Would the Really Good Teams Please Step Forward?

With the top two teams playing in the final of the Littlewoods Challenge Cup (the EFL Cup’s official name from 1986-1990), this weekend was the perfect time for the rest of the contenders to step up. Before we tuck in, however…

Some friends of mine started a company that makes board games called Curious Lynx. They also have a newsletter, and this week continued their monthly Top 5 analysis with Paul’s Top 5 Dexterity Games.

Is Beer Pong included in that list is a question you will have to click to answer.

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Bournemouth 2 - 2 Man United
The first match between these two this season was a 4-4 in Manchester. It’s probably fair to say most people were hoping for more of the same, and the second half provided that.

United opened the scoring off the back of a dumb foul to give Bruno a penalty, but Ryan Christie scored a well-placed shot to make it 1-1. Should United have had an additional penalty before then? That’s the type of question we leave to the taek merchants most weeks, and will do so again here (but probably).

United’s second was an own goal off a corner, and then it was Bournemouth’s turn to get a red card and penalty off a mistake from Old Slabhead. Junior Kroupi converted and that was that for a fun, slightly weird Friday night game.

Bournemouth don’t feel like a draw team, which is why it’s weird they somehow have fifteen this season out of 31 matches. That’s the same as Everton last season and more than Palace, and I really don’t know what to make of it.

Brighton 2 - 1 Liverpool
Brighton dominated this match, to the tune of 2.5xg to 1. It was literally one of the most dominant matches Brighton have played this season, and it came against Liverpool. Yes, Brighton were at home, and yes Liverpool had a vital midweek grind to progress through to the next Champions League round, but blurgh.

The first goal of the Welbeck brace was an odd one. A looping cross comes in to the far post, Diego Lopez then heads back a looping cross to the (new) far post, and Welbeck gives Konate a crafty old man nudge to create the space to head it in.

The Kerkez goal is a bit of pure poacher brilliance from the uh… Liverpool left back? Dunk heads it back toward his GK thinking all the Liverpool players were either gone or offside, but Kerkez timed a perfect run to skip in behind and added a brilliant finish to it. I don’t think Kerkez has been great defensively this season, but that’s such a fun, quality goal I almost want to forgive him.

Brighton’s winner was another Welbz goal where he has distilled the essence of being in the right place at the right time. A wide cross came in (this time from Minteh, but again on the left), Jack Hinshelwood beat his man to get behind and squared it back to Welbeck for an easy one.

Do Liverpool have a problem dealing with crosses now? I feel like that was bread and butter for them for years, but today I’m not so sure.

Welbeck is 35, and he now has the most goals he’s ever had in a season. His is a career I’d love to see run back with better health.

Everton 3 - 0 Chelsea
Remember about a month ago when I started to sound the alarm on Chelsea underlyings despite good results and the fanbase brought out the pitchforks for their new head coach?

Well… the fanbase have again brought out the pitchforks for their new head coach, but the meaning has changed entirely. This team is very much at sea and needs to find a port in a storm soon. I’m not sure they will.

One team that is not at sea is Everton. Moyes’ Boyeses kinda do their thing over and over again, and the results land where they may. They are not good, but they are hard to beat, and still in year 1 of a rebuild off the brink of bankruptcy. They have some nice pieces to build around - I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with a bit more money and freedom this summer.

Aston Villa 2 - 0 West Ham
West Ham have turned into a league average team over the last two months, which has them nearly out of the relegation zone. However, they are still beatable, and Villa handled them well.

McGinn’s opener was a nicely worked free kick that was basically a corner routine from further out. They drew the defense one way, then passed a flat one across the 18 for McGinn to first-time curl into the corner. It was a just reward for Villa battering hammering on the door via earlier corners.

The second Villa goal came during the second half. Morgan Rogers took a early shot from range during a transition, Hermansen spilled it too easily to the side, and Ollie Watkins cleaned it up from a tight angle. Ripcord pulled. A deserved win for Villa after three straight league losses, and they now look in good shape for CL qualification again.

Fulham 3 - 1 Burnley
I don’t have much to say about this one because it felt like a typical Burnley match where they scored a goal, but gave up a bazillion shots to lose it eventually against “any decent team.” (See also: All of the Premier League.)

What’s interesting to me is how much Fulham seem to be scheming to get Harry Wilson open shots cutting in from the right. He is the sweetest striker of the ball, and had six shots and a goal in this one. His contract is up this summer and as a DoF, I’m not entirely sure how to price him and his skillset at age 29. One to watch for sure.

Newcastle 1 - 2 Sunderland
This was a classic trap game for the Magpies. A small squad, deep in European competition and running on fumes, walking into a home derby on a week with an away match at Barcelona. What’s Geordie for Bad Vibes?

Things started well for the home side, with a horrific piece of build-up from Sunderland resulting in a high press turnover and an excellent goal by Anthony Gordon.

However, the issue with small squads and tired legs usually isn’t the start, it’s the end, and the Black Cats owned the second half. The Sunderland equaliser came from a scrappy bit of chaos ball during a corner. One of the concerns with outfield players dropping to the goal line during corners is that they make EVERYONE onside, which can then make it much tougher to clear the lines safely and that’s what happened here.

The winner was a fun piece of play right at the death where Sunderland transitioned to Sadiki in a pocket of space, he released Le Fee, and then Newcastle mostly stared at him for a bit, seemingly daring him to pick a pass off the byline. Le Fee is Pretty Good, Actually and put it directly on Brobbey’s foot in front of the goal to poke home, saw it saved, and then poked home the rebound.

Sunderland just did the double over Newcastle in their first season back up in the Premier League, which is good fun for basically everyone who doesn’t root for the Tynesiders.

Tottenham 0 - 3 Nottingham Forest
There was a brief thought that fluttered around Spurs’ Twitter late in the (fairly short) Thomas Frank era that went “it can’t get worse.”

Unfortunately for Spurs fans, that’s not how football works. At almost all times, it most certainly can, and sometimes actually will get worse, often when you least expect it.

The Igor Tudor era? Definitely worse.

Tudor? More like Igor Turd-or, amirite?

For Forest fans, this was a resounding win, AWAY, against fellow relegation battlers. Did they get a little bit lucky given an even 1.2 to 1.2 in expect goals? Maybe. But at this point in the season, both lucky and good are readily accepted currency in the pursuit of Premier League safety. They are not out of the deep end yet, but this was a welcome lifeline with seven matches left to play.

Leeds 0 - 0 Brentford

—TK

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