Shush! Rice Cuts the Deficit to 15!

NOT 1 MCI 0

The Trees delivered an occasion on Saturday that their supporters will not soon forget, defiantly declaring their belonging among the Premier League’s elite with an emotional 1-0 victory over a flailing City side. In a cagey affair, the home side finally found their breakthrough on a switch of play from Morgan Gibbs-White to Callum Hudson-Odoi in the 83rd minute. Hudson-Odoi cruised past a lethargic Josko Gvardiol to slot home, sending the City Ground into a state of bedlam that didn’t dissipate until long after the final whistle and echoes of “Freed From Desire” had reverberated through the grounds.

The post-match scene, one of communal jubilation and togetherness, is the type that can nurture a lifelong love for the game, even among neutral observers. At one point last year, the Trees seemed destined for the Championship. Now? This rollicking journey appears pointed toward Europe.

LIV 3 SOU 1

After a mostly listless performance midweek, albeit one that ended in ecstatic triumph, Arne Slot watched in horror from the stands as his side sleepwalked through a first half that saw them stumble to a one-goal deficit against the league’s worst side. The Dutch manager reportedly entered the changing room at halftime as angry as his players had ever seen him, and rightfully so.

But Slot has demonstrated a penchant for pulling the right strings at the right time, and Saturday was no different.

He made a triple change at halftime, daring to leave Darwin Núñez on the pitch with a yellow card. Núñez repaid the manager’s faith just six minutes in, scoring from a Luis Diaz assist. Four minutes later, Nunez won a penalty, calmly converted by Mo Salah, who scored another from the spot in the 88th minute to ice the tie and take another step toward the title.

Fortress Anfield awaits PSG this evening.

BRI 2 FUL 1

With both sides positioned at the periphery of the Champions League race, Saturday’s fixture felt like a de-facto loser-leaves-town match. After late controversy, it’s the Cottagers who are watching those prestigious European nights grow more distant on the horizon.

Raul Jimenez opened the scoring for Fulham on a beautiful cross from Alex Iwobi. Jan Paul van Hecke equalized, heading in a Yasin Ayari free kick before halftime. The sides appeared poised to see out the draw until a clumsy (but pretty soft) Harrison Reed challenge sent João Pedro to the floor. Pedro scored from the spot in the 98th minute to seal three vital points for the Gulls.

Controversy aside, the victory was perhaps deserved for Brighton, who had both a penalty and a goal denied by VAR. The Jimenez goal was Fulham’s only shot on target.

CRY 1 IPS 0

An inspired effort and copious chance creation aren’t enough in the Premier League, a lesson learned repeatedly for relegation-threatened Ipswich. The visitors managed eight shots on target among 15 scoring chances but failed to convert any of them.

With an 82nd-minute burst of pace in the box and a deft, lifted finish, Palace’s Ismaila Sarr quickly disavowed Ipswich of their upset hopes, running for the corner flag to unleash Jean-Philippe Mateta’s celebration in tribute. Sarr, an under-heralded summer signing, has now extended his Palace account to 8 goals and 3 assists.

Palace have now won 9 of their last 11 in all competitions, including three straight wins in the Premier League. The club sits just three points outside the top half after a remarkable turnaround from Glasner and company.

BRE 0 AVL 1

A clinical finish from Ollie Watkins against his former side proved to be the difference at the Gtech. VAR disallowed a Morgan Rogers goal—assisted by Watkins—due to a narrow offside decision.

Axel Disasi impressed for Villa, though he was also the subject of a penalty shout for taking down Kevin Schade in the box. Robin Olsen kept a clean sheet in place of the injured Emiliano Martinez.

WOL 1 EVE 1

One of the weekend’s more forgettable bouts, Saturday night’s late game saw a beautiful move from Wolves, culminating in a Marshall Munetsi goal, cancel out Jack Harrison’s deflected opener.

The headline: David Moyes’ Everton have extended their unbeaten run in the league to 8 games, a feat not achieved by the club since 2017.

2017!

Romelu Lukaku was still wearing Everton blue. Stoke and Swansea were still in the Premier League. Gary Cahill and David Luiz were in the PFA Team of the Season. David freaking Luiz!

Every point counts for Wolves, who are now six points clear of the drop and look increasingly assured of extending their stay, though matches at Southampton, at Ipswich, and home to Leicester await in the run-in.

CHE 1 LEI 0

Much has been made of Chelsea’s struggles after an impressive start (and their manager’s incessant downplaying of it). But the club moved back into fourth place after a 1-0 victory at home over second-bottom Leicester. Whether the victory was impressive or not (it wasn’t), Chelsea’s season still has them among the best sides in the league not named Liverpool.

Cole Palmer—we call him “Colaf Palmer,” because that man is Frozen solid—had a penalty saved by Mads Hermansen in the 22nd minute, heightening the pressure on the hosts. It was Marc Cucurella who found the winner with an emphatic strike in the 60th minute, scoring in the second straight league game. Though Cucurella has often been a punchline, his form is vastly improved this season, and more importantly, he appears as likely to deliver competitive fire and leadership as anyone in the side.

The game’s dying stages were not without nervy moments, as Jamie Vardy and Ricardo Pereira each forced Robert Sanchez saves. Still, we were struck by the scenes of jubilation, relief, and emotion from the Chelsea players at full-time.

Normally, we’d laugh at that reaction to beating 19th-place Leicester. We’d ridicule the celebrations after dealing a side their 12th loss in the last 13 matches. We’d chastise the fist-pumping at outdueling the third-worst manager by loss percentage in Premier League history.

But we won’t do any of that.

Instead, we’ll note that—for the first time in a while—this squad appears genuinely galvanized and passionate. That’s something for a young side to hang their souvenir Europa Conference League scarves on. Even if it came against a side that hasn’t scored in their last five league matches - that’s what we would say IF we were going to be cynical, but as we said, we’re NOT going to do that.

Kudos to us for taking the high road.

TOT 2 BOU 2

A Marcus Tavernier goal from an outstanding Milos Kerkez cross opened the scoring for the Cherries in the 42nd minute, with Evanilson doubling the advantage in the 65th. Andoni Iraola’s side appeared to be racing towards victory, particularly against a Spurs team that hasn’t demonstrated an ability to claw back into games this season.

But sometimes, a little luck can make the difference.

A Pape Matar Sarr cross-turned-shot found the back of the net to throw Spurs a lifeline. Son Heung-Min drew a penalty from Kepa in the game’s late phases, converting to level the affair.

Bournemouth will rue missed chances, both in this match and in the last month. European qualification, once a likely proposition, now looks a mountain to climb. Spurs will embrace a point earned from a losing position, particularly as they look to overturn a 1-0 deficit to AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League this week. Ange’s managerial future might depend on it.

MUN 1 ARS 1

Usually, 2nd-versus-15th clashes don’t offer quite this much narrative, but this one had it all: free-kick controversy, shushing, last-gasp tackles, goal-line clearances, and sour feelings in the mixed zone.

Bruno Fernandes scored from a free kick in first-half stoppage time, taking advantage of a near side of the goal left vacant by David Raya. Arsenal supporters analyzed the goal like it was the Zapruder film, noticing that their wall was set up 11.2 yards—rather than 10—from the ball, as if that would be the difference in a title race currently decided by 15 points.

Blossoming into one of the great what-ifs in football: what if Bruno Fernandes chose basically any side other than United?

After a mazy dribbling run and assist from Jurriën Timber, Declan Rice lashed home to level the game, punctuating the goal with an emphatic celebration and a shush of the Old Trafford faithful. Want to mix in the macarena while you’re at it, Decs? After all, you just equalized against 15th place while supposedly challenging for a title. Surprised he didn’t get carded for three pumps celebrating what was effectively the Premier League equivalent of this:

In fairness, Rice had much to be proud of in the match, also delivering a brave last-ditch tackle on Rasmus Højlund in the waning moments. We’d call it a goal-saving tackle, but as it was Højlund, we can all agree he wasn’t scoring anyway.

David Raya spared his earlier blushes, denying Bruno Fernandes late and swatting the resulting bounce off the line.

Asked if 15 points was too much to overturn in the title race, Mikel Arteta promptly ran away from the interview.

WHU 0 NEW 1

Like dessert served the night after the party ended, Newcastle’s Monday night visit to West Ham arrived to little fanfare and a dreary setting. The Magpies emerged victorious in the subdued affair thanks to a Bruno Guimaraes touch on a Harvey Barnes cross, though not without West Ham grievances at a shove from Alexander Isak in the back of Max Kilman.

It wasn’t all bad for the home side, though.

Months after suffering a leg injury in a terrible car accident, Michail Antonio walked out to applaud the supporters, receiving a warm reception and delivering a welcome sight for all of us. Hope to see you on the pitch soon, Michail!

🔴⚫ For 70 minutes, Lecce-Milan felt increasingly like a eulogy for Sergio Conceição’s managerial stint at a listless Milan. And then Christian Pulisic reminded the world of his prolific Italian form, drawing and converting a penalty and scoring from a Rafael Leao cross to seal three much-needed points. The obituaries will have to wait. We can’t imagine who would’ve counted this Milan team out…

🔵⚫ Cross-town rivals Inter faced a similarly dire situation, trailing Monza 2-0 into first-half stoppage time, with a beauty from former Inter player Keita Balde doubling the advantage. Marko Arnautovic halved the deficit before halftime, and Hakan Çalhanoğlu leveled the score with a humdinger.

More like Hadouken Çalhanoğlu, because the man only hits blasts.

An own goal put Inter ahead for good, securing their narrow advantage over Napoli for the weekend.

🔵⚪ Como had nearly sealed three points at home before Ivan Smolcic committed one of the clumsiest penalties you’re ever likely to see, allowing Venezia’s Christian Gytkjaer to equalize from the spot with the last kick of the game.

🔵🟡 Parma came from behind twice thanks to a Mateo Pellegrino brace to draw 2-2 with Torino. Former Southampton striker Che Adams scored for Torino.

🇧🇪 Napoli kept pace with Inter, defeating Fiorentina 2-1 through goals from Romelu Lukaku and Giacomo Raspadori. The Belgian, who leads the league with eight assists, also turned provider on Raspadori’s goal.

Let’s take a moment for Big Rom. With Sunday’s goal, Lukaku has now topped 10 league goals in 12 seasons Remarkably, he was a Chelsea player twice during that span, but none of those ten-goal seasons came for the club. His consistency suggests Lukaku was not the problem.

🖼️ The Ranieraissance continues! A first-minute goal from Matias Soulé was all Roma would need to secure a 1-0 victory over 18th-place Bologna. Roma are all the way up to seventh place after going undefeated in their last 12 league matches, winning nine of those fixtures. Insane form.

⚫🔵 On Friday, we noted that both Atalanta and Juventus were knocking on the door of the Scudetto race, though the Juventus “knock” was more of a curbside “You up?” text. Turns out that text was left on read, as visitors Atalanta thoroughly embarrassed the Old Lady, registering nine shots on target to Juve’s two. Mateo Retegui extended his lead atop the goalscoring charts, opening the scoring from the spot, while Ademola Lookman added his thirteenth of the season to solidify the domination at 4-0.

🔴⚪ Coming into the weekend, we cautioned that Atletico faced the biggest risk of dropping points. Though substitute Alexander Sørloth is an unstoppable force in Atletico’s grey uniforms, scoring from the spot in the 75th minute, an 88th-minute Angel Correa red card meant one goal (shockingly) would not be enough against an anemic Getafe side.

Mauro Arambarri notched a late brace, scoring in the 88th and 92nd minutes to deliver a significant blow to Atletico’s title ambitions. When you face a run of matches this challenging, things like these are bound to happen. But can they recover for midweek against Real Madrid?

⚪⚪ Speaking of Real, first-half goals from Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior secured a relatively uneventful 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano. Vini’s goal came after a wandering journey through the attacking third, the seven levels of the candy cane forest, and the sea of swirly-twirly gumdrops.

🇪🇺 Despite two red cards, Alaves delivered a blow to Villareal’s European aspirations, winning 1-0 on the back of a Manu Sanchez goal. The two sides combined for just 5 shots on goal. Betis drew three points closer through a Diego Llorente winner, while Athletic Bilbao and Mallorca played to a 1-1 draw, with goals from Nico Williams and Antonio Raillo respectively.

📈 Valencia climbed out of the relegation places with a 2-1 win over league-bottom Valladolid in a crucial relegation six-pointer. Umar Sadiq scored the winner for Valencia, his fourth goal in the last four games.

🙏 Barcelona’s fixture against Osasuna was postponed after Barcelona’s team doctor, Carlos Minarro Garcia, unexpectedly passed away at the team hotel. Our sincerest condolences to Garcia’s family and the club.

🥴 The Bundesliga went bizarro mode this weekend, with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams all losing. Bayern headlined the carnage, stumbling to a 3-2 loss against bottom-three side Bochum after a first-half João Palhinha red card. An early Raphaël Guerreiro brace seemingly sent the league leaders galloping toward three points, but the lead crumbled with just ten men to defend it.

🪄 Fortunately for Bayern, Leverkusen also fell—to Bremen—but worse than losing the match was losing Florian Wirtz to injury. After last season’s magical season, Xabi Alonso looks less Albus Dumbledore and more Burt Wonderstone. But really, their inability to conjure the same magic this season only underscores how extraordinary that campaign was, and left in its wake is not an invincible side, but a really good one.

🦇 Frankfurt surrendered an early lead gained from a Michy Batshuayi goal (there’s a name you haven’t heard in five years), with second-half Union Berlin goals from Leopold Querfeld and Jeong Woo-Yeong leading the visitors to victory.

📈 The big beneficiary of underwhelming results elsewhere? Mainz. In the race for Champions League places, Mainz snatched the clear advantage this weekend, defeating Gladbach 3-1 to move into third(!), while Freiburg and Leipzig played to a 0-0 draw. Leipzig are now winless in their last four Bundesliga matches.

Ironically, just as former Mainz manager Jurgen Klopp has become Director of Football at Red Bull, Mainz appear poised to displace the current crown jewel of RB Football’s portfolio from the Champions League. Sorry, Jurgen. We’re with Mainz on this one.

🏆 Another week, another bludgeoning at the hands of PSG. Ousmane Dembélé scored a second-half stoppage-time brace after coming on as a substitute, bringing his goalscoring tally to 20 in Ligue 1. PSG remains undefeated in the league this season and is now 16 points clear of Marseille. Somewhere, Virgil Van Dijk shakes his head at “Ligue 1, bro.”

🔵⚪ Speaking of Marseille, they lost on a 94th-minute goal from Lens’ Neil El Aynaoui, who has scored in each of the last three games.

🇨🇦 A Jonathan David goal propelled Lille to a 1-0 win and to an equal points total with 4th-place Monaco. Things that just don’t make sense: Lille is allowing that man to leave on a free.

🔴🔵 As suspended managers of both clubs looked on from the stands (get comfy there, Paulo), Lyon defeated Nice 2-0 on the road, with two assists from Thiago Almada. Rayan Cherki netted for Lyon just one minute after entering the match.

Cameras spotted Paulo Fonseca giving his final instructions to players as they exited the team bus; he’s not allowed to enter the changing room either. Wouldn’t it be remarkable if he managed the club to the Champions League from the stands? They trail Monaco and Lille by just two points, and Fonseca has won 5 of his first 7 matches, the first Lyon manager to do that since 2007. The club has had 11 managers in that time frame.

⚪🟡 In the very first edition of Inbox FC, we issued the following warning as Leeds moved seven points clear in the battle for automatic promotion: “Unbottle-able? Hold my Red Bull.”

It’s happening. A side with a +49 goal differential now sits just two points clear of third place after draws in consecutive weeks. Leeds’ superpower: being an absolute juggernaut while still falling short of the ultimate objective. It’s uncanny.

🦩 Lionel Messi made the bench but not the pitch on Sunday, as Inter Miami beat Charlotte 1-0 despite an early red card to goalkeeper Oscar Ustari. Tadeo Allende scored in his fourth straight match, cutting through the Charlotte defense to devastating effect with a little help from a sublime Luis Suarez assist.

Messi’s absence has emphasized what already should’ve been clear: Suarez is a world-class talent in MLS…or anywhere else he shows up to play.

🏁 Club Brugge emerged with a 3-1 victory over Cercle Brugge in the Bruges Derby behind a Ferran Jutglà brace. Ardon Jashari went all Baker Mayfield on Cercle Brugge’s ass after the match, planting a Club Brugge flag at midfield. College football shithousery in Europe? We love to see it.

🇧🇷 Neymar did not play due to injury as Santos fell 2-1 to Corinthians in the Campeonato Paulista semifinals. Uh oh. This is how it starts.

🇲🇽 Sergio Ramos scored again for Rayados in a 1-1 draw with Cruz Azul. They probably didn’t sign him for the goals, but what a bonus.

Club America and Chivas played to a 0-0 draw in the second Súper Clásico of the week. American Cade Cowell earned a red card for Chivas four minutes after coming on.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Thanks to a last-gasp winner, Coventry City won their ninth match in ten league games, climbing yet another place into 5th. We can’t decide which turnaround is more impressive: the Ranieraissance or the Lamparty.

🇳🇱 Sergino Dest returned to action for PSV in a 2-1 win over Heerenveen after eleven months out of action due to a torn ACL. An Ajax win, however, keeps the gap at 8 points.

The second leg of the Round of 16 unfolds today and tomorrow, and while Arsenal and Bayern Munich appear safely through, a few ties remain undecided.

Barcelona vs. Benfica (1:45PM TUE)

Barcelona escaped Lisbon with a one-goal advantage despite playing much of the game with ten men. It will no doubt be an emotionally charged occasion for the club after the tragic loss of their team doctor, and the team’s remarkable recent form should see them through to the quarterfinals. But this is Europe. You never know.

Liverpool vs. PSG (4:00 PM TUE)

From the manager to the players, PSG have been regularly exercising their vocal chords since last week’s defeat in Paris, seemingly buoyed by their strong losing performance and by Liverpool’s struggles for much of that game. As Arne Slot noted, his players won’t need any extra motivation to play a knockout second-leg at Anfield, but now they certainly have it.

Atletico vs. Real Madrid (4:00 PM WED)

Is a 2-1 Real Madrid lead safe as they visit the Metropolitano? Much will hinge on who scores first in this second-leg clash, but Simeone’s side won’t go quietly, even after the weekend’s disappointment. Will literally any neutral watch Aston Villa-Brugge or Arsenal-PSV during this time slot?

Note: the second half of the ham sandwich of Champions League ties (that’s Lille-Dortmund if you’re just joining us) kicks off at 1:45 PM ET Wednesday. We know you were wondering…

Much is at stake for several Europa League sides this week, and nowhere are the results as critical as in England.

Spurs vs. AZ Alkmaar (0-1 Agg, 4:00 PM THU)

A horrific performance at AZ Alkmaar leaves Ange’s Spurs with a deficit to overcome in London. The end of the Europa League campaign would effectively mean the end of Spurs’ season, as there’s nothing left to play for except improved momentum in the league. “Improved Towards the End of the Season” will look nice in the Tottenham trophy cabinet.

Manchester United vs. Real Sociedad (1-1 Agg, 4:00 PM THU)

The stakes are similar at Old Trafford, though believe it or not, United have not lost—at least in regular time—in their last five fixtures. Still, a deeper run here can quiet some discontent around the club and reassure fans that Amorim can eventually steer them in a more productive direction.

Athletic Bilbao vs. AS Roma (1-2 Agg, 1:45PM THU)

You know why we’re interested. It’s the Ranieraissance. Roma look a serious threat to win this competition, though they’ll have to get through the Williams brothers in Bilbao. Those two, of course, are always worth a watch.

🇺🇸🇲🇽 The return legs of the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 take place this week. A few to watch:

• Cincinnati visits Tigres (10:30 PM ET Tues, Tied)

• Sergio Ramos’ Rayados host Vancouver (8:30 PM ET Weds, Tied)

• Club América hosts Chivas in another Clásico (10:30 PM ET Weds, 0-1)

• Cavalier host Inter Miami (8:00 PM ET Thurs, 0-2).

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Leeds face Millwall Wednesday at 3:45 PM ET, as the league leaders desperately seek a return to winning ways. Sheffield United hosts Bristol City and Burnley hosts West Brom this afternoon.

🇪🇺 To the extent Conference League can have highlights, here they are (all 4:00 PM ET Thursday):

• Chelsea vs. Copenhagen (2-1 Agg)

• Fiorentina vs. Panathinaikos (2-3 Agg)

• Vitoria SC vs. Real Betis (2-2 Agg)

🎽 Liverpool announced a new kit sponsorship deal with Adidas, returning to those Gerrard-Torres glory days of drip. The deal is reportedly worth more than £60 million annually and should be more fruitful than the prior Nike deal, which had a significant royalty component.

🎙️ In a recent interview, Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe torched the club’s past signings, many of them still in the squad, slamming the excessively expensive recruitments of Antony, Casemiro, Onana, Højlund, and Sancho. Not wrong, Jimbo! But maybe save it for the offseason.

He also took the opportunity to support Ruben Amorim, suggesting he’ll be at United for a long time. When you consider how much Amorim will likely cost to fire—in addition to how much it will cost to hire a new manager—it’s not surprising to hear support from an owner who’s literally rationing pieces of fruit to cut costs.

Why is Ratcliffe so monetarily motivated? He declared that Manchester United would have run out of cash by 2025 if not for his involvement, and his difficult decisions operationally are intended to reorient spending on the squad. Ratcliffe appears to be executing the sports equivalent of DOGE, lamenting the £175,000 annual expense for a body language consultant.

Just in: Manchester United have also announced plans for a new 100,000 seat stadium. Construction will reportedly take five years. The good news is it looks nothing like a gigantic circus tent. Nothing at all.