Okay Soccer fans, it was a busy weekend and week of soccer, so it’s time for an update. Premier League took a week off so no updates to report, but some very interesting updates on the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League.
Premier League Update
Match Day 28 picks back up this weekend. To get you ready.
Race for the Top 4. Only 4 points separate 4 teams , places 2-3-4-5, pretty amazing.
Manchester City 23-3-1 72 points
Manchester United 17-5-5 56 points
Liverpool 15-9-3 54 points
Chelsea 16-5-6 53 points
Tottenham 15-7-5 52 points
Arsenal 13-6-8 45 points
Race for the Relegation Zone.
17. Huddersfield Township with 27 points.
18. Southampton with 26 points.
19. Stoke City with 25 points.
20. West Bromich Albion with 20 points.
Big Matches Next Weekend
Manchester City v. Arsenal is huge. A 1 v 6 match up that could be a factor in the Top 4 Race. Arsenal loss may eliminate their shot at a top 4 finish.
Chelsea v Manchester United will be interesting. Chelsea starting to find a groove the past 2 games and Manchester United flat the last two games. #2 v #4. Huge Game.
FA CUP Update
Round 5 Games are now complete. And it happened….I told you it might, we discussed there was a chance for a big upset, but never would I have predicted it to be this big of an upset.
Let’s start with the first of two shocking updates.
Tottenham 2 v Rochdale 2. You read it right, a tie. Let me share the significance of the result. Tottenham is in the Premier League, the top league in England and currently sits in 5th position. Rochdale is in League 1, the third tier of soccer in England and sits at 22. They are about to be relegated to the 4th tier of soccer. If you do the math, this match up is between the 5th best club in England and the 66th best club in England. 5 vs. 66…so yea…a tie makes perfect sense. What the heck! These teams are now forced to play again to determine who will advance. This was a huge result in the FA Cup and really helps define the spirit of this competition. It is David vs. Goliath. The little local club vs. the mega international club. Sometimes, somehow, someway, the little club gets a result. Amazing. Here are the highlights.
Really good stuff. The underdogs take a lead. Give up two goals in the second half and appear to be going down for a tough 2-1 loss…only to score in extra time for the time. Wow. What a story. Feels like Tottenham will get them in the replay…but hey…you never know.
So if that wasn’t shocking enough. Check out the really big upset of the weekend.
Manchester City 0 v. Wigan Athletic 1. Yes, you read that right. Manchester City, the best team in English football. The team on a record pace to win the Premier League in a runaway, the team with only 1 defeat so far this year in the Premier League, lost. Let’s get some perspective on this one. Manchester City is the #1 team in English football. Wigan Athletic is also in the third tier of English football and rated the 47th best team in English football. #47 beats #1. Imagine a #16 seed beating a #1 seed during March Madness. Similar stuff. An impossible task, but they did it. This is a really shocking defeat. Way to go Wigan. Shock the world. Here are the highlights.
Big upsets usually have a formula. This one did. A red card leaves Man City a man down for the second half. An incredible defensive lapse allows a Wigan player to get behind the defense and fires a rocket into the corner. Wow. Down goes Manchester City. Epic. One for the ages and one for the record books.
The FA Cup. It does not disappoint!
6 of the 8 teams are confirmed with two replays to determine the final 8. Here are the confirmed 6 teams.
Manchester United v Briton
Chelsea v. Leicester
Wigan v. Southampton
Swansea v Sheffield Wednesday (love that name) and Tottenham v Rochdale are still fighting to get into the Quarter Finals.
Champions League Update
The round of 16 is underway. The second leg games will be the week of March 6 – March 14. Some quick notes on the First Leg games.
Manchester City, Liverpool and Bayern Munich all in really good shape to advance after convincing first round wins. Real Madrid with a huge 3-1 win over PSG, who was one of the tournament favorites. Manchester United still with some work to do after a first round tie against Sevilla. The best game of the first round: Chelsea v. Barcelona. I am a Chelsea fan and it was a tough one. Willian hit the post twice and we had several other chances to score. Willian finally got his goal but a late defensive error allowed Messi to tie. 1-1. A great game, full of drama for a 1-1 tie. Felt like Chelsea could have won 3-0, but soccer can be cruel at times, so they walk away with a tie and a tough road game in Barcelona at Camp Nou. They need a 1 goal win to advance or a 1-1 tie to get to overtime and a shootout. Check out the highlights. Ugh! Still hurts to watch. How did we not get a win in that one…sometimes the post is your friend…but sometimes it crushes your heart!