FA Cup Semifinals Heartbreak

Sigh...things almost went my way today (as they most definitely did NOT go my way yesterday).

Coventry City. What a glorious comeback. Should that be accredited to how good you were in the second half? Or how gloriously shitty Man United were? Either way, I enjoyed the last 20 minutes of that first half with all my heart. Then, in extra time, when you almost scored but hit the crossbar. Then, when Trop DID score, but Wright was called offside. There was a minute left of extra time and we all thought you had won it, but VAR broke all of our hearts. On to PKs. You had been there before. Last year. Wembley. Against Luton Town. Hoping to get promoted. But Wembley is not good to you. But your fans were so beautiful. They stayed there singing and crying and cheering for you. I immediately went and pulled a light blue nail polish out of my cabinet and painted my nails in honor of your bravery in the beautiful game today.

Do I even mention the other leg from yesterday? How many chances can Chelsea blow? And then, to make me even more sick, there is that image circulating on the Internet of Thiago Silva crying while Noni Madueke jokes around with Jack Grealish in the background. He's beyond embarrassing after that and his petulance (along with Nick Jackson who can't fucking finish a shot in the box for the life of him) over not taking the penalty in the Everton match earlier in the week. I guess the FA Cup Final will be somewhat tasty as it is set to be a Manchester Derby, which, if I heard correctly today, has never happened.

At least Arsenal and Man City both got knocked out of the Champions League this past week. I'll try to ride that high until Arsenal play Chelsea on Tuesday.

Let's just hand the title to Man City!

Liverpool! Jesus Christ! It was one thing to lose 3-0 to Atalanta on Thursday at home. But to lose to Crystal Palace at home (on Hillsborough remembrance day no less) with the league title on the line?? Inexcusable! But it's always Crystal Palace, isn't it? Remember when Brendan Rogers got greedy and was trying to get them to rack up a bunch of goals so they could win on goal difference and they ended up drawing 3-3 with Palace? Sigh....

And then Arsenal. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad they lost. I like Aston Villa. They have solid players - props to Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey. But they're solid all around with players like Tielemans and McGinn on the pitch.

The top three teams all have yet to play Tottenham again. Maybe they can play spoiler (as long as they don't crash and burn like they did against Newcastle this weekend).

Every time I watch Luton, this is me. I am screaming at them to "Hold on!" When their captain, Carlton Morris, scored what ended up being the winning goal in the 90th minute, I had tears streaming down my face. I love the passion that their coach, Rob Edwards, wears right on his sleeve. When the whistle blew for the game to end, Morris was so overcome with emotion, he just stood there and covered his eyes with his hands because I think he also had tears streaming down his face. Well done Luton! And hold on!

Two other thoughts for today: Mateta got my hopes up with his sweet early goal for Crystal Palace (he was lucky that ball had back spin to go into the net rather than out). But Man City do what they do best and pissed all over them in the end anyways.

Arsenal also just won their game. Blech. Ben White should have been sent off for his fake tan little bitch self. When he faked getting hit in the neck by Estupinan in the 50th minute or so. What a wanker. As a Chelsea fan, I hate seeing Kai Havertz score for the Gunners. It hurts me deep inside.

Some big games tomorrow. I'll be rooting my ass for Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham (sorry Forest, but someone has to go down and I don't want it to be Luton, so...).

COLE PALMER!!!!

Glory, Glory, Man Uni- SIKE!!! GLORY GLORY COLE PALMER!!

If Cole Palmer isn't showered with riches tonight in London then somebody needs to send that young lad my way. I will worship the ground he walks on and treat him to a night that he will never forget. I should send Man City a thank you card with flowers for letting him go.

I knew going into the game today (Chelsea vs. Man United) that I could be in for a joke of a match - and it did NOT disappoint! I knew it would be a game of who WAS trying harder to lose. Chelsea were winning that competition clearly. "Let's score two goals and get everyone's hopes up!" Credit to Garnacho though. His second goal with the Antony assist was lovely. To have Cole Palmer wipe all of Garnacho's hard work out in stoppage time with two goals in 81 seconds...wow. The second penalty, in my opinion, was definitely soft. And then, I thought for sure Chelsea had blown it in the end when they had a break away and they essentially had FIVE men on and someone (I can't remember who) made the wrong pass and they blew it. They lucked out with a quick corner and Cole Palmer got the sweetest of deflections (poor Scott McTominay). So, again, GLORY GLORY COLE PALMER!

Let's not forget that Liverpool kept their lead at the top of the Premier League table with a win over Sheffield United. It was a bit nervy there for a few moments when Sheffield tied it up through a Conor Bradley own goal (which is sad, yes, but he has been one of the breakout starts of this season for any teams in the league).

So today was a glorious day of footy. And to top it all off I had a snow day to boot!

And Stamford Bridge - quit it with the Mason Mount hate. There's no need to boo the man who was your best player over the last few seasons just because he went to a rival team. Give respect where respect is due.

What a fabulous weekend of football!

And I can't believe there is still one more match to go! The capstone match at that! A possible title decider! Manchester City vs. Arsenal. I am hoping for a draw so Liverpool can further solidify their spot as numero uno. They barely beat out Brighton today, but thanks to King Salah, they squeaked out their win (because let me tell you, it was NOT a convincing first half on their part).

As for other highlights of the weekend, Newcastle vs. West Ham will go down as a classic comeback game. West Ham looked to have the game sealed when they were leading 3-1, and especially since the poor Newcastle players continue to drop like flies due to injury. But what the comeback from them yesterday. Harvey Barnes probably had boots kissed by every one of his mates yesterday after the match.

Chelsea vs. Burnley was an all-round embarrassment. Burnley went down to ten men early on due to red card that should never have been a red card and then their coach, Vincent Kompany, also got sent off and I admire him for it because he was truly speaking out against that red card that was a sham.

Chelsea have really only survived this season due to Cole Palmer. Or rather, "Cold Palmer." Check out his cheeky little penalty from yesterday. He also had a nice goal, mostly due to a brilliant little flick on from Raheem Sterling, who hasn't done all that much this season, but that assist somewhat makes up for his lackluster year. But Chelsea being Chelsea, still only managed to get a draw against a ten-man Burnley, which is just downright pathetic.

The other fun game from yesterday was Man United vs. Brentford. The game was all Brentford. Man United were absolutely abysmal. Yet bring on Mason Mount, who has barely touched a ball all season due to injury, and he scores what we all thought was going to be the late winner. Haha not so! said Brentford with Kristoffer Ajer scoring in the 99th minute.

Anyway, the big game is starting now and I must give it all my attention!

FA Cup Classics

What a weekend of FA Cup ties! It all started yesterday with the Wolves vs. Coventry City game. Nothing happened in that first half and then the game completely came alive in the second half. We all thought Wolves would be through with their late second goal, but then Coventry came back to not only tie the game, but to score a late winner! I love rooting for the underdogs so I am glad the Championship team won.

I didn't watch the Man City game at all because we all knew how it would turn out.

Chelsea was so painful to watch. Raheem Sterling...there are no words for how many times he fucked up during that match. Thank God Chelsea have Cole Palmer. That's pretty much all we have to be thankful for this season. Palmer has saved that team time and time again. When Mudryk was subbed off instead of Sterling, the Chelsea fans reacted with fury. Chelsea, in the end, were able to get the job done and even had a late stunner of a goal by Noni Madueke.

But the last game of the weekend...oh wow...it was epic. Liverpool vs. Man United at Old Trafford. To their credit, Man United never gave up and to be treated to three goals in extra time was unexpected to say the least, especially since many players were limping around like old men at this point.

After Amad Diallo scored the winning goal, the cameras panned to this little boy in the stands who was crying. He could not have been more than six or seven years old and he was wearing his Man United red hat, and poor bloke, all I could think was that he already has the footy fever at his young age. Just absolutely dying for his team. As much as I wanted Liverpool to win, I was happy for that young lad.

Now it's on to Wembley folks!

What. A. Match.

Wow...I don't know about the rest of you, but between the time change and the edge of my seat soccer match I just watched, I need to go lie down.

In case you missed it, I am talking about Liverpool vs. Man City. It was epic. It began with the booming unison of voices singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" and it never cooled down. My heart breaks because Liverpool should have won. They had the better chances. Luis Diaz will rue those chances he missed. I can't even be mad at him, however, because he had some of the most beautiful runs down the side of the pitch that I have ever seen. And Mo Salah just seemed to be a step off his mark; I can only imagine how the game might have ended if he had been up to his regular hijinks.

It was a beautiful weekend of late goals, with my favorite being the late looping Luton header by Woodrow to tie it up with about 20 seconds left in the match. It cancelled out the cheekiest goal of the season. A nice back heel by Palace player Mateta.

One game left tomorrow. Chelsea vs. Newcastle. Please just make it as entertaining as today's game was.

Manchester Derby

I rarely say this, but Manchester United had some periods of playing well today. Of course, when you are playing against Man City that really doesn't mean much. I know there were four goals scored in this match, but Marcus Rashford had the best one by far, so it's too bad that they gave up two goals to Phil Foden (and then awful goal that was the Amrabat error that resulted in a Haaland goal...yikes....) and lost the game in the end. But overall, I was pleased. It was a good game to watch. Since there is only one point separating Liverpool and Man City, it sets it up nicely for the big game next Sunday. I will be rooting for Liverpool. Who will you be rooting for?

Typical Chels

Of course Chelsea could barely eke out a tie against Brentford. Props to Wissa for that beautiful second goal against Chelsea. I guess Chelsea were doubly hung over from the loss to Liverpool and then their last gasp win against Leeds in the FA Cup (where Mudryk had a beautiful goal if you missed it).

In other news, Liverpool also scored a late late winner with through Darwin Nunez to remain on top, which makes me happy because we can't have Man City or Arsenal win this season.

And poor little Luton. Damn. After making a miraculous comeback, they lose it to Villa in the last few minutes of the game. A lot of late goals in the Premier League today. I live for that shit.

Manchester Derby tomorrow. To quote my soccer loving friend Doug, "I hope it's a draw and everyone dies." Okay, I don't hope for the second part, but you catch my drift. Let them both drop points.

Caught an MLS game tonight. It was Miami vs. Orlando. I only caught the second half, but it was embarrassing to watch after watching the earlier games today. Messi maybe scored the lamest goal in the history of soccer. Again, it was embarrassing. It was fun to see Luis Suarez out there. Can you believe it's been ten years since he was part of that Liverpool team that was chasing the title and failed because of that infamous Steven Gerrard slip against Chelsea? "The slip heard around the world." Did you know that Mo Salah was out on the field for Chelsea that day and celebrated when Demba Ba scored that goal?

FA Cup

Today there were a slew of FA Cup games available to watch. I didn't bother to tune into the Man City vs. Luton because I didn't want to have my heart broken by rooting for the little guy. I did tune into Leicester City vs. Bournemouth, which went extra time and led to a wonder goal scored by Abdul Fatawu. Normally, whenever I tune into Leicester, I long for the glory days of Jamie Vardy, Riyah Mahrez, N'golo Kante and Kasper Schmeichel, but that goal was so beautiful that I was able to forget about that dream team for a few moments.

Then, after one goal apiece in the Newcastle vs. Blackburn Rovers game, I was able to tune into their extra time where both goalkeepers were able to demonstrate their greatness. The double save that Pears made for Blackburn...wow.... But I love watching those crazy Newcastle fans. When it went to penalties, I couldn't take my eyes off the one fan right behind the goal. Newcastle fans love being shirtless no matter the temperature. And this guy wasn't just shirtless - he had a HUGE belly with a HUGE tattoo of NUFC making a rainbow over his belly button. And he was there jiggling for joy at every save that Dubravka made. For me, it was love at first sight.

Tomorrow, there are three more games to tune into and we will see how they go. Up the Chels!

Carabao Cup Final

Well, it almost went my way. So close! In the end, however, it was still quite romantic. Virgil Van Dijk scoring the goal to win the game for his beloved gaffer. Seeing Mo Salah smiling down from the stands did make it all worth it in the end.

I can't even feel bad for Chelsea. Well, I do a little bit because they are so unlucky! How many chances did they have? How many times did they come close? Conor Gallagher alone could have had 3 or 4 goals! But they seemingly gave up in extra time and those young Liverpool nothings did a great job and then their captain brought it all home.

While it did not go to PKs, I was still impressed with both goalies, particularly the Liverpool #2 Kelleher. Props to him for some big blocks today.

Both teams have FA Cup games mid-week. It will be interesting to see if they are both hungover from this game. I predict Chelsea will lose to Leeds, but that Liverpool will ride their momentum and easily beat Southampton.

Cheers to Jurgie!

Will things go my way today?

Sometimes, when my mom calls me up on the weekends, she asks a question.

"Are you watching soccer?"

The answer is usually yes, or an "I was watching soccer."

She often follows it up with, "Did things go your way?"

Well, yesterday, some things went my way and other things did not.

First off, Man United losing to Fulham in stoppage time was glorious. So that DEFINITELY went my way. I didn't watch the entire match (as I had to live my life and go to the grocery store), but I came home to turn it on to see that Fulham was up 1-0. Alas, Man United then scored through Slabhead Maguire. I didn't think Fulham would necessarily score again, as they were playing at Old Trafford, but as Man United have proved time and again this season, they are quite rubbish, and Iwobi scored that late late winner. It was a beaut!

Then I tuned in for Manchester City vs. Bournemouth match and didn't expect much of Bournemouth, but they did a good job in the second half and you could tell they were really scaring the bejesus out of ole Pep and Man City are lucky that they didn't end up with yet another draw.

Then I tuned into Arsenal, but I gave up on it because you could tell that they had the momentum and that poor Newcastle are not the time that they were last year. I gladly turned it off to read my book "The Wager" (which I highly recommend if you haven't read it).

Today, however, is the creme de la creme of matches. Chelsea vs. Liverpool at Wembley to decide the Carabao Cup. While deep down, I am pretty sure that Liverpool will win (maybe even want them to win as Jurgen Klopp embarks on his long, drawn out swan song), I am just hoping for a good match. Please give me extra time and PKs. If that happens, then today will have gone my way...unlike everything yesterday.

Sunderland 'Til I Die

Tonight, I finished watching the latest season of "Sunderland 'Til I Die" on Netflix. It was oddly only three episodes long, and while they did the usual recap at the beginning of what had happened before, so many years had passed (I believe I had watched the last season during Covid) that the narrative didn't make much sense. All of a sudden, they have a new owner. New coach. Almost all new players. And, I already knew how it ended (they get out of League One and are back in the Championship). The show is a similar in concept to "Welcome to Wrexham," without the Hollywood stars (I prefer Rob to Ryan because "Sunny in Philadelphia" beats out any movie Ryan Reynolds has ever made...ever....). The strongest and best parts of both of these shows are when they follow the fans and show how much the clubs mean to them. In this last episode of "Sunderland 'Til I Die," they follow a fan who says he downsized to live somewhere cheaper so he could afford to go to more games. He then *spoiler alert* passes away at the end of the episode! Needless to say, when I watch these shows, I become a blubbering mass of tears and red-faced blotchiness. I love watching grown men cry from happiness.

I love all these soccer shows. I enjoyed the docuseries on David Beckham and the "Captains of the World" show on Netflix that followed the biggest players from the last World Cup in Qatar. Are there any other soccer shows out there that I am unaware of?

PS - And yes, part of the reason I love the show about Sunderland is that, when they were still in the Premier League, I would root for them since their mascot is a black cat, because I own a black cat, and I have to root for her team!

Liverpool vs. Luton

Right now, two of my favorite teams are playing. I love Liverpool for their history. I want to go to Anfield so badly and sing "You'll Never Walk Alone." Sometimes I cry when I watch the fans singing it. I am hoping that Liverpool win the title this season, particularly since I love Jurgen Klopp, and he is leaving at the end of the season. I just love seeing his giant smile with his Bobby Firmino teeth However, Luton Town is my favorite newly promoted team to watch. I am hoping beyond hope that they do not get relegated. I would very much enjoy a trip to Kenilworth Road, walking through people's backyards to enter the stadium. Furthermore, Luton play with such passion! They never slow down, never give up. They truly make me believe in them. UEFA Champions League also starts here in a few minutes. I will be rooting for Napoli and Porto.

My origin story

Hello. A little bit about me as I start on this journey. I love soccer. I tell people that soccer is my religion. If you can't tell by the use of my word "soccer" over "football," I am American, and I fell in love with the game late. The first game I ever watched was the 1999 USWNT final vs. China. I don't know why I was home that day, as I was never home in high school. I don't know what prompted me to turn on the 13 inch television in my room and settle on that game, but I did. I watched the whole damn game. The overtime. Every penalty. The only name I had ever heard of at that time was Mia Hamm. But Brandi Chastain was the one who made the lasting impression. When she ripped her shirt off...that moment was etched in my little feminist brain FOREVER. Then, I went to live in El Salvador for a few years where I had to pledge my allegiance to either Real Madrid or Barcelona. Years later, I would finally make that decision and opt for Atlético Madrid thanks to my love for Fernando Torres. Now, I am addicted. If it's Saturday or Sunday morning, I am watching a Premier League game. If it's Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon, I have the TV turned to a UCL match. I even watch an occasional Europa League game on a Thursday afternoon, much to the behest of my other soccer friends. But I live for the World Cup and I can't wait for it come to the United States in 2026. And, I always root for a good underdog (I'm talking to you Morocco and you Leicester City). And, if you're a Manc, you're a wank (both City and United), and North London will always be Lily White and never red. But deep down, I love Chelsea, ever since their miraculous Champions League run in 2012.

When there are important games on TV, this is how I watch. Usually with my cat vying for my attention.