Ready for a quick peek under the covers at the weekend-that-was? Let's try this again with a theme; today's theme being "winning" in all its forms and permutations.
Winning Ugly
DC United finally put a marker in the win column with a 1-0 win over the Houston Dynamo. It wasn't a spectacle for the purist, with two 5-man midfields choking off anything resembling sustained possession, and United creating less than their visitors. Still, Emilio did what he's paid the DP money to do, and a beaten-up defense managed to pitch their first shutout of the year, even after going down a man.
Tell me honestly now. After you looked at DC's opening fixture list (LA, Chicago, Houston), all the new pieces they're trying to integrate, the questions at the back, and the injury crisis going into the season, how many of you would have banked on United being undefeated at this point? I certainly wouldn't have been in that camp. The sickening thing is that we were robbed by the ref in LA, and, had we been more aggressive or precise with our finishing against Chicago, we might be sitting on 9 points right now. Weird the way things work. Last year we were pimped as heavy favorites and crashed and burned. This year, nobody is looking at us as contenders and we're not doing so poorly. It's a long, long season though...
Winning Late
Late drama abounded in the Premier League title race. Saturday, Yossi Benayoun sparked a late rally that he capped himself with a stoppage-time rocket to see off Fulham 1-0, propelling Liverpool to the top of the table. The pressure fell squarely on Manchester United, who had watched their once formidable lead evaporate on the back of two consecutive losses.
Cue the music and the gala showing of..."The Late Drama, Part 2."
You almost wonder if Sir Alex's famous obsession with getting the better of Liverpool had him script the magical comeback that saw Ronaldo grab the equalizer and a seventeen year old produce a slick turn and finish on his senior team debut in stoppage time. Words do the moment very little justice, so...
Game on for the title race!
Winning With Class
But if you prefer title races where the same tired old horses aren't being trotted out, how about a jaunt over to Germany, where the usual suspect took an absolute drubbing from new top dogs, and United partner club, VfL Wolfsburg. And if you want title races, check out the Bundesliga table. As if the 5-1 victory to take the lead atop the league wasn't enough, check out this extended moment of magic from Wolfsburg's Grafite.
Class.
So what caught your eye this weekend? The rash of reds around MLS? The late, late show in England? Barca and Real trading 1-0 punches? Fire away in the comments, and stay tuned for the MLS Dogpile, coming soon to a browser near you.
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