The Red and Blue Soccer Chat - 4/24/24

The Red and Blue Soccer Chat

Welcome back, Reds and Blues! It’s been a wild few weeks for us, and that’s not even counting the shenanigans your boys got up to in Vegas! Let’s catch up on all the action.

When last you saw/heard us, Chelsea had just broken collective Red hearts. Chelsea jumped out to an early 2-0 lead inside of 20 minutes and were worthy of it. But United hit back twice before the break and followed that up with what seemed to be a decisive third, as they settled after that harrowing opening 20 minutes to take full control of the game. United played some of their finest and consistent football, but their inability to see things out would once again be their undoing. Another late penalty allowed Palmer to tie things up from the spot. Soon after, Dalot – surely trying to make up for his penalty mistake – raced up field to make amends. But this left him out of position from Chelsea’s quick counter. The resulting corner was taken before he could get back, and it was Palmer once again with the heroics for Chelsea deep into stoppage time. Evan and Aaron’s emotions changed rapidly. Evan from another disappointing performance to elation at victory; Aaron from proud winner to the gut-punch that United have done so many times to others. Football. Bloody hell.

Chelsea followed that up by reverting to the mean with a 2-2 draw with bottom side Sheffield but bounced back to humble Everton 6-0. They then traveled to Wembley this past weekend for their semifinal encounter with City. And Chelsea would have their opportunities to get to a final, but their inconsistent finishing let them down and let City off the hook. And as City often do, they simply wore Chelsea out and eventually scrambled a winner over the line in the 84th minute. Chelsea then had to turn around on just a few days rest from that battle to take on Arsenal, and things quickly went from bad to worse. After giving up an early Trossard goal Chelsea managed to get a foothold in the game and had a few half-chances to level things up before halftime. Trailing 1-0 at the break, things could have gone either way. Unfortunately, that way was to concede another 4 goals within 25 minutes of the 2nd half. Arsenal were absolutely ruthless; Chelsea were stunned and completely out of ideas. They will have to dust themselves down quickly as they travel to 4th-place Villa on Saturday.

After United’s late setback against Chelsea, they quickly had to recover for another encounter with old rivals Liverpool. Having knocked them out of the FA Cup just weeks prior in an instant classic, this game nearly matched it for excitement. Liverpool scored first through Diaz, but United took advantage of a wayward back-pass that Bruno hit first time from 45 yards to chip the keeper. Kobbie followed that up 20 minutes later to give United an unlikely lead. But Liverpool never stopped and eventually got themselves a late penalty that Salah converted. United followed that up with another 2-2 draw away to Bournemouth that essentially ended any hopes of finishing in the CL spots. So, their own Wembley semifinal awaited with Championship side Coventry. And United looked mostly dominant taking a 2-0 lead into the locker room and then added a third. Seemingly coasting to a final matchup with rivals City, the wheels fell completely off. Coventry mounted the pressure and United wilted, giving away 2 cheap and preventable goals and then a penalty in stoppage time. United regained some composure in extra time, but both sides hit the woodwork and had opportunities to end things in active play. Coventry even had the ball in the net late on, but it was correctly disallowed for offside. So, to penalties they went, and things went further awry for United as Casemiro’s half-hearted Panenka was easily saved. But Onana saved one and another one was skied, leaving Rasmus to bury his and send United to a final. The players looked almost embarrassed to celebrate, but a trophy in this topsy turvy season is in sight. They will need to regroup quickly though, as a disjointed Sheffield side await them on Wednesday.

In our absence there was action in another sport. Caitlin Clark’s run to a final was brought to an end by a truly amazing and undefeated South Carolina team led by Dawn Staley. As we’ve seen in women’s soccer recently, it’s truly a case of “if you built it, they will come”. The women’s final outdrew the men’s for the first time ever, Clark’s WNBA side is selling tickets hand over fist and will also see a majority of their games televised nationally after having only 1 on TV last season. Support these great athletes and watch what can happen!

We’ll yet again be hoping to avoid giving up any late goals (too soon?), so join us live from Chatham Tap Fishers at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, follow along on Facebook Live and YouTube Live, or catch us at your leisure on our other platforms listed below. Please like, subscribe, and comment wherever you choose to find us. CHEERS!

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