English Clubs

Two stats stood out ahead of today’s Premier League match between Sheffield and Newcastle United at Bramall Lane: (1) Andy Carroll was handed his first Newcastle start in almost nine years and (2) Martin Dúbravka was busy making his 65th straight EPL appearance for the Toon, a run which began directly following his move from Sparta Prague back in January of 2018.

Both players played massive roles in Newcastle’s bizarre 2-0 victory. 

Sadio Mané, who leads Liverpool in scoring this season, was recently called out by a teammate for not passing enough. 

“Something that Sadio and Mo (Salah) have in common is that they don’t pass us the ball much,” Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain said, possibly joking but with a sting of truth. “They like shooting a lot!” 

Two momentous matches, two heavenly touches. 

In the 31st minute of Liverpool’s Merseyside derby with Everton, Divock Origi gave the Reds a 3-1 lead after cushioning a long ball from Dejan Lovren straight into his own path. His second touch was a looping effort over the despairing Jordan Pickford.  

Origi’s first touch was softer than Charmin. 

Divock. Origi. pic.twitter.com/ltWk97jtGb

It was hailed as a cruel slam by Oh My Goal; The Sun called it a dig; The World Game went further and called it a cheeky dig; SPORTbible proclaimed it a Face with Tear of Joy emoji masterpiece; Piers Morgan jumped on the social media bandwagon; Cristiano Ronaldo’s sister tipped over the wagon and set it on fire in defense of her dear brother. 

The footballing populace hasn’t been this charged and incited into Twitter fervor since Megan Rapinoe proposed the outlandish idea of taking it upon ourselves to make the world a better place. 

So what happened?

On Saturday, the impossible transpired: Miguel Almirón recorded his first major contribution for Newcastle United (an assist) in his 24th Premier League appearance. Also, EPL strugglers Newcastle recorded a 2-2 draw with the champions Manchester City. 

Joking aside, it was another performance that showcased why Newcastle fans have been so patient with the 24-year-old Paraguayan (apart from the fact that the squad’s not exactly brimming with potential replacements).

West Ham goalie David Martin made his Premier League debut on Saturday at Stamford Bridge. A boyhood fan of the Hammers, Martin went toe-to-toe with the likes of Olivier Giroud, Pedro, Mason Mount and world-beater Christian Pulisic.

Facing 19 shots — six on target — Martin more than held his own, recording a clean sheet as his team stunned Chelsea 1-0.

After the match, the West Ham goalie was in tears, overcome with emotion before his teammates rallied around him in support.

Former Red Jonjo Shelvey gave Liverpool a gift earlier in the day, scoring a late equalizer to hold Manchester City to a draw. Then the goalkeeper nearly threw it all away with a remarkably stupid Alisson red card against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Ultimately, Liverpool held on to win 2-1, going 11 points clear of Manchester City after the Citizens drew 2-2 with Newcastle United earlier on Saturday. But it was unnecessarily nervy at Anfield because of some boneheaded goalkeeping.

Christian Pulisic had his run of three-straight Premier League games with a goal snapped on Saturday against Manchester City. So on Wednesday he started a new streak, this time scoring in the Champions League — with some help from the VAR.

Pulisic scored his third career Champions League goal to help Chelsea earn a 2-2 draw against Valencia on Wednesday at the Mestalla.