Club soccer is back!
Let’s raise our steaming hot cups and drink it all up.
No more of those decaf qualifiers and friendlies.
We know what makes us tick:
The English Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1 - plus some Major League Soccer on the side.
The best leagues in the world, featuring the best players in the world - that’s what we want.
We want the best of brews.
So, let’s have a look at what was served up to us in recent soccer action.
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English Premier League
The EPL sensed we were thirsty for club action and not only gave us a full slate of games on the weekend but made it a double-shot by adding a second slate of mid-week games. Gulp.
There were eight matches played on Saturday, and if you were like me in North America, your Fubo screen was divided into four grids for much of the day, or you were watching Goal Rush.
Villa Hold on to Fourth
There sure was a rush of goals on Saturday.
Harvey Barnes returned from injury and as a substitute led Newcastle to a stunning comeback from 3-1 down to beat West Ham 4-3, leaving the magpies in eighth spot.
Chelsea were unable to take advantage of 10-man Burnley, letting three-points literally slip through their hands when the usually dependable Đorđe Petrović let the ball slip through his hands for the tying goal in the 81st-minute. The game ended 2-2.
It’s hard to be a Chelsea fan these days isn’t it? Chelsea don’t even make it onto our fixtures graphic because they sit in twelfth-place. Though a win over Manchester United on Thursday could change that
Son Heung-min found an 86th-minute goal to get Tottenham Hotspur past Luton 2-1.
Moussa Diaby’s goal and assist powered Villa to a comfortable 2-0 win over Wolves, and a retention of the fourth Champions League spot.
And in the final match on Saturday, Manchester United did nothing to make their fans happy or show any intent to move up the table. They played to an uninspired 1-1 draw with Brentford.
Liverpool Top of the Table
With only two games scheduled on Sunday, attention was concentrated on which team would end the day and game week at the top of the table.
Liverpool did their part, beating Brighton 2-1 at Anfield. Mo Salah scored the winner in the 65th-minute and he and his teammates sat back and sipped on their post-game capps knowing that only an Arsenal win could unseat them.
But Arsenal could not deliver. In fact they really did not go after this win, showing too much respect for hosts Manchester City. The Gunners focused on defending and ended up in a 0-0 draw.
After the game, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said of his opponents: “I continue to say they are the best team in the world in my opinion by far, the best manager in the world by far and we have to catch up and try to be better than them, and that’s the challenge ahead of us.” (Arsenal.com)
Best in the world?
Hmm. You’d never have heard Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson say something like that back in the day. In fact, in Arteta’s position in the table and tied 0-0 in the game with City, Ferguson would have gone for it in the belief that in some cases one point is as good as a loss and that three-points would make it more possible to eventually win the league.
At some point in time, the best managers and the best teams need to take risks and bet on themselves.
Mid-Week Movers?
In Tuesday’s action, Newcastle were unable to improve on their place in the standings after drawing 1-1 with Everton, while Spurs could only manage a 1-1 draw away to West Ham to remain in fifth spot behind Aston Villa.
Let’s see what Wednesday and Thursday holds with all three title-chasers in action!
La Liga
Real Madrid maintained an eight-point gap over second-place Barcelona by beating Athletic Club 2-0 on the strength of two Rodrygo goals.
The game saw the return of two key players for Real: Jude Bellingham from suspension and defender Eder Militao from a long-term ACL injury.
Both players will come in very handy one week from now when Real face Man City in the Champions League Quarter-Finals.
Serie A
Despite their big lead in the league, Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi was taking no chances in his preparations for their weekend clash with Empoli. Inzaghi decided that the international break was too much time away from each other and organized a retreat prior to the game. No doubt that there were many cups consumed in the homeland of the cappuccino as the Inter players gathered and got reacquainted at the team hotel.
All of that coffee and convo paid off as Inter ended up comfortably beating Empoli 2-0 on goals from Dimarco and Sanchez. The Nerazzurri have a fourteen-point lead over cross-town rivals AC Milan.
Bundesliga
Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso was in the news during the past week for rejecting the advances of Liverpool and Bayern Munich, and committing himself to his first-place side.
He said of his decision: “At the moment it feels right to be here. I'm really happy. The club is great. The fans are great. The players are unbelievable, so many reasons.” (Daily Mail)
The players are indeed unbelievable as they were able to comeback from a 1-0 deficit to beat Hoffenheim 2-1 on a late Patrik Schick goal.
Leverkusen are now 13-points ahead of Bayern Munich who lost at home to Dortmund.
Bayern’s manager Thomas Tuchel was disappointed in his squad’s performance in that game and even went so far as to concede the title:
"After today's game there is no more need to count points. How many is it now? Congratulations to Leverkusen.” (Eurosport)
Thirteen, Thomas, Thirteen.
Thomas will need a little coffee house reflection time this summer to figure out what went wrong at Bayern and where he will coach next.
Ligue 1
In France, Paris Saint-Germain are continuing to stroll to another league title. On the weekend they defeated Marseille 2-0, doing so with ten men after a 40th-minute red card to Lucas Beraldo.
Such a win should have been good for morale, except that Killian Mbappe took exception to his 65th-minute substitution, having words with his coach Luis Enrique as he left the field. The mid-season Mbappe to Real Madrid saga continues in The City of Light.
Major League Soccer
And Major League Soccer pressed on like a fine Keurig coffee machine - as there was no international break for the North American league.
Today the MLS table shows the LA Galaxy and FC Cincinnati sitting at the top.
Over the weekend the Galaxy defeated the Seattle Sounders 1-0, while Cincinnati only managed a 1-1 draw with Charlotte, leaving the Lala-landers ahead in the Supporters Shield standings on goal difference.
Extra Shot
For those of you who have read this far, this is a little bonus reminder that there are still some piping-hot games to watch in the mid-week Premier League schedule.
Today, Arsenal face Luton, Brentford host Brighton, and Man City play Villa.
While on Thursday, Liverpool host Sheffield United at Anfield, and Chelsea and Manchester United face-off at Stamford Bridge.
Enjoy!
Soccer Recapps are served to you every Wednesday by our very best baristas.
This week’s Recapp was presented by:
John Vidovich
John is a former player and coach who now searches for the best coffees and teams in the world.
You can find him on x.com @johnv1d and @team_picture.
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Until Friday … we’ll miss you a latte!
Love the EPL coverage 💯💯💯
Any future coverage on the Concacaf Chamipons tournament??