Big day in the EPL: Christian Pulisic right in the middle of it
Leicester City v Manchester United
Chelsea v Wolves
Both games at 11 am EDT and televised here if you know where to look. LC, Man U, and Chelsea all are playing for the last two spots in next year's Champions League.
For US soccer fans Chelsea is can't-miss TV now with Christian Pulisic having emerged as a superstar in world soccer. This is not an understatement. Most Chelsea fans now regard him as their best player. In their latest match against champions Liverpool, Pulisic was held out (they say minor injury) for the first half as Liverpool built a seemingly insurmountable 4-1 lead in the first half.
Pulisic came on in the early second half almost singlehandedly mounted a comeback. He was dominant. First he snaked his way through the Liverpool defense, nutmegged the last guy, and made a perfect pass for a tap-in goal. Minutes later he took a pass off his chest in the box, back to the goal, patiently composed himself, juked, turned and put one in top shelf to bring Chelsea to 4-3. He nearly scored again minutes later.
Chelsea eventually lost the game 5-3, but judging by their Twitter following (millions of fans worldwide), Captain America has now emerged as one of the best, if not the best, player on one of the top club teams in the world. And he's only 21.
Having decided last fall that I was going to finally adopt an EPL team, and having chosen Chelsea (they are called The Blues for gosh sakes), this is all very gratifying. Go Blues!
Adopted Leicester as my team during their miracle run and have always hated ManU on GP. Add in Pulisic and today could be a really great day.
Enjoy Europa.
EPL shit talk on mgoblog. Fantastic.
Lol don't understand why you were negged.
FWIW I watched live when Ole scored the tying goal against Bayern Munich in the UCL finals on a Wednesday evening once upon a time, so not a plastic Red Devils fan
Obligatory. Shout out to Larry Appleton
I will settle for a 3-4 Wolves win and Pulisic hat trick.
Sounds fair to me :)
Agreed. Wolves are my team, but I'm OK with the American boy playing well.
Pulisic’s move to Chelsea from Dortmund has been a great success so far. Props to Lampard for giving him a shot on a team full of stars.
With all of the young talented American players I can’t wait to see them in the next World Cup. Even more excited for 2026 when all of these young guys are in their prime playing in the WC here on American soil
While Chelsea has had tons of stars in the past decade plus, this year’s squad is actually pretty lean in regards to talent. They lost Hazard, and the year prior they replaced a young, all-universe goalie with “Coach” Kepa. Costa and others have left in recent years as well, which has really hurt their top end talent. I think “next season” (in a few weeks from now), they may be getting back into being a true EPL threat to win.
But I think Lampard is actually holding Pul. back imo. The guy has experimented all season with lineups and it’s continued past the COVID reset.
Lampard also seems obsessed with playing English players regardless of performance. Basically he starts a team of Shea Pattersons when there may be much more capable replacements on the bench that should be starting. Though it’s a little too soon to make a call on this being an issue, it is noteworthy.
I've seen people say this about Lampard before, but it's typically in reference to Mount starting instead of Pulisic. In those cases, it's usually because Pulisic is nursing an injury or was playing poorly (earlier in the season). Mount is actually pretty good too, though he's not as dangerous as Pulisic with the ball at his feet...much better defender though.
Other players, James & Barkley, I think are overrated by fans and are pretty average premier league players, but Lampard's foreign options at those positions haven't been playing great either. Barkley I find especially infuriating as he loves to hold on to the ball for too long.
Rudiger is too slow and they need to find a replacement. Not sure if they have any options behind him.
Abraham (english striker) got the starts earlier in the year over Giroud because Giroud wasn't scoring goals. Lampard quickly changed his preference after the restart when it was clear that Giroud was in form.
I do think he's stuck with Kepa for too long. He might be under pressure from management to give him a chance because they're paying him so much, but it's been clear for a while that Kepa has no confidence.
Your comment about Mount being no slouch himself aged very well.
Let’s add a keeper and challenge Liv—er, challenge Man City for second next season!
I'll give it a gander. Haven't checked in on my old friend Roman for awhile.
Just out of curiosity, who's considered the second best American footballer these days?
That's the problem. Nobody knows. There are no clear-cut scoring options outside of Pulisic either. The 2nd best American might be a defender. Maybe John Brooks? Maybe the young keeper Zack Steffen? Hard to say.
Hopefully Gio Reyna, Weston McKennie, or Josh Sargent can improve enough to be the Robin to Pulisic's Batman.
Don't forget about Tyler Adams as well. He regularly starts for RB Leipzig (Bundesliga, Champions League qualifier) and is also only 21. He's the U.S. version of Ngolo Kante. Won't score a lot of goals or get a lot of assists, but he reads the game well. I hope Gio Reyna turns into a stud and gives the U.S. a nice one two punch upfront.
The reason why I didn't mention Tyler Adams (who might actually be the 2nd best right now) is because of his position. His strongest spot is defensive midfielder and he occasionally plays right back for Leipzig. I don't think his impact on the pitch is as strong as the other midfielders/forwards I mentioned. Though I'm not exactly an expert...
He could be the steady presence in the back required to let guys like McKennie and Pulisic roam upfield more often so I may regret overlooking him down the road.
I have no clue, it does seem the talent pool is a little deeper these days though, and we're looking to a generation of players, rather than one "Savior".
Steffen, Adams, McKennie, Reyna are all in the discussion. Surprised nobody mentioned Sergino Dest yet, either.
I didn't mention Dest because, while his ball-handling skills are fantastic, he plays right back primarily. His impact on the game is not as great as someone up front in my opinion. Definitely an important player and someone you want in your squad but I don't see him making that big of an impact. Other than Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson there are no fullbacks I can think of that can be impactful on the final result of a game.
Defending is important, no doubt, but great center backs can make up for poor fullback play in that regard.
Right backs can definitely make a huge impact. Dani Alves was a monster in his prime
Paolo Maldini was a monster for two decades!
Here is a solid list / rankings back from February.
https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2020/02/04/top-25-players-in-the-usmnt-pool-right-now-2/
1. Christian Pulisic, Chelsea# (1) — Get well soon.
2. Weston McKennie, Schalke (4)
3. John Brooks, Wolfsburg (3)
4. Tyler Adams, RB Leipzig (2) — Healthy, and back starting.
5. Sergino Dest, Ajax (6)
6. Duane Holmes, Derby County (N/R) — Man’s on fire.
7. Alfredo Morales, Fortuna Dusseldorf (5)
8. Jordan Morris, Seattle Sounders (7)
9. Zack Steffen, Fortuna Dusseldorf (10)
10. Antonee Robinson, Wigan Athletic (N/R) — Almost AC Milan!
11. Jozy Altidore, Toronto FC (12)
12. Julian Green, Greuther Furth# (15)
13. Giovanni Reyna, Borussia Dortmund (N/R) — What a goal.
14. Timothy Weah, Lille# (14)
15. Timothy Chandler, Eintracht Frankfurt (N/R) — Incredible resurgence.
16. Tim Ream, Fulham (13)
17. Matt Miazga, Reading (8)
18. Josh Sargent, Werder Bremen (9)
19. Miles Robinson, Atlanta United (23)
20. Ulysses Llanez, Wolfsburg U-19 (N/R) — Go on, son.
21. Tyler Boyd, Besiktas (21)
22. DeAndre Yedlin, Newcastle United (11)
23. Reggie Cannon, FC Dallas (N/R)
24. Michael Bradley, Toronto FC# (18)
25. Sebastian Lletget, LA Galaxy (22)
Another interesting fact is that the Canadian Alphonso Davies would clearly be #2 on this list. He starts for Bayern Munich. I can't ever remember Canada having a player that much better than the rest of the American pool.
And here is another good article with more recent and updated infromation on most of these European based players.
https://ussoccerplayers.com/2020/07/how-2020-21-is-shaping-up-for-american-players-in-europe.html
Pulisic is going to be what Hazard was hyped to be IMO
Hazard was a phenomenal player. Not sure why you think he underachieved or something. If Pulisic ends up 80% of the player Hazard was, we will have one of the top 20 players in the world for the next 7-8 years.
When he was going, Hazard was certainly top 10. However, he just always seemed to disappear for long stretches that always felt to last for multiple games.
Always felt his bad play was a function of Chelsea being a mess for the better part of the last 7-8 years. And playing for Mourinho and Conte is not exactly a creative attacking player’s dream.
He's on pace to be like Hazard but I think Pulisic has better nose for the goals than Hazard but Hazard passes better. Either way, Pulisic is on pace to be a world class player which is something that we haven't had (other than goalkeeper) in a long time if not ever.
"Give me a man who wears shorts and has good stamina, and I'll give you a great soccer player."
- Abraham Lincoln
Chelea scores twice in the last minutes of the first half. 2-0 Chelsea.
Mount and Giroud with the goals.
With Tottenham winning, looks like I will be rooting for Chelsea to beat Arsenal in the FA Cup Final so Wolves can get back to Europe.
Arsenal single handedly relegated Watford.
Goons lose to lowly Villa last week, putting Villa ahead of Watford in the relegation zone, and this week Goons beating Watford 3-1
Watford fans will hate Arsenal for years to come haha
EDIT: maybe not, Arsenal has no heart and hasn’t been able to close out a game comfortably all year ... up 3-0 now it’s 3-2. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Watford end up with a draw or even a victory
Watford will need a win to survive. So they need two more goals. Gonna take a miracle.
Couple of outstanding saves by Martinez ... otherwise it would be 3-3 with Watford pushing for the game winner
Wolves saving one of their worst matches of the season for the final day, but it’s still been a good season and we played over 60 games, so I can’t be too upset.
Hoping for a late Palace winner or Chelsea to win the FA Cup over Arsenal to get back to continental play. Though if I’m being honest, I think we’re more likely to challenge for a Champions League place if we don’t deal with European footy next season.
As a long-time and lately suffering Arsenal fan, unless Emi Martinez can be spectacular in goal in the FA Cup final next Saturday, Chelsea should have no problem winning that match. A Chelsea 5-0 blowout over Arsenal would not surprise me, even with Chelsea showing some weakness on defense and in goal. They're no worse on defense than Arsenal.
An Arsenal loss in the FA Cup final will keep them out of European matches next season and allow Mikel Arteta more time in practice sessions to begin what could become a long rebuilding process and maybe a major overhaul with possibly as many as 10 new players in the squad for the 2020-21 season, especially if Aubameyang and Lacazette will be headed to Champions League clubs.
Welcome aboard, plenty of room for a fellow Michigan fan on the bandwagon. I'm a longtime fan, Lampard (now manager of Chelsea) was my favorite player for a long time.
I attended my first EPL game back in 2001. A Derby County fan took me to the game against Chelsea in Derbyshire and Chelsea drew that day 1:1. It was great to hear the vitriol toward Chelsea after, you would have thought Derby County won the EPL championship that day with the draw. I was hooked watching a young Lampard play a great second half.
I lived in Europe for about 6 years and I must say, there isn't much love for Chelsea outside of Stamford Bridge. The high point of my Chelsea fandom was attend the 2011 Champions League Final in Munich and watching Chelsea somehow win in a penalty shoot out. I was with a Bayern fan and it was difficult to be toe loud in support of Chelsea or risk an act of violence. I have never been to a Super Bowl but I cannot imagine the energy can hold a candle to what I witnessed that night.
The only feeling that will top that night in Munich is Michigan finally winning a college football playoff game. I hope that is sooner rather than later.
Go Blues!
I have never been to a Super Bowl but I cannot imagine the energy can hold a candle to what I witnessed that night.
You're right--it cannot. The Super Bowl is so full of corporate fans that the dudes who create Madden actually dumb-down the crowd noise during the Super Bowl.
Chelsea is going to be scary for champions league next season. They got two world class players in Werner and Ziyech. Those two with pulisic are gonna be really fun to see next season
They need defenders and a goalie. They should have a surplus of attacking options next year, for sure. Should be a fun team to watch, regardless.
Yes, even my relatively uneducated view is that Chelsea needs to shore up their defense and goaltending and they could be set up for a nice run in the next few years.
I’m more worried about GK than I am about defense but you’re right both need to get fixed if they want to have a chance of winning champions league
Nice 2-0 win to clinch CL. GGMU!!
All due respect to Liverpool for their outstanding season, but sheesh, if my beloved MUFC was third, then you know the EPL was garbage this year. Well, I'll take third and a Champions League slot anyways.
Pretty average game for Pulisic, some good passes and flashes, but zero shots on goal. Arguably however, starting Pulisic & Mount over Abraham & Willian provided better tactical teamwork up front and linkage through the midfield. But Wolves' team defense is simply too strong to allow Pulisic to make marauding runs through it. As for Pulisic, yes, he's an extraordinary talent. But so are the other world-class forwards on Chelsea, especially when adding the incoming transfers. Regardless, seeing an American excelling in top shelf European football is a breath of fresh air!
Go Wolves !!
Glad Spurs got the result that they needed to virtually secure Europa. Felt awful to cheer for Chelsea but it all worked out, COYS!
COYS. Not the best season, but great to see Harry back in top form. It was a joy watching the first half of the Leicester City match last weekend.
It will be interesting to see who Mourinho sells off and brings in. He obviously does not like Ndombele, and it can't be due to skill or talent. But on the other hand, he has helped Lo Celso shine, especially since the restart.
Hopefully they get things going next season, I would hate to see Harry leave Tottenham.
and LEEDS are back baby woohoo
Pulisic is freaking great. That game the other night vs Liverpool was something else. As soon as he stepped on the field he was making spectacular plays. He pulled a series of sick moves on like 3 defenders and then dished it off to his teammate who finished. He had another play a few minutes later that could've resulted in a goal but he hesitated for a second because a teammate got in his way and he couldn't get off a good shot. But then that goal he did score was also a spectacular highlight.
I never particularly liked Chelsea but I love watching them now because of Pulisic. And I'm so psyched for his appearances for the US National Team.
As a somewhat bandwagon United fan... (I wouldn't care about the sport at all if it hadn't been for the early Ronaldo/Rooney years and the 2010 US world cup run) today was fun. Could only watch the 1H because I had to move out of my place today, but I cheered in my car when I saw the score. Really fun relegation battle today too, I was surprised to see Watford actually challenge a little bit after arsenal raced out to a 3-0 lead. Bournemouth/Villa was the story of the day on that front though, and if I were a Bournemouth fan I'd feel pretty cheated because Grealish's goal for Villa was a complete error by the keeper (though West Ham got a fluky goal a couple minutes later). Don't know how I would have gotten through the last few months without EPL, and a big shout out to whoever downvoted almost every post in this thread because you hate Americans talking about soccer this much haha
A final tip of the hat to the Euro leagues for a hugely successful Restart through yesterday’s season ending games! Yes, it was weird at first watching games in empty stadiums, but the quality of play and competition was at the highest level, including some memorable games, like last week’s Liverpool - Chelsea classic.