The 4th Round is in the books for the FA Cup.  Let’s take a quick look at the results and how the next round is shaping up.

Sheffield Wednesday 3 v Reading 1

Manchester United 4 v Yeovil Town 0

Leicester City 5 v Peterborough 1

Southampton 1 v Watford 0

Coventry 1 v MK Dons 0

Hull City 2 Nottingham Forest 1

Milwall 2 v Rochdale 2   Teams will play again to determine who advances.

Sheffield United v 1 Preston 0

Briton 1 v Middlesbrough

Huddersfield 1  v Birmingham 1 Teams will play again to determine who advances.

Notts County 1 v Swansea City 1  Teams will play again to determine who advances.

Wigan Athletic 2 v West Ham 0

Newport County 1 v Tottenham 1 Teams will play again to determine who advances.

West Brom 3 v Liverpool 2

Chelsea 3 v Newcastle 0

Manchester City 2 v Cardiff City 0

So we have 12 teams who have booked their ticket to Round 5 and 4 games will be replayed to determine who advances.

Biggest Shocker of Round 4

Toss up between two.  Liverpool losing to West Brom.  A top 4 team losing to the team ranked 19th in the Premier League.  This is a big disappointment for Liverpool coming off a week where they lost to the 20th ranked team in the Premier league Swansea City.  A really bad week for Liverpool.  The other candidate is the Tottenham tie against Newport County. A Top 5 team in the Premier League getting a tie against a 4th Tier team ranked 92nd and likely to get relegated to the 5th division next year.  Shocking.  Newport County scored first and had a 1-0 lead at half.  Tottenham did not score until the 84th minute.  Wow.  Almost a really, really huge upset.  Classic Davids vs. Goliath.  Look for Tottenham to close this out playing at home on the replay….but you never know.

Of the 12 confirmed teams, (4 replays to go) here is how is sorts out.

Premier League Teams (7): Manchester United, Leicester City, Southampton, Briton Hove & Albion, West Bromich, Chelsea, Manchester City

Championship Level (3) : Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Hull City

League 1: Wigan Athletic

League 2 : Coventry

Final 4 teams may add some more underdog candidates with 2 League 2 teams still alive as well as Championship and League 1 teams alive. Division 2-3-4 teams.

A few highlights from Round 4

Chelsea v Newcastle.  Marcos Alonso.  I never get tired of seeing goals like these!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUCmEpNBqjc

Kane saves Tottenham from a huge embarressment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv8VulP1duU

Really pretty fortunate for the flick on to land at Kane’s feet.  What a touch.  Son with the outside of his right boot as he flies into the air and flicks it to the back post.  Newport was crushed, devastated, as it comes in the 84th minute.  6 minutes from an epic victory. Devastating tie and almost the biggest upset of the tournament.  So close.

The 4 replays will take place February 6-7 and then we will be down to final 16 teams and the 5th round draw to determine the next round of games to get to the Quarterfinals.

Match Week 24 Wrap Up

Match Week 24 completed on Monday this week.  In the last blog I shared that Liverpool , in position #3 going into the week, was playing last place Swansea City, ranked 20th of the 20 teams in the Premier League.  I shared that after the win, Liverpool would hold their top 3 spot and keep their recent run of quality play going.  They had been in excellent form and were cruising up the league table.

Have I also shared that the Premier League is the hardest soccer league in the world…have you heard that yet.  The result of the game is below.

Liverpool 0 Swansea City 1

Holy Toledo, the last place team in the Premier League just beat the 3rd place team in the Premier League and held them scoreless.  Think about that for a minute.  Imagine the Minnesota Vikings or Jacksonville Jaguars (in theory the 3rd best team in the NFL) getting beat by the Cleveland Browns and also getting shut out by the Cleveland Browns.  Does not seem likely it would ever happen, but it routinely happens in the Premier League.  This was a stunning result and  a real buzz kill for the momentum Liverpool was building in the league in the race for the Top 4.  They now sit in 4th, 3 points behind Chelsea and only 2 points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur….I just like saying that name, the Tottenham Hotspur.

Caraboa English Football League Cup

The semi-finals of the EFL Cup were completed this week and we now have the match up for then first Trophy of the Year, Manchester City vs. Arsenal in February for the finals.  Arsenal came from behind 1-0 to beat Chelsea 2-1 on Wednesday.  No secret I am a Chelsea fan and for most of the first half they dominated the game. They only needed a tie to advance based on away goals results.  The early lead was a good sign….but then this happened.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C31rg2W0QU

I have watched a lot of soccer games, as I am sure you have as well.  I have never seen it happen before, not even close.  A triple header, with a double deflection of two Chelsea players and then…if that was not crazy enough…it loops over the top of the goal keeper like a perfectly headed ball.  But it wasn’t…it was just the luckiest, most unlikely goal I have ever seen.  And the Arsenal player, Monreal, is celebrating like he did something amazing.  I don’t know if he realized what occurred.  He thinks he headed it in I guess, but it went off two other players first.  Just dumb if you are a Chelsea fan.  Just dumb!  The official scorekeeper called it an own goal off Rudiger.  1-1 and maybe a sign it was just not meant to be for Chelsea. But at 1-1 Chelsea still advance.

But then this happened.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIjTQZM21bc

Clearly, it was not Chelsea’s night.  After a pretty bizarre goal, Arsenal scores another dumb goal.  If you watch the video, you will see the player out wide right makes a cutback move and then attempts to pass the ball to the top of the box.  It was designed to be a layoff with the hope the player at the top of the 18 could get off a shot.  What does happen is the ball, ricocheted off Rudiger, the Chelsea defender, yes the same Rudiger that just had the own goal, and directly into the path of the Arsenal midfielder Xhaka, for a toe poke goal.  The deflection went like 90 degrees the other direction, not just a glancing deflection, but it goes the opposite direction and right to the Arsenal player.  Like a perfectly delivered pass.  Unreal and again, as a Chelsea fan, just dumb!  I guess pretty cool for fans to see crazy goals, just no so cool for Chelsea.  Two very strange goals and obviously, just not their night.  The soccer gods did not want them to advance to the finals.  Chelsea had a break away later in the game with their best player breaking free around the 18 to go 1 v 1 with the goal keeper.  A pretty good chance he will score to even the game at 2-2.  Again, their best player, strong, physical, great balance.  What happens, the player, Eden Hazard, trips and falls.
Was not touched, did not dive, just lost his footing and fell down.  Must have been some Arsenal grass goonies that tripped him. It was strange on what was for Chelsea, a strange night.  Congrats to Arsenal, but man, that was unlucky!  The only good news, you are not Antonio Rudiger.  What a tough night for him.

FA Cup Round 4

16 games scheduled between Friday and Sunday to complete the 4th round.  After Sunday we are down to the Quarter Final match ups.  Will there be some upsets, I will update you next week if some lower tier under dogs shocked the world!

Match Week 24 of 38 is almost in the books.  Let’s take a closer look at the results and impact.

Race for the Top 4

Things were calm at the top for the first time in a few weeks.  League leaders Manchester City , along with #2 Manchester United, #4 Chelsea and #6 Arsenal all posted wins. One game remains tomorrow with #3 Liverpool playing bottom three Swansea City.  Looks like the top will be unchanged this week.  Chelsea have a chance to resume third on goal differential based on then 4-0 thrashing of Briton on Saturday.  The only wobble in the weekend was #5 Tottenham who were drawn by Southampton and dropped a few points, now 5 points out of 4th place.

Race for the Relegation Zone

Things are heating up in the relegation zone this week with one team making a move out of the bottom three.  Stoke City with a huge 2-0 win over Bournemouth to move from 19th to 17th and currently clear of the zone.  The bottom three, assuming Swansea City can’t pull the huge upset over Liverpool tomorrow will be:

Swansea City   17

West Bromich Albion   20

Southampton 22

One win is huge at this point as the point differential from 12th place Bournemouth with 25 points to 18th place Southampton is only 3 points.  It’s going to be an interesting race to stay in the Premier League.

Goal of the Week Nominations

Some nice goals this weekend but a few I wanted to share with you.  In the Chelsea vs. BH&A game there were two incredible goals.  First up was Willian with a magical goal to go up 2-0.  I counted 6 one touch passes including two back heel passes leading to a one time smash into the corner of the net.  Impressive. The great Spanish National teams coined the phrase Tika-Taka to describe this intricate, quick passing between 2-3 players.  The defense can’t keep up and it is really pretty to watch when it works.  This goal is a great example.  You can see the goal at the :30 second mark in the video clip.  The second goal is in the same game.  A beautiful long pass from Musonda Jr. to a streaking Victor Moses to make it 4-0.  The thing to watch here is the amazing touch and quick shot to beat the keeper.  I am amazed at the ability of these players to pinpoint long passes and also amazed at their ability to touch trap these same passes and then deliver a shot.  Incredible stuff! the Moses goal starts at the 2:38 mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtB2ksDQCxk&feature=onebox

The last nomination is in the Liverpool game.  A sweet build up goal by Lacazette.  Similar to the Willian goal with amazing interplay and quick one touch passes.  More Tika-Taka.  Not as much one touch passing but a nice back heel to create space. Starts at the 1:08 mark of the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJvO3XmXmyo&feature=onebox

Liverpool finishes off the week tomorrow.  Check it out!

With the league in full swing and now passed the halfway point let’s check in on a few of the other competitions in the English Soccer world.  In addition to the League title, teams are fighting to win some hardware in two other competitions.  One very prestigious, the FA Cup, and one focused on the top divisions, the EFL Caraboa Cup, and not quite as significant.

Let’s take a look.

The EFL Caraboa Cup

Much like youth soccer, there are league games leading to a Championship and also tournament options to consider. In the English Football system, one of the annual tournaments is the League Cup.  It is a competition among the top 4 divisions in the system, the Premier League, The Championship Level and League 1 and League 2 that started in 1960.  .  A total of 92 teams can enter each year with the winner gaining entry into the Europa League tournament and also $100,000 pounds.

The competition, starting in early August, is down to 4 teams competing in a 2 game (home and away) format. The first round games are complete.

Manchester City 2 v. Bristol City 1

Chelsea 0 v. Arsenal 0

The next round is scheduled for January 23 and 24th.  Finals are scheduled in February or March pending the teams schedules.  Bristol City is the underdog, coming out of the Championship level, while the other 3 teams are all in the top 6 of the Premier League. Bristol will have its hands full to advance, needing to win the next leg by 2 goals to advance on aggregate. Arsenal v Chelsea is a bit simpler, win and advance.  For those nerds like me, Caraboa is an energy drink.  They are the current tournament sponsor and also have a sponsorship deal with Chelsea FC.  Generally, people in England just refer to this as the League Cup.

The FA Cup

This is the grand daddy of English soccer tournaments.  It was started in 1870 and has run continuous since then.  The winners purse is $2,000,000 pounds.  Yes, that’s 20 times larger than the League Cup.  Some serious cash for the winning team. Entry is available to the top 10 divisions of English football.  It is 100’s of teams who can gain entry into the tournament.  In theory, the local pub team in England can enter and win.  Not likely….but just knowing you could win makes this a really cool event with great history!  In 2011, over 700 teams entered the competition.  Crazy!  Due to the size and scope of the tournament, it starts in August each year and the finals are in May.

Here is what they are playing for…plus that cash we mentioned earlier.

Currently 32 teams remaining as we enter the 4th Round of the Cup. 13 from the Premier League and still 2 from League 2, the 4th level of football. Some serious underdogs.  The next round of games in the last week of January, down to 16.  If any of these lower level teams survive in the Quarter Finals, then we will have a real story on our hands.  There have been 7 winners from the second level in Cup history…let’s hope we get another giant killer this year.

How about some great goals.  Check out the video on Top 10 Goals in FA Cup history.  I was more curious about those uniforms.  Some serious baggy jerseys and some really short shorts.  A little scary.  What were they thinking?  Thank goodness they got this fixed over the years. But you can’t deny these skills.  Steven Gerrard with two wonder strikes. Wow! Top goal is Chelsea…of course!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mlLNDKPUxA

Match Day 24 for the Premier League licks off tomorrow.  Manchester City will try to get another streak going and a real battle to get into the top 4, positions 2-3-4 is brewing between 5 clubs.  Should be interesting. Check it out!

Match Week 23 Update

Well, as discussed yesterday, the game of the week did not disappoint. an instant classic.  Drama, great goals, a comeback, the home crowd was intense.  The story line was significant…undefeated Manchester City against surging Liverpool. A top 4 clash for the ages.

Let’s go right to the highlights in case you don’t know how this one went down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZT6bHpGQ7k

Wow…what a game.  An early wonder strike gets Liverpool the lead but Manchester City fights back for the late first half goal.  You figure they will find a way to keep their record intact. But then the crazy 9 minute stretch from 59:00 to 68:00 where Liverpool scored 3 really amazing goals and hit the post once.  Firmino, Mane and Salah all delivered. The energy in their stadium was electric…Manchester City was going down for the first time this year.  But wait…someone forgot to tell Man City.  An equally crazy 10 minute stretch toward the end of the game got fans pretty nervous.  Goals at 84:00 and one in extra time made it 4-3 with still 3 minutes to go.  And then the penalty at the 94:00 minute mark.  A great kick by Kevin De Bruyne and a diving header by Sergio Aguerro and the ball is tracking on goal.  Looked like it was in…but no…just wide. Wow.  Some fans in that stadium and fans on TV for Liverpool must have freaked out in that moment.  Hearts were racing everywhere.  That was really close to a goal and an amazing comeback.  It was not meant to be on this day.  Liverpool, surging in the past few weeks, takes down Manchester City and moves into 3rd in the table.  Man City has its first wobble of the year.  And the fans…an instant classic and probably the best game in the Premier League this year.  Wow!

A Tale of Two Teams.  Liverpool becomes the team of the week and to counter their amazing week, we have the team under the most pressure in the league, Arsenal.  A team with amazing history who are floundering.  A manager under pressure, top players looking to sign elsewhere in the transfer window, and now a 2-1 loss to the team ranked 17th and near the relegation zone, Bournemouth.  A terrible result for the team and manager.  Pressure building on the club to fire Wenger.  Should be an interesting few weeks for the London club and one of the most popular clubs in the World. Bournemouth up to 13th with the win. A huge result for them.

Original Post

Match Week 23

The week is almost in the books with the Saturday games completed.   38 weeks in the season so pushing past the halfway mark in the season as well. No classic must-see match ups today as the big game is tomorrow as Liverpool face off with Manchester City in a match up of #1 vs. #4.  Liverpool with the chance to hand Man City their first defeat of the year and climb over Chelsea into 3rd.  Chelsea with a poor recent run of games has dropped points recently, with a few ties and has moved from second to 3rd and maybe 4th after tomorrow.

Race of the Top 4

Unchanged in the past few weeks with Manchester City rolling along with an insurmountable lead….per the experts…and still undefeated this year.  Manchester United and Chelsea in second and third but with a few ties in their recent games to only secure 1 point and put no pressure on Man City.  Liverpool hovering in fourth and closing while Tottenham look to be dangerous again and are closing on the top 4.

The Relegation Zone

Here is where all the fun is for the rest of the year…who will fight their way out of the relegation zone. The bottom three is unchanged but the points are changing a bit.

Swansea City in last with 16 points fought hard for a 1-1 draw and a valuable point to get to 17 against Newcastle United, currently 6 points ahead of them in 14th position.  West Bromich Albion, currently in 19th position with a huge win this weekend against 15th place Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0. they are up to 19 points and only 2 points from 17th. Bournemouth (17th) and Stoke City (18th) both play tomorrow against top 4 teams, so a tough ask, but a win or draw would be important points.

The Transfer Window

Things slowing down a bit after the big Coutinho move to Barcelona but still two weeks left and some teams looking for reinforcements.  Please Chelsea, can you secure a striker to help Morata and Hazard.

A Little Saturday Fun with Skills & Tricks

I hope to add some local footage with the U15 Girls now back in training…a little weekly juggling video to challenge the girls and show off some skill.

Manchester City v Liverpool tomorrow.  10:00 A.M. CST.  Take a few minutes from your busy day and check it out.  I will have some highlights for the rest of you.

Quick update on Week 21 of the Premier League.  We have been discussing the amazing run of Manchester City all year.  Thru 20 matches they were 19 wins and 1 draw.  They had an 18 match winning streak and were on 58 points, a record setting pace for points in a season and also with a 14 point lead just past the midway point of the season, also a record lead.  So what happened today?  They were playing the 17th place team in the league, Crystal Palace.  Top team on a record pace against the 17th placed team, just barely above the relegation zone.  A blowout right, 3-0 or 4-0 would be the expected result in a game like this.

But hey, this is the Premier League…anything is possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yRyFnK1tfo

Pretty amazing really, the 17th placed team ties the best, and probably should have won.  Premier League is really hard….have I said that before.  As well, some seasons you just get the feeling things are destined.  Manchester City just continues to find ways to win and in late games when they are at risk,  have found ways to get a late goal.  Today, it was the PK save to keep their unbeaten streak alive.  Luka Milivojevic, the Crystal Palace player who took the penalty, had never missed a penalty as a CP player, 5 for 5 over his career with Palace.  Automatic…right…wrong.  It was a really awful attempt, kicked it low and right at Edison, the MC keeper.  Really no chance to score.  The PK was a bit soft so maybe fair he missed it.

There was some bad news for Manchester City coming out of the game.  In a perfect season so far, they now will face a bit of adversity to keep their record point total and remain undefeated.  Two key injuries.  Their most effective striker this year, Gabriel Jesus, and their best midfielder and maybe the best midfielder in the Premier League, Kevin DeBruyne, both went out of the game with injuries.  Jesus with what appears to be a leg or knee injury.  DeBruyne was blown up late in the game and unclear the status of his injury.  He was stretchered off, so could be serious. Man City are deep and have quality players to drop in like Sergio Aguero so likely they don’t miss a beat…but…this is the Premier League.  Maybe a loss is on the way.  I’ll be watching!

Manchester City is now 19-0-2 after 21 weeks.

Here are a few other record setting seasons they are chasing.

Chelsea 2004/2005.  29-8-1 for 95 points.  Only 1 loss on the entire season.  95 points is the current points record in Premier League. The team went on to have 49 matches without a loss into the next year.  One of the top teams in Premier League history.

Arsenal 2003/2004.  26-0-12 for 90 points.  The only team to go undefeated in League play in Premier league history.

Chelsea 2016/2017. 30-3-5 for 93 points.  Most wins in a Premier League season at 30.

Manchester City has the opportunity write their name into the record books in 2017/2018.

Week 22 starts Monday.

It Christmas season and one of the gifts we receive is Premier League football.  The holiday season brings us games, games, and more games.  Weekend games and midweek games mean we have soccer opportunities all over the television.  I hope you are checking it out and hopefully have some vacation time, sitting by the fire, watching the weather channel show we are going to be below zero all week and deciding….what a great day to relax and watch a soccer game.

It’s Saturday and we are working our way thru Matchday 21.  What are the story lines to keep up with?

Manchester City. Still has not lost a game this season.  It is really pretty amazing in a league as competitive as the Premier League that they have a current record of 19 wins and 1 draw.  Incredible.  A few fortunate games where they scored late to earn a win or a draw.  With all the games being played and the extra tournament games in the Carabao EFL Cup, FA Cup and Champions League…now is the time to nick a game from them….we’ll see.  They just keep rolling along.

Relegation Zone is heating up.  Teams in the bottom three and making moves to jump start their campaign and find a way to get out of the bottom three and maintain their position in the Premier League. Swansea City fired their coach last week as they have been floundering at the bottom all season.  They replaced Paul Clement after less than a year with new head man Carlos Carvalhal.  Why do team make these mid-season changes.  Seems crazy to us in the states, but the pressure to stay in the Premier League is incredible.  Does it work….well the first week proved positive.  Swansea City just beat Watford 2-1 today to move from 13 points to 16 points and from the 20th position up 1 spot to 19, but more importantly, just two points from safety.  They will be challenged all year to stay in the league but the first week with the new coach was big. Bournemouth moved from 19th to 13th with a big win today over 9th place Everton.  The 3 points vaulted them 6 spots. Currently 6 teams are within 3 points of the 18th position.  It is going to be a crazy battle to finish 17th or higher and stay in the league.   Two big wins today for teams in the bottom three

Battle for Champions League is holding Steady. The top 4 is unchanged in the past few weeks.  Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool all holding down their positions and creating a little distance on the next four. Tottenham and Arsenal both have a chance to close within 1 point of Liverpool and the 4th spot later this weekend.

Current Table

We are halfway thru Week 21.  Here is where we stand.

Manchester City  19-1-0  58 Points.  Still on record pace.

Chelsea  14-3-4  45 Points.

Manchester United  13-4-3  43 Points.  Play later today.

Liverpool  11-8-2  41 Points.

Full Table.

https://www.google.com/search?q=premier+league+table&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1-ab#sie=lg;/g/11c74zg7g7;2;/m/02_tc;st;fp;1

On to some Highlights.

Liverpool v Swansea.  Some great goals in a blowout over Swansea.  This is the game that forced Swansea to make a coaching change.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmS_hBcE1Xw

Harry Kane Hat Trick.

This week marked a record for Premier League soccer.  Harry Kane now holds the record for most goals in a calendar year. (Premier League season runs over into the new year). He scored his 39th goal of the year this week .  What makes it even more amazing is that it was a hat trick (3 goals) after scoring a hat trick last week as well.  Back to Back.  Crazy Good! He surpasses legend Alan Shearer who scored 36 goals back in 1995 when he was leading Blackburn Rovers to the title.  As another sign of how difficult the Premier League is….Blackburn Rovers, who won the title in 1995, are now in the English League 1, two levels down from the Premier League.  From the pinnacle of English soccer to the third level.  Man this league is hard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4FtpvqF8h4

Lots of matches this weekend still to catch as well as more mid-week games.  A busy soccer season.  Check it out!

Okay Soccer Fans…..lets get caught up on the week of soccer in the English Premier League.  Week 18 was just completed so we are almost at the half way point of the season.  Things at the top are not changing much as the current Top 4 are:

League Standings

Manchester City  17-1-0  52 Points.  18 games without a loss and only 1 draw.  52 of 54 points.  On pace to set a record for points.

Manchester United  13-2-3  41 Points.

Chelsea   12-2-4  38 Points.

Liverpool   9-7-2  34 Points.

Top 4 is a big deal.  If you don’t win but finish in the Top 4 you qualify for the UEFA Champions League.  Champions League is big money.  Teams stuff their pockets with cash when they play in Champions League.  Top players want to play and win Champions League to fill out their resumes and earn big money contracts.

The bottom 3 is a title race all unto itself.  You DO NOT want to finish in the bottom 3 and get relegated down to the Championship Division.  Lost revenue, lost sponsor money, lost TV money, Club revenues drop significantly and players tend to jump ship.  Teams really fight much harder to stay out of the relegation zone than they do to win the League.  Coaches get fired, regularly, if a team is in the relegation zone.  Its happened a few times this year already!

Here is the race for the bottom 4.

Stoke City   4-4-10  16 Points.

Newcastle United   4-3-11   15 Points.

West Bromich Albion   2-8-8   14 Points.

Swansea City  3-3-12   12 Points.

So you can see…the race to stay out of the bottom 3 is much tighter than the race to win the league.  I am telling you…these games for these 4 teams are much more tense than you can imagine.  The pressure to win, to earn just a tie and 1 point is epic.  When they play each other, it is like a serious playoff game.

Here is the full table of results for all 20 teams.

https://www.google.com/search?q=english+premier+league+standings&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1#sie=lg;/g/11c74zg7g7;2;/m/02_tc;st;fp;1

Week 18 Results

Chelsea 1 Southampton 0

Crystal Palace 3 Leicester City 0

Huddersfield Township 4  Watford 1

Brighton 0  Burnley 0

Arsenal 1  Newcastle United 0

West Ham United 3  Stoke City 0

Manchester City 4  Tottenham Hotspur 1

Manchester United 2  West Bromich Albion 1

Liverpool 4  Bournemouth 0

Everton 3  Swansea City 1

Lets get to some Highlights

Game of the Week:  Manchester City vs. Tottenham Hotspur.  This should have been a great game.  #1 vs. #7.  Big players for both teams.  Could Tottenham put some pressure on Man City and record their first loss of the season.  Well….a big No to that one.  Manchester City continued their unbeaten romp thru the Premier League and destroyed Tottenham.  It could have been much worse than 4-1…they left a few goals out there…although I am not sure how the first Raheem Sterling goal was not offsides.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3lUhX5wECA

Goal of the Week: Marcos Alonso from Chelsea vs. Southampton.  Of course I picked a Chelsea player….but hey…its my blog!  So for the novice soccer fan, take a close look here.  See how Chelsea sets up two players to potentially take the kick.  A right footed player and a left footed player.  Southampton sets up their wall and once Chelsea sees the wall is more set up to defend a right footed kick from Willian, they switch off and have Marcos Alonso take the kick.  He actually bends the kick around the wall…not over the wall.  The keeper is set up further right to defend Willian and he gets surprised by the Alonso kick.  Still…what a free kick.  Amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr4uZp46T30

Ted Lasso Strikes Again.  If you follow the blog you will remember a video I posted featuring Ted Lasso, an American football coach taking over Tottenham Hotspur.  Here is the second video in the series.  More fun stuff that I think you will enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRqypM7jb5Y&t=13s

Working on some Indoor League ideas..Stay Tuned.

The Round of 16 is now official.  The draw was completed on Monday and the games and dates are set.  Let’s take a look.

Next Round.

Juventus (ITA) v Tottenham (ENG)

Basel (SUI) v Manchester City (ENG)

Porto (POR) v Liverpool (ENG)

Sevilla (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG)

Real Madrid (ESP) v Paris Saint Germain (FRA)

Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) v Roma (ITA)

Chelsea (ENG) v Barcelona (ESP)

Bayern Munich (GER) v Besiktas (TUR)

Game Schedules

Okay soccer fans, time for a little World Soccer update.

I know everyone is now locked into the NFL season, trying to figure out if and when Aaron Rodgers will return to play QB for the Packers and can they somehow earn a playoff spot.  College basketball is in full swing.  Duke is #1, shocking, but they just lost….excellent.  The UK Wildcats, my alma mater, are in the top 10 while starting 5 freshman.  Crazy.

But…did you know there was another significant sporting event this weekend.

MLS CUP.

How many of you knew that.  Not many I would guess.  MLS Cup is not yet required viewing for the sports fan in the US.  MLS has had a record year of attendance, but still has a way to go before sports fans make this an event they schedule around and throw watch parties.  Regardless, lets take a look so you can outsmart all your soccer friends with your amazing soccer knowledge.

TORONTO FC 2 SEATTLE SOUNDERS 0

For the first time ever, a Canadian club has won the MLS Cup.  Lets look at some highlights.  In a game dominated by Toronto FC but scoreless until the 66th minute.  Jozy Altadore, of USMNT fame, scored the first goal and a late extra minute goal (94th minute) ended the game at 2-0.  Toronto earned the most points in MLS history and was a deserving Champion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Of7z3iVBh0

Premier League Match Week 16

Manchester City continues its domination of the Premier League this week, setting a new Premier League record with 14 consecutive victories.  That is a really amazing stat, 14 in a row in the toughest league in professional soccer.  Most experts agree, the title is likely over, Man City has an 11 point lead and the season is not quite half complete.  They are on a record pace to earn the most points ever in a Premier league Season.

Manchester City   46  (out of a possible 48.  15 wins and a draw)

Manchester United   35

Chelsea   32

Liverpool   30

Here is the full table.

https://www.google.com/search?q=premier+league+standings&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1-ab#sie=lg;/g/11c74zg7g7;2;/m/02_tc;st;fp;1

Game of the Week.  Manchester City 2 Manchester United 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXZycYBnOjg

Controversy of the Week.  Liverpool 1 Everton 1.  Was it a penalty?  You decide…around the 2:20 mark.  But don’t fast forward or you will miss the goal of the week by Mohammed Salah.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-8ki54UiGs

Man these guys are good!