 before Man United take on Man City at Old Trafford at 11:30.    The match week concludes on Monday at 3 with Newcastle traveling to Leeds.  We'd like to think this is a good chance for a W but the Magpies form is  bit misleading.

No Champions League but fear not, midweek football in the form of Europa League fixtures is available.  Sunderland play AZ Alkmaar Wednesday at 3 while Bournemouth face Real Sociedad and Palace take on Lech Poznan Thursday at 3 pm.  

And there's Carabao Cup action too.  We draw your attention to the Liverpool-Spurs fixture at 3 pm on Tuesday.  

The Union have a road match out in San Diego on Sunday at 9 pm.  Their overall performance hasn't been great they have been tough at home, with six wins and three draws in 12 matches.