Underdogs

The Race Against Relegation: Calculating Premier League Relegation Permutations

After an arduous but entertaining eight-month season, the 2021-22 Premier League campaign has come down to a span of four days for a battle between three clubs to see which two sides will remain in the Premier League next year. 

Just a single point separates 18th from 17th and 17th from 16th, and with games in hand, the permutations become innumerable. Here's how the table looks at the moment, with Everton, Leeds and Burnley occupying 16 through 18th, respectively:

Jesse Marsch And Leeds Escape Relegation Zone Thanks To Genius Assist In 92nd-Minute

The Premier League's relegation battle took another dramatic twist Sunday with Burnley's 1-0 defeat to Tottenham and Leeds United's improbable 1-1 draw against Brighton seeing Jesse Marsch's side climb to the safety of 17th while Burnley fell to 18th.

Elsewhere, Everton came undone at Goodison Park with red cards for both Jarrad Branthwaite and Salomón Rondón to finish with nine men in a 3-2 defeat to Brentford, meaning the Toffees are still right in the thick of it.

West Ham Takes Wild Point Off Man City, So EPL Title Race Is Going Down To Final Day

Manchester City slipped, recovered and finally stumbled to a 2-2 draw against West Ham at London Stadium on Sunday to ensure that, as long as Liverpool takes care of business against Southampton on Tuesday, we're going to have extreme title drama on the final day of the season next weekend.  

The Award For 'Best Title Celebrations Ever' Goes To Turkey's Trabzonspor

Since the Süper Lig's inception in 1959, only two clubs outside Istanbul have ever won the title. Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş and İstanbul Başakşehir have combined for 58.

It makes sense when you consider Istanbul's standing as the most populated of Turkey's 81 provinces, and the most populous European city, at 15,519,267 — almost three times more than Turkey's capital city and second-most populated Ankara.

I Think Frank Lampard Just Named This Guy 'Man Of The Match'

For those that've experienced relegation, it forever stings like the lasting memories of a once passionate love affair that only serve to propel you through the final months of simply going through the motions. 

You know it's ending, you refuse to accept it's ending, it ends. It crumbles into nothingness — just nightmares of a disinterested Michael Owen trodding around the halfway line of your heart and all your good intentions deflecting off Damien Duff and into your own goddamn net at a gleeful Villa Park.

Wolfsburg Proves Barcelona Femení Is Human — 45-Game Win Streak Snapped But Barça Advance To UWCL Final

Barcelona is heading to its third UEFA Women’s Champions League final in four years after defeating Wolfsburg 5-3 on aggregate in the semifinals. The second leg of the tie is a smudge on Barcelona’s record as Wolfsburg snapped the Spanish giants’ 45-game win-streak and ended any thoughts of a perfect season with a 2-0 victory.

The number of days between Saturday and Barcelona’s last competitive defeat is 333. Needless to say, this Barcelona team doesn’t lose. Atlético Madrid was the last team to get the best of Barcelona on June 1, 2021, with a 4-3 Primera División victory.

Zlatan's Clutch Assist Keeps AC Milan's Title Dream Alive

Trailing Lazio 1-0 at halftime at Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Sunday night, AC Milan was witnessing the crushing end of its Serie A title chase. 

If the result held, Inter would stay top of the table with a game still in hand, and you wouldn't be on the Nerazzurri messing up twice in their final five matches with the most difficult test being a trip to 12th-place Udinese.

Trailing 2-0 With 10 Minutes To Play, Austin FC Rallies With 3 Late Goals To Stun D.C. United

Ruben Gabrielsen's goal in the 90th minute capped a wild late comeback as Austin FC scored three times in the final 10 minutes to beat host D.C. United 3-2 on Saturday.

It was the first-ever match between the two teams and a tale of two halves. The first 45-plus minutes belonged to D.C. United and Ola Kamara while the second half, played with the home team a man down, was owned by Austin FC.

Gabrielsen's game-winning goal came off a long crossing pass to the far post by Diego Fagúndez that bounced out of the hands of D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid.

Villarreal Hands Bayern Munich Its First UCL Away Defeat In 5 Years

History and precedent crumbled Wednesday as free-scoring Bayern Munich travelled to Villarreal, currently Spain's seventh-best side, and came up entirely empty-handed in a 1-0 defeat that occasionally threatened to turn into two or three for the home side. 

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