Match Day 2 is in the books! An interesting week with some foreshadowing of the season ahead of us. Our first real clash of potential League winners as Tottenham took on Manchester City. Our first big VAR controversy as well. It didn’t take long. Love it or hate it….VAR is here to stay!
The Game of the Week was Tottenham vs. Manchester City at Man City. A clash of two of the Top 3 from last year and likely 2 of the 3 who have a real chance at the League title this year. The game lived up to it’s billing. Here are some highlights.
Manchester City dominated portions of both halves but as can happen in soccer, found it difficult to score. The game’s scoring picked up 20 minutes in with some excellent play from city and a well crafted cross and header. Tottenham responded with a quick strike to tie. City continued it’s possession game and Kevin DeBruyne served up his second assist of the game for a 2-1 halftime lead. Some pretty interesting second half goings on. First, in what was the 2nd fastest goal from a sub in the past 5 years, Lucas Moura entered the game in the 56th minute…… and 14 seconds later scored….yes, that’s right 14 seconds. Okay maybe it was 18 seconds, but oh my, what a substitute that was by the coach. You jog out onto the field for a corner kick, slip into the crowd, the kick launches, you leap…header,…bam….goal! Wow! 2-2. And then the controversy. After Tottenham survives assault after assault on their goal. Shot after shot and is about to scrape out a well earned tie, at the 92nd minute with time running out, Manchester City finally finds the goal on a corner kick. The ball deflects over to Gabriel Jesus who takes a touch and curls in the game winner. The crowd goes nuts, the players celebrate, the announcers call it the clear game winner. But funny thing, the center ref is just standing in the box. He is pointing at his forearm and listening to his headset. Just calm as can be. It becomes clear after a few minutes that they are not restarting the game. There is a VAR challenge for Handball. And the Goal is REVERSED. Oh my! New hand ball rules in FIFA this year state that any goal or action leading to a goal where there is a handball, even if accidental, will lead to a disallowed goal. In the slo-mo replay the initial ball that looked like a glancing header was actually a deflection off the Manchester City player’s forearm. That’s accidental, but it was a handball. VAR caught it correctly. Don’t hate VAR, hate the rule if you are a City fan. And if a Tottenham fan, isn’t VAR amazing! That was a valuable 1 point for Tottenham and a boost of confidence to gain a point at City early in the season. Watch out for Tottenham.
Race for the Title & Champions League Top 4
We had 6 winners for the week:
- Arsenal 2-1 over Burnley to start 2-0 for the season.
- Liverpool with a 2-1 win over Southampton to match Arsenal.
- Everton eases past Watford 1=0.
- Norwich City with their first win as a promoted team, 3-1 over Newcastle.
- Bournemouth over Aston Villa 2-1.
- the early surprise Sheffield United with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Top of the Charts Win-Loss-Tie
- Liverpool 2-0-0. 6 Points.
- Arsenal 2-0–0 6 Points.
- Manchester City 1-1-0 4 Points.
- Manchester United 1-1-0 4 Points.
- Brighton 1-1-0 4 Points.
- Tottenham 1-1-0 4 Points.
Bournemouth, Sheffield United and Everton each with 4 coming in in spots 7-8-9.
Relegation Zone
Early days but someone has to be at the bottom. Three teams have not earned a point and bring up the 18-19-20 spots.
18. Newcastle 0-2-0 0 Points
19. Southampton 0-2-0 0 Points
20. Watford 0-2-0 0 Points
Match Day 3 Preview
Game of the Week. #1 Liverpool v #2 Arsenal. We had #1 v. #3 last week, so we up it a bit and get the first #1 v. #2 of the season, and not the two we expected. Liverpool—yes, Arsenal—no! This is a huge game for Arsenal. Just like Tottenham, Arsenal needs to prove they belong in the Top 4 conversation as well as the title conversation. A win makes a huge statement to the league and to the players themselves. Can Liverpool take over the favorite spot….can Arsenal open the race even further this year. Must see TV for sure. Saturday at 11:30. Check it out.
MLS Update
Teams are thru 26/27 of the 34 games schedule and here is an update on the Standings.
Eastern Conference (Top 7 make the playoffs)
- Philadelphia 45 Points 26 games
- Atlanta United 45 Points 27 games
- NYCFC 44 Points 25 games
- NY Red Bulls 41 Point 27 games
- DC United 39 Points 28 games
- New England 35 Points 26 games
- Toronto FC 34 Points 27 games
American Conference (Top 7 make the playoffs)
- LAFC 61 points 26 games Points
- Minnesota United 42 points 27 games
- La Galaxy 41 points 26 games
- Real Salt Lake 40 points 26 games
- Seattle Sounders 40 Points 26 games
- San Jose 38 Points 26 games
- Portland 37 Points 25 games
High School soccer is fast approaching. More to follow in the coming weeks!