Premier League Wrap Up
The Premier League wrapped up a week ago amid a flurry of exciting games, exciting finishes and a little drama…..as the Champions League places and relegation battles were still to be decided on the final day.
Some of the key story lines.
Between Manchester United, Chelsea and Leicester City….who would finish 3rd and 4th and qualify for Champions League, and of course, two of the teams were playing each other in a virtual play in game. Between Aston Villa, Watford and Bournemouth….which team would hang on and stay up in the Premier League, since 2 of the 3 would be relegated.
Chelsea had a solid 2-0 win over Wolverhampton, while Manchester United took down Leicester City 2-0 as well, locking up the two spots and sending Leicester City to 5th. Aston Villa hung on for a 1-1 draw vs. West Ham and with that 1 point, edged ahead of Bournemouth (who won their game) and Watford….earning the 17th and final spot and staying in the Premier League. They celebrated harder than Liverpool did winning the league….crazy but true.
The final Premier League Table for 2019/2020 Season.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Liverpool (c) | 38 | 32 | 3 | 3 | 52 | 99 |
| 2 | Man City | 38 | 26 | 3 | 9 | 67 | 81 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 38 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 30 | 66 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 15 | 66 |
| 5 | Leicester City | 38 | 18 | 8 | 12 | 26 | 62 |
| 6 | Tottenham | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 59 |
| 7 | Wolves | 38 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 59 |
| 8 | Arsenal | 38 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 56 |
| 9 | Sheffield Utd | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 54 |
| 10 | Burnley | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | -7 | 54 |
| 11 | Southampton | 38 | 15 | 7 | 16 | -9 | 52 |
| 12 | Everton | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | -12 | 49 |
| 13 | Newcastle | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | -20 | 44 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | -19 | 43 |
| 15 | Brighton | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | -15 | 41 |
| 16 | West Ham | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | -13 | 39 |
| 17 | Aston Villa | 38 | 9 | 8 | 21 | -26 | 35 |
| 18 | Bournemouth (R) | 38 | 9 | 7 | 22 | -26 | 34 |
| 19 | Watford (R) | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | -28 | 34 |
| 20 | Norwich (R) | 38 | 5 | 6 | 27 | -49 | 21 |
C-Champion R-Relegated
And for a little primer…..the new season….after all the delays during from
Covid-19, already starts back up on September 12th. And with three new members being promoted up from the Championship level. Leeds United, returning for the first time in 16 years along with more recent Premier League clubs….West Bromwich Albion (back after a 2 year absence) and Fulham (back after only a 1 year absence).
FA Cup Wrap Up
The FA Cup has wrapped for the year and a familiar face donning the Trophy again in 2020…..Arsenal. Arsenal took down Chelsea 2-1 to win their 14th FA Cup Tropy in the worlds oldest continuous Tournament, the 139th FA Cup. It was a final that was unexpected.
Arsenal faced off against Manchester City in the semi-finals, while Chelsea faced off against Manchester United. The odds on favorites were for a Manchester Derby finals. But as fate would have it, both games ended with an upset victory and a Chelsea vs. Arsenal final game. The game started out strong for Chelsea as American Christian Pulisic scored a wonderful goal in the 6th minute to put Chelsea ahead early. But then things just didn’t go Chelsea’s way the rest of the game. Arsenal clawed back on a PK, Pulisic pulls a hamstring in the first minute of the second half, another injury to Azpilicueta, a red card to Kovacic on two pretty soft yellows, especially the second when he didn’t really even touch the player, and then Arsenal stings Chelsea with a counter attack goal for a 2-1 win. Very tough for me as a Chelsea fan to write that sentence. Ugh! I hate when my team gives up PK goals. Seemed a bit soft to me, the Arsenal striker Aubameyang seems to go down a bit easy. There was a hand on his shoulder from Azpi, and he was slightly ahead of Azpi. I guess I get the call, but, man, that’s just defense on any other day. Lesson to Defender, don’t put your hand there….it gives a ref the chance to make the call. Trust your keeper a little. I do think the striker created the call going to ground. Ugh!
The second goal was a nice counter, a great move and chip, but seems fairly clear on the pass before the goal that Chelsea defender Christiansen is fouled, but no call. Play on! Goal! So if play on there…why not play on when he called the PK. Ugh! Can you tell I am a Chelsea fan yet!! Ugh! The biggest frustration was the Pulisic injury. He scores a wonderful goal to start the game, is playing really well and threatening Arsenal. In the first minute of the second half, he takes off on an epic dribble and is looking dangerous. Just outside the 18 he pulls a hamstring, but continues the dribble another step or two before shooting….while screaming out in pain….and just pushes the shot wide. I am pretty confident if he does not tear the hammy, he is going to score there and give Chelsea a 2-1 lead and likely victory. Ugh! But watching the replay, seeing his face contort, while trying to keep the dribble going and then take the shot, oh man, painful…..but what competitive spirit. Pulisic is becoming a star. Just hope he heals fast and is ready for the next season…it could be a big one for him and American soccer. Congrats to Arsenal. It was a tough season for them and then they got hot at the right time and found a way to win a Trophy. They could be a force for the title next year and a Top 4 finish.
UEFA Champions League Update
Round of 16 is complete.
REAL MADRID is out. JUVENTUS is out. LIVERPOOL is out. The Champions of Spain, Italy and England are all kicked out in the Round of 16. There are 8 teams left in the competition and now we enter a new phase. The elimination rounds. Win and advance. The next round is the Quarter Finals the week of August 10th. The tournament is wide open but I am thinking its Bayern Munich or Manchester City this year.
Atalanta vs. PSG August 12th
RB Leipzig vs. Atletico Madrid August 13
Bayern Munich vs. Barcelona August 14
Manchester City vs. Lyon August 15th
MLS Season
The season opening tournament to kick start the MLS season is drawing to a close. In the Semi-Finals…..Portland took down Philadelphia 2-1 and Orlando City eased past Minnesota FC 3-1 to secure spots in the Final. On Tuesday August 11th…
Portland vs. Orlando City Tuesday August 11th 7:30
2020 League Champions
Another season across Europe comes to an end. The champions….
English Premier League – Liverpool
Dutch League – Ajaz
Spanish LaLiga – Real Madrid
Italian Serie A – Juventus
German Bundesliga – Bayern Munich
Portuguese – FC Porto
Russia – Zenit St. Petersburg