Veracity Soccer Roundup: La Liga title race within 1 point, MLS action returns despite safety concerns
Soccer is back in full swing and it looks like we’re in for an action-packed summer.
European soccer has been well underway for over a month, and now US soccer has joined it as the MLS and USL join the NWSL as the country’s first professional team sport to fully return to action. However, as COVID-19 cases spike in many parts of the country, the American leagues have already faced many health related setbacks in such a short period of time. In Europe, where the response to the virus has been far more regulated, UEFA has begun planning highly anticipated fixtures, including the resumption of the Champions League.
After a week filled with so much optimism yet a ton of doubt in the soccer world, here are the past week’s biggest headlines.
Real-Barça title race narrows as both teams continue to rack up wins
In last week’s VSR I questioned Barcelona’s credibility after they recorded a pair of draws, one being against 16th place Celta Vigo. The club was at risk of being seven points out of the top spot if it had lost to Villarreal, a deficit near impossible to overcome considering Real Madrid’s post-pause form.
Now only two games remain and Barcelona’s only hope is that Real Madrid drops points. Based on Barcelona’s inconsistent production since the league’s restart, I would’ve expected Real to have clinched the title by now. However, it seems as if the Barça’s areas of concern have regrouped and have led the team back to its winning ways.
It seemed that the team’s lack of productivity at left forward was going to be a major setback. Coach Quique Setién had been rotating Arturo Vidal, Martin Braithwaite, Ansu Fati, and Antoine Griezmann into the starting left forward role in the team’s last nine games. And given his performance in the team’s victories over Villarreal and Espanyol, Griezmann proved that he deserved to be the starter. Fortunately, Barça was spared by Arturo Vidal’s game-winner in Saturday’s 1–0 win against Valladolid as Griezmann left the game due to a right thigh injury, which could sideline him for those crucial final two games.
Real Madrid’s hopes of preserving the top spot are very realistic considering their recent form. They’ve won each of their eight games since La Liga’s resumption, have only given up two goals, and are set on Monday to face Granada, a team in the mix for a Europa League berth.
Real’s success is mainly due to their defensive prowess anchored by Sergio Ramos. The team’s captain has done everything from making numerous game-saving tackles to a big time free kick banger. Ramos and Real are playing some of the best soccer we’ve seen in quite some time, with Ramos leading the team with five goals in their last seven games. Three of them came from penalties but at least the club has found a reliable replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo in that regard.
Ramos’ absence from Real’s 2–0 win against Alavés showed just how deep defensively Madrid is. With Ramos and Carvajal suspended for yellow card accumulation, coach Zinedine Zidane started winger Lucas Vazquez at right back in place of Carvajal since there were no other like-for-like replacements. Real’s defense held strong yet again helping Thibaut Courtois extend his shutout streak to five games.
If Real Madrid defeat Granada, they’ll regain their four-point lead over Barcelona and could clinch the title with a win against Villarreal on July 16. It’s coming right down to the wire for these two powerhouses, and neither are showing signs of slowing down.
The MLS is Back tournament is off and running, but should it carry on?
Sunday morning saw the past week’s third COVID-19 related match postponement in the MLS is Back tournament. The Toronto FC vs DC United game was slated for a 9 a.m start but positive and inconclusive test results on both teams released prior to kick off left the league no choice but to call the game.
Heading into the night of the tournament’s July 8 opener, it was still possible that the league would cancel the tournament. FC Dallas had withdrawn from the tournament the night before and Nashville SC’s immediate rise in positive COVID-19 tests spread league-wide concerns. Those teams’ high rate of positives forced them to remain quarantined in the MLS’s bubble, refrain from training, and ultimately postpone their tournament opener.
At halftime of the July 9 game between New York City FC and the Philadelphia Union, MLS confirmed that Nashville was also going to be removed from the tournament. The tournament now has 24 teams, evening out the six groups to four teams each.
Since Dallas and Nashville’s removal, positive tests have gone down, group stage action is well underway and it appears that there is no immediate need to cancel the tournament. The league is still very confident in its protocol and won’t cancel the tournament unless there is an absolute need to.
Now let’s turn to the games. The games tended to start off a little slow and rusty, but that’s always going to be the case when a team hasn’t played a single competitive game in four months. However, it isn’t obvious that the league underwent a four month hiatus. You don’t get that meaningless preseason feel in these games, and based on the broadcast’s natural sound feed, players are definitely showing a grand desire to compete for the prize money and a berth in the Concacaf Champions League.
Up until Saturday’s Group D games, the first three groups’ matchups stuck to the trend of only second half goals, and a maximum one goal margin. Many players have surprised me and even more have underwhelmed me, but overall the quality is better than expected.
Here’s a brief recap of each game so far (a more in-depth analysis coming soon):
Orlando City vs Inter Miami 2–1: Luis Nani’s 97-minute game winner put Orlando City atop of Group A. Inter Miami took the lead after Juan Agudelo finished off a cross following a brilliant passing sequence only to lose that lead after defensive mishaps in the final 30 minutes. Miami center back Andres Reyes was stretchered off the field after a collision with Orlando striker Dom Dwyer but returned to the bubble that night and is ready to play in the team’s next game against the Union.
NYCFC vs Philadelphia Union 0–1: NYCFC is still the only team without a goal this season as Union keeper Andre Blake’s late game heroics held City off for the victory. Alejandro Bedoya took advantage of a failed NYCFC clearance and finished the game-winner in the 63rd minute. NYCFC despite out-possessing and out-shooting the Union could not convert any of their chances and now sit at the bottom of Group A.
Montreal Impact vs New England Revolution 0–1: Gustavo Bou’s rocket from the top of the penalty box was the deciding factor in the Revs dominant performance over the Impact. The Impact nearly found a last minute equalizer on an outside the box volley from Ballou Table but Revolution keeper Matt Turner made a sprawling save to preserve the victory in the game’s dying moments.
Seattle Sounders vs San Jose Earthquakes 0–0: Both of these evenly matched teams missed golden opportunities but received solid performances from a few under-the-radar players. Seattle’s Nouhou Tolo and San Jose’s Valeri Qazaishvili were extremely consistent and are ones to watch out for as the tournament progresses.
Atlanta United vs New York Red Bulls 0–1: A fourth minute Florian Valot goal was all it took to decide this one. Valot finished a one-on-one encounter with Atlanta goalie Brad Guzan after a brilliant through ball from Kaku, splitting the Atlanta defense on seemingly their only defensive blunder of the night.
FC Cincinnati vs Columbus Crew 0–4: Cincinnati hasn’t seemed to have escaped last year’s disappointing inaugural season as they were thoroughly outplayed by the Crew. A Lucas Zelarayán free kick, a Gyasi Zardes brace, and a goal from Youness Mokhtar solidified the Crew’s domination in this edition of the “Hell is Real” derby.
2019–20 UEFA Champions League to resume in August, Final to be played the 23rd
This past week, UEFA finalized the details to resume the 2019–20 Champions League. The final is still set to be played in Lisbon, Portugal on August 23 at Estadio Da Luz, home of S.L Benfica.
With the tournament’s pause occurring in the middle of the Round of 16, the four remaining games will be played either August 7 or 8.
Here’s what the tournament fixtures look like ahead of the restart:
Remaining Round of 16 games (second leg):
- Lyon vs Juventus (Agg. 1–0)
- Manchester City vs Real Madrid (Agg. 2–1)
- Bayern vs Chelsea (Agg. 3–0)
- Barcelona vs Napoli (Agg. 1–1)
Quarterfinal Matchups:
- Atalanta vs Paris Saint Germain
- RB Leipzig vs Atlético Madrid
