Christian Pulisic is the closest thing to he who was promised for American soccer fans who have been pining for a legitimate star. I’m not sure what’s the equivalent to being brought onto Chelsea after a successful start to a career at Dortmund, but the closest approximation I can think of is going from a […]
The 2nd leg of Chelsea-Real Madrid will go down as an all-time classic, as Chelsea overcame a 3-1 first leg deficit to take a 4-3 aggregate lead, only to blow it and lose the tie in extra time to Real Madrid 5-4, even though they won the game 3-2. Chelsea were far and away the […]
It is hard to look at Olivier Giroud and think “grafter. ” Because it’s not hard to look at Giroud at all. Ask Leslie Jones . It would be silly to suggest that people don’t make conclusions based on how a player looks. It’s difficult to reconcile him as a pure, old-school center forward. Strong, […]
The natural inclination is to arm the nukes to drop on USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter after his comments that the U. S. “dominated” Canada, despite losing 2-0 and managing just three shots on target. The initial reaction is that he’s completely deluded, doesn’t know what he’s watching, and all while having huge talent… Read more…
It may feel like the USMNT’s qualification process has been going on for about 32 years. Which is what happens when you cock-up the last one and everyone has to wait eight years between World Cup appearances (hopefully). Still, it’s important to stress that the U. S., if it can manage two wins in these […]
Slow starts, midseason swoons, and collapses are ways soccer clubs can blow a title race, but if you’re Man City, those don’t happen. Pep Guardiola’s team beat Chelsea for the second time Saturday, 1-0, plus are now 13 points clear of the second place Blues in addition to 14 points clear of third place Liverpool. […]
It wasn’t a huge shock that the BIG MEETING today with the Premier League clubs , managers, and assorted captains resulted in no change whatsoever. The Premier League, and those below it, will attempt to plow through the particular country’s latest COVID spike, as it decimates rosters, to try and preserve as much of the […]
The warping of European soccer and its priorities make judging Leicester City’s last week of the season decidedly foggy. Twenty years ago or so it would be easy. Win the FA Cup, finish fifth, that’s an unqualified success. But that’s not the world we live in anymore, and that’s what makes it so unclear. Read […]
When Chelsea were struggling under Frank Lampard, I was one of many who wondered what exactly they could get out of N’Golo Kante at 30. It was fair to ruminate if he could be the one-man typhoon in the center of midfield that he had been for Premier League-winning sides at Leicester and Chelsea. It […]
Christian Pulisic became the first American to score in a Champions League semifinal, and went some way to giving himself the opportunity to be the first American to appear in a Champions League Final by giving Chelsea an away goal in a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid. Read more…