So I am still trying to get over the Liverpool news from last week.. They lost, wow. I mean I am not a Liverpool fan, but that was so fun to watch and follow the streak. In a season where the title is all but decided, we had the streak to follow. So now what….how do we keep things interesting. We will just have to move on I guess.
And now that Liverpool have lost, I can now get super excited about the recent Chelsea v. Liverpool FA Cup Round of 16 game. Yes, I am a Chelsea fan, lets start there. I was really torn in cheering a little for Liverpool all season to not lose a game. But hey, we just decided we were moving on right, so is it okay to gloat a bit about Chelsea’s recent win over Liverpool. After all their wins in Premier League it was strange to read that they had lost 3 of their last 4 games when you include FA Cup and Champions League games. In honor of Chelsea….had to drop this in.
The Willian goal was a bit of a gift, but he almost scored like 10 seconds earlier, so maybe that was fair to get the goal. The Barkley goal was amazing. Not very often you see a 60-70 yard run that starts in your own half and is just one long extended dribble and then at the end, a shimmy, a shake and boom…. a wonder goal for the ages. I have watched it multiple times and just a fun goal. Such a long run and he shows great speed and ball control and just finds the perfect time to strike it into the corner. Well done Ross Barkley! And somehow Chelsea kept Liverpool off the score sheet. Liverpool now needs a win to get back on track. Spoiler Alert!! They did get a win this weekend and so maybe they will start a new record attempting winning streak!
Match Week 29 Recap
Let’s take a look at the winners this past week as the race for top 4 and relegation are still very much alive and well. The score of the week was definitely 1-0. Four matches ended 1-0 this weekend so at least it made so some exciting soccer, and a bit of drama.
- Liverpool get back to their winning ways, 2-1 over Bournemouth.
- Newcastle United with a 1-0 win over Southampton.
- Arsenal with the same score, 1-0 win over West Ham United.
- You guessed it, Sheffield United with the 1-0 win over Norwich City.
- Crystal Palace with the final 1-0 winner over Watford.
- Chelsea smashing Everton 4-0.
- Manchester United with a big Derby win over Manchester City 2-0.
Dropped in a little Manchester Derby highlights. An interesting game…..Manchester City had 72% possession but fewer shots on goal than Man United. That seems weird for sure. Manchester City GK Ederson had a touch day. Most games he stops the first goal, but just could keep this one out and then in stoppage time, a clearance on a ball rolled out of the box, gets returned in the form of a long shot….and it goes in. Never seen that before. Just a strange one, but for Manchester United a really huge win as they continue to press for a Top 4 spot and Champions League play next year.
Race for the Top 4
Liverpool is a run away leader. How does the rest of the table look.
- Liverpool 27-1-1 82 points.
- Manchester City 18-3-7 57 points.
- Leicester City 15-5-8 50 points.
- Chelsea 14-6-9 48 points.
- Manchester United 12-9-8 45 points.
- Wolverhampton 10-13-6 43 Points
Sheffield United (43), Tottenham (41), Arsenal (40) and Burnley (39), round out the top 10. The big recent moves have Chelsea and Manchester United starting to get organized and playing better and trying to make a move on Leicester City. As well, the story of the year…after the Liverpool streak…must be Sheffield United. Newly promoted this year, their first time up in awhile, and they are sitting in 7th with a game in hand and could take over 5th and only 2 points out of the Top 4. What a story. Can they keep it going or will the pressure get to them. Quite a run this year.
The Relegation Zone
There are now 6 teams within 3 points of the relegation zone and fighting to stay up. And three of these teams all sitting on 27 points. Something must give soon and someone needs to break out of the group and lock down their spot. Who will it be. Brighton sit in 15th with 28 points, West Ham United 16th at 27 points and Watford 17th and also sitting at 27. The current bottom three include: 18. Bournemouth at 27 points 19. Aston Villa at 25 points 20. Norwich City 21 points. A tight race for sure.
Game of the Week. Match Week 29. Manchester United face another tough test. Can they get a streak going. Tottenham are faltering a bit and really need this one. A huge game for Top 4 implications.
#5 Manchester United vs. #8 Tottenham Hotspur.
FA Cup Update
The Quarterfinals are set. Just 8 teams remain to win the glory that is the FA Cup. And unfortunately, the real underdog stories are now crashed out of the tournament. All the remaining teams are from the Premier Leaguer. The only true underdogs are now the bottom of the table teams fighting for glory and respect. Here are the next round games scheduled to be played March 21st.
- #5 Manchester United vs. #20 Norwich City
- #7 Sheffield United vs. #9 Arsenal
- #3 Leicester City vs. #4 Chelsea
- #2 Manchester City vs. #13 Newcastle United
MLS Is Back!
The new season kicked off this past weekend. Lets see how things look after just 2 games played. 4 teams have started 2-0 and lead their conferences. In the East…Atlanta United are 2-0 and on top. In the West, three teams tied at the top, Sporting KC, Minnesota FC and the Colorado Rapids. In honor of our local team, the Loons, here are some Minnesota FC highlights. 7 goals. wow. But the good guys got 5!!