Fails

Last night, D.C. United defeated the Columbus Crew 3-1 at Audi Field thanks to goals from Luciano Acosta, Wayne Rooney and Paul Arriola, but the complexion of the match would’ve been wildly different had the Crew’s 22nd-minute opener been allowed to stand.

With the score level at 0-0, referee Ted Unkel got mixed up in the play with United in possession. A pass intended for Acosta never reached its mark because of the ref’s interference, and Wil Trapp immediately released Pedro Santos going the other way. Santos hammered home his finish, 1-0 to the Crew.  

The stumble for fourth place in the Premier League continued apace today with Arsenal getting thrashed 3-0 by Leicester City before Manchester United and Chelsea settled for a share of the spoils at Old Trafford following a 1-1 draw.

Coming into the match on the back of three straight defeats, United started strongly with both Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford looking extremely sharp in attack. The Red Devils’ deserved opener arrived in the 11th minute with the aforementioned Lukaku playing a big role.

With the two automatic promotion places from the EFL Championship to the Premier League going to Norwich City and Sheffield United, today’s meeting between third place Leeds United and fifth place Aston Villa on the penultimate day of the season simply served as a preview of things to come in the Championship playoffs (both sides have already guaranteed their spots).

Wednesday’s Manchester Derby was a big one. While both sides of Manchester were hugely invested in the match, so too was the rest of the top six with the races for both the Premier League title and Arsene Wenger Memorial Top Four Trophy more heated than ever. 

For once, Liverpool fans were rooting for their hated Manchester United rivals, hoping they could put a dent in City’s title hopes. 

For once, Liverpool fans could feel a little empathy for Red Devils fans who have to their strikers fluff their lines in front of goal over and over. 

There have been many notable whiffs in the pantheon of U.S. soccer. This Cory Burke miss might be the worst.

Burke, a Philadelphia Union forward and Jamaica international, will never be as infamous as Major League Soccer’s most notorious whiffer, Chris Wondolowski. The San Jose striker may never live down his miss against Belgium at the 2014 World Cup and also has one of the most hilarious whiffs in MLS history from a few years ago.

It was quite the evening for Serie A’s Atalanta as it hosted visitors Empoli at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia in Bergamo. The sixth place side has been impressive in recent seasons, putting on good performances in the Europa League and doing well in Serie A.

The odds of Atalanta beating Empoli were very high as the visitors sat 18th, in the relegation zone. What looked like quite a routine match was completely turned on its head. No, Empoli did not beat Atalanta with a smash and grab, but Atalanta did not beat Empoli either.

Watford and Ben Foster didn’t have their best day at home versus Arsenal on Monday. The Gunners had not kept a clean sheet away from home this season, and the Hornets likely felt that a good result was possible in the match. Unfortunately for Watford, that was not the case.

Watford started the match well, putting Arsenal under pressure and having a few chances on goal. Arsenal didn’t provide very much going forward and needed a stroke of luck to get on the scoresheet early. Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster did Arsenal a huge favor.

Things went from bad to worse last night for the New York Red Bulls when the club allowed victory to escape its grasp by virtue of an 88th-minute Sporting Kansas City equalizer at Children’s Mercy Park, leaving the Red Bulls — last season’s Supporters’ Shield winners — with only one win from its opening six games.

To compound matters, Alejandro Romero Gamarra, better known as Kaku, was given a straight red in the fourth minute of second half stoppage time for smashing the ball into the face of an SKC supporter from point-blank range.