2/26-3/4 Intro

What’s up guys, thanks for taking time to read this blog, feel free to let me know in the comments or personally for any suggestions to make this better, I’m trying something out here!

Okay so just a quick overview to how this is gonna work: As a soccer, futból, football, whatever you may know it as, fan in the United States, things are a little less traditional here for the sport, as I’m sure many of you know. I’m here to give a week-to-week look into that non-traditional viewing of the sport we all know, love, and idolize.

Now, that being said, the way I’m gonna go about all this is also non-traditional. I’m not gonna sit here and give a game-by-game recap of all of the games across the pond, around the world, that’s for Sky Sports, Fox Sports, ESPNFC, or however you all get your footy updates. I’m here for a more conversational outlook on the games that have happened over the past week, which ones I got a chance to watch and my reactions. Also, I will preview what you SHOULD be watching in the upcoming week, for those who are unsure which games will be good, but are looking to get into the beautiful sport.

***DISCLAIMER*** All things in these posts are my own opinion, which means every once in awhile I’ll throw in something about my favorite, and the biggest club in England, Aston Villa. Also, I’ll try to hold it in and keep it to myself, but I’m sure at some points there will be rants about the US Soccer Federation, and the US Men’s National team.

Let’s get started yea?

Usually these posts will be on Monday’s, wrapping up the weekend games, and previewing potential midweek, and that upcoming weekend’s games, but today I happen to be starting on a Wednesday, so what sue me for the $50 I have in my bank account.

 

RECAP:

I’m not gonna get into the midweek games from last week, that’s a little too dated at this point, so let’s start with Saturday’s games:

I woke up around 7am EST to be put right back to sleep by a dull Stoke-Leicester game that ended 1-1 after Jack Butland forgot how to catch and gifted Leicester with an own goal.

I came out of my Potter-Foxes coma to see a slaughter of West Ham by the lethal Liverpool counterattack with all three of their front-three scoring second half goals (Mane, Firmino, Salah)

Going to our first foreign language country, in Spain it was just a typical week…kinda? Real showed Alavés who Real Madrid still are, with Ronaldo scoring a brace and his 299th La Liga goal. This itself is news, but the bigger news came at the dying embers of the game when they were awarded a pen, Penaldo to get 300 goals and a hat trick on the game, surely on this 89′ PK, right? WRONG. Ronaldo did NOT want to go into the record books with that Penaldo name, he wants to do it HIS way (tap-in or a header, obviously), to get that 300, so he gave it to Benzema who slotted it home for 4-0, but don’t even get me started on Benzema as a starter for Madrid, that’s a whole new conversation/rant.

“Anything you can do I can do better”-Barcelona to Madrid. Yup, that’s right, tiki taka wins again. Ronaldo and Real win 4-0 at 10am EST? That’s cute wait till 2:45pm and watch Barca rip Girona for a smooth sailing 6-1 W. Suarez hat-trick, Messi brace, but the big story was Coutinho and his BANGER. Took a little while to get him from Liverpool, but they clawed him away from Klopp and oh my god was it worth it. Coutinho was Liverpool’s savior whenever they needed it, but he’s really showing what he can do with this Barca side.

Some boring games in the Bundesliga on Saturday, including a shut out Bayern draw, led to me dreading Sunday’s games (not really)

The build-up hype for Sunday EPL was great. Solely because of the history behind Chelsea-Man U. Mou faces his former club, where half the team just up and stopped trying for him before he was sacked. Matic plays vs Chelsea again, and just even the current standings made this game all the more matter. I loved the way Man U played growing up, with the Ronaldo, Tevez, Nani, Rooney, era, obviously managed by the great Fergie, but lord help me it’s impossible to stay awake at 9am when Jose Mourinho decides to sit back and play the most boring soccer possible in the first half. Willian continues his form from the Champions League game and dinked one home right after the half hour mark, shortly followed by Big Rom and his equalizer 7′ later. with about 15′ left, Jesse (Messi) Lingard goes beast mode and scores a header, yea that’s right, Lingard with a header winner vs Chelsea in the 75′. He and Pogba had a nice little tribute to Black Panther with the “Wakanda Salute.”

After my first half hatred of Man U and their play, they became the first team in this rivalry to win after conceding the first goal, and they crucially remain in the Champions League spot on the table, above Chelsea.

In the Carabao Cup, Arsenal gon’ be Arsenal. They put up a half chance in the beginning of the game, then it was allllll Man City to cruise to a 3-0 W and the trophy. That’s really all I have to say about that game.

Atletico also put on a show for the fans in Spain, beating Sevilla 5-2, which was really 5-0 until the dying embers gave Sevilla a little less embarrassment.

To wrap up this weeks games, Monday, even god’s do sit too. Pulisic on the bench for Dortmund, partially due to the main skipper, my boy Marco Reus’ return. Reus continued his comeback form, scoring an early goal which could have been the winner if they didn’t fall asleep and let in a header off a corner in the 73′. A huge draw for Augsburg, but a disappointing drop of what should have been an extra 2 points for the W for Dortmund.

 

What To Watch For

It’s Wednesday now, so feel free to turn into the FA Cup for what’s probably the biggest game in third-division Rochdale’s history, as they play Spurs at Wembley in a Fifth-round replay. I think Spurs don’t mess around and it’s not a scrappy game at Rochdale’s patchy field, so I can’t see Tottenham dropping this game.

A few other smaller cup games to complete the day, in Spain and Italy, and as I’m scrolling down…OH, FC Dallas, MLS teams are starting to play again this week in CONCACAF Champions League (The only legit CL, sorry UCL), and MLS games return this weekend! Hoping for a big season here, it only seems to be growing.

Tomorrow, Thursday 3/1, Arsenal gets a chance at revenge vs a Man City team who are just coasting through the league, minding the gap. I see Arsenal going balls to the wall trying to win this game, but I’m seeing a draw at the Emirates.

Honestly, I don’t know if I’ll be tuning into the Premier League Saturday morning. Do I really need to see Liverpool doing what they did to West Ham, to Newcastle? Or should I wake up at 7:30am to watch Burnley host whatever this Everton team is? Nah, I’ll probably stick to my MLS on Saturday, when my boys from home, DC United, go south to Orlando for the weekend.

What I will be doing, at 12:30, is watching the recently balling Red Bull Leipzig team go against Dortmund. Watch that one I’m telling you it’s gonna be a good one.

Sunday’s games pick up a little more with Chelsea facing the next team from Manchester, Man City who will come off a 3 days rest going from Arsenal to Chelsea, so I feel a Chelsea W coming up, unless City decide to rest players vs Arsenal, in which my predictions for both games would have to change.

 

Thank you all for reading, I’ll be back on Monday with a little bit of a shorter post, without the introduction! Let me know any suggestions, I’m just trying to get better here!