Premier League Week 16, Turkey Bowl and Other Fun Facts

Week 16 is in the books. The Top 4 remains intact but Chelsea are in a little bit of a funk and dropping points while Manchester United is finding its form and closing the gap. Liverpool….still undefeated…. is sitting on a 8 point lead and the surprise of the year, Leicester City is rolling along in second and separating a bit from 3rd and 4th. We get a slight midweek break as teams are off to Champions League and Europa League qualifying games. We start the Christmas rush soon. Get ready!

Winners this Week.

1. Everton beat Chelsea the week after firing their coach, 3-1.
2. Liverpool rolls on with 3-1 win over Bournemouth
3. Tottenham are fired up under new coach Mourinho, 5-0 over Burnley
4. Leicester City stay hot, 4-1 over Aston Villa
5. Manchester United takes down Man City 2-1.
6. Newcastle United with an important win, 2-1 over Southampton
7. Sheffield United takes down Norwich City 2-1

Game of the week. The Manchester Derby was the highlight of the week. Manchester City has owned this rivalry in the past few years. Manchester United has not quite found their way in the years after Alex Ferguson retired. But City have not quite been themselves lately. Dropping points uncharacteristically recently. So we were all very curious how this one would go. Manchester United have been hot lately, riding the Marcus Rashford wave to a series of big wins. Lets look at the highlights.

So VAR giveth and VAR taketh away. City had claims of a handball that VAR reviewed…VAR said no way. And moments later, Marcus Rashford is bungled down in the box with a hip and the Referee says no….but VAR takes a look….and VAR says YES. That’s only the third time all season that a referee has been overturned by VAR on a penalty call. Interesting. Manchester United fans will feel it was the right call. Looking at the replay, I am okay with the call….but always tough when you overrule the referee. Manchester United controlled chunks of the game and the 2nd goal was a nice shot but a bit of sloppy defending as well. The late Man City goal kept it interesting….but a well deserved win for United. Has United started to take back Manchester? Time will tell.

Race for the Top 4

1. Liverpool 15-1-0. 46 Points and still undefeated on the year.
2. Leicester City 12-2-2 38 Points
3. Manchester City 10-2-4 32 Points
4. Chelsea 9-2-5 29 Points
5. Manchester United 6-6-4 24 Points
6. Wolverhampton 5-9-2 24 Points

Tottenham, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace and Newcastle round out the Top 10. Arsenal playing tomorrow and a win gets them into the 9th spot on goal differential. Amazing that only the Top 4 clubs have won more than 6 games in 16. More balance this year than I can remember. If you lose you can drop 3-4 spots in the standings. Uff Da!

The Relegation Zone

There are currently 7 teams within 3 points of the relegation zone. Everton, who we recently spoke about had a big win this week. After firing their coach and appointing a Club legend Duncan Ferguson as interim coach, the crowd and stadium were rocking on Saturday. A few defensive gaffes by Chelsea and a newfound energy and passion for soccer, led Everton to a win. Every win and 3 points becomes critical with it being that crowded in the middle. Everton (17), Bournemouth (16), West Ham (16) and Aston Villa (15) hanging just outside the zone. West Ham can elevate themselves all the way to 13th if they can take down Arsenal on Monday. The current bottom three include:

18. Southampton with 15 Points. 19. Norwich City with 11 points. 20. Watford with 9 points.

Game of the Week—Week 16

There are three games this week that caught my attention. All impacting the Top 4 battle and Top 6 placement.

Manchester United vs. Everton. Will the momentum from the Chelsea win carry over for Everton or will the confidence of beating Manchester City be the difference for United.

Wolverhampton vs. Tottenham. A #6 vs. #7 battle. The winner stays in touch with the top 6 while the loser drops back a bit. A big momentum game for either side.

Arsenal vs. Manchester City. Manchester City should win this one, but Arsenal is now playing in a bit of desperation mode. Man City needs it, Arsenal needs it….so a big game for two perennial powerhouses.

Champions League Update

The annual competition of the top clubs in Europe is well under way with teams having played 5 of the 6 round robin matches to date. The Final Round 6 starts next week and will complete the 16 Teams advancing to the knock Out stages. There are 8 groups of 4 each. The leaders of each group:

1. PSG (France) and Real Madrid (Spain) will advance.
2. Bayern Munich (Germany) and Tottenham (England ) will advance.
3. Manchester City (England) will advance. 2nd team is to be decided.
4. Juventus (Italy) will advance. 2nd team is to be decided.
5. Liverpool (England) will advance. 2nd team is to be decided.
6. Barcelona (Spain) will advance. 2nd team is to be decided.
7. RB Leipzig (Germany) leads the group.
8. Ajax (Netherlands) leads the group.

Eau Claire Turkey Bowl

When the weather gets cool and Fall is upon us…then we know its time for the Turkey Bowl in Eau Claire. An annual tradition…not sure when it started…but I do remember watching games for 11-12 years. All my boys played in the tournament and most teams I have coached put teams into the tournament. Its competitive, but also a ton of fun. Not a ton of coaching, more just let the kids play and have fun. Games are small sided 3 v 3 and are quick…12 minute halves…and the field is small….so lots of shooting and lots of goals. I had the chance to go check out this years tournament this past weekend. I saw teams from Eau Claire, Menomonie and Chippewa Falls. Good stuff! I always love watching the younger players….the next generation of players just starting their soccer journeys. It’s also a weekend where siblings end up playing against siblings and teammates end up playing against teammates. That makes for fun but then who do you cheer for 🙂 I feel for the parents and coaches…but at the end of the day…FUN prevails and all is good! I had the chance to get a few goals on the day.

And this was my favorite photo of the weekend. Check out the socks! These girls got in to holiday spirit and wore their fancy Christmas Socks. So cool. Love the attitude. They finished second in a sudden death 12 minute overtime game….but hey….in my book they are winners. And look at those smiles. Oh my….melt your heart!!