Spirit and DC United win, Cavan Sullivan officially turns pro, and more: Monday Freedom Kicks
Happy Monday, everyone. I hope all of the mothers in our community had a wonderful Mother’s Day, and luckily 2 of our local teams gave us some wins to celebrate, so let’s start there.
Washington Spirit hold onto early lead against Racing Louisville FC (DP)
The Spirit won on the road against Racing Louisville, and Croix Bethune was dynamite once again. They are back at home this weekend against Angel City.
Christian Benteke hat trick! DC United star makes MVP case (MLS)
M-V-P! M-V-P! Christian Benteke is having an incredible year so far, as he nets a hat trick to lead DC United past Atlanta for their first victory against the Five Stripes since October 2020. Next up: the Atlantic Cup on Wednesday against the Red Bulls.
Cavan Sullivan’s officially a professional, but don’t expect Philly to throw him to the wolves. For SB Nation, I discuss some of the things the Union are doing to reduce the pressure on what some are calling the best 14-year-old in the world.
Loudoun United were at home on Friday night, but couldn’t muster much in a 2-0 defeat to El Paso Locomotive.
Leverkusen crush Bochum to stretch unbeaten run to 50 games (ESPN)
Leverkusen = Neverlusen! Bayer is now unbeaten in 50 games this season across all competitions. They are 3 matches away from going unbeaten for the entire season.
Arsenal beat Man Utd to return top & keep title race alive (BBC)
Arsenal win on the road against Manchester United to take a temporary 1 point lead over Manchester City in the EPL title race. City have a game in hand, which comes on Tuesday against Spurs. Thus, Arsenal fans have to hope that their archrivals can help them out.
Ella Toone screamer sparks Manchester United’s FA Cup final rout of Tottenham (The Guardian)
On the women’s side, Man U destroys Spurs to win the FA Cup. It all fell apart quickly for Spurs in the 2nd half.
Vote for the Mascot Hall of Fame Class of 2024 (Mascot HOF)
Talon is on the ballot for the Mascot Hall of Fame. You know what to do…spread this far and wide and VOTE!!
Lionel Messi got hurt for a bit in Inter Miami’s match at CF Montreal, and because of a new MLS rule, he couldn’t immediately re-enter the field to take a free kick. He let his feelings be known to the cameras, while his teammate ironically nails the free kick to help kickstart Miami’s comeback win.
This was a very cool thing that AC Milan did. In honor of Mother’s Day, each of the players played with their mother’s maiden names on their jerseys. It was in support of an Italian court ruling that ended the mandate that children automatically took the father’s last name. Now, it’s a choice, so Milan players supported their mothers who helped get them to this point. Christian Pulisic scored a brace in the match.
USMNT midfielder Malik Tillman permanently joins PSV (The Athletic)
PSV America continues, as Malik Tillman will stay with the club. He was on loan from Bayern Munich, but now he will stay in Eindhoven as the team converted his loan into a permanent transfer.
Dest future unclear as PSV reportedly declines €10m purchase clause (Pro Soccer Wire)
Sergiño Dest’s knee injury came at a terrible time for the right back, as PSV has declined his purchase clause which will mean that he will return to Barcelona this summer. With Barca head coach Xavi not being a fan of Dest, where he ends up remains to be seen.
In the NYCFC-Toronto FC match, after the final whistle, there was some squabbling between the two teams. Sean Johnson really went after Strahinja Tanasijević, and I have a feeling it was something really bad that set it off.
In Germany, 2 teams punched their ticket to the Bundesliga over the weekend. First, FC St. Pauli won promotion, heading back to the top flight for the first time in 13 years.
Finally, Holstein Kiel, from a port city in Northern Germany, will play in the top flight for the first time in their 125-year existence. I’m really happy for them, and it’s not just because I have their jersey in my closet. These are the stories that people love in sports.
Let’s have a great week, y’all!
More thoughts about this game…
I really liked how Coach Lesesne introduced a 5-4-1 down the stretch. It’s good to have a Plan B where you can adjust tactics both for different opponents and as games evolve.
More on Pirani… in addition to the nice sequence of his that led to Klich’s shot, he had a couple of one touch passes that started a transition. Maybe the staff has been working with him to know what he’s going to do before he gets the ball. I don’t think his problem so far has been talent. I think it’s mental in that he was used to being so talented at the U-23 level compared to the opponents that he could afford to touch the ball then decide what to do next. His talent would let him evade opponents until he could make a pass. Now, he’s found that he needs to adjust to opponents who are just as athletic as he is and also read his next move instantaneously if he doesn’t already have an idea of what comes next.
I think it’s ok to use him as a sub for now as we don’t want to destroy his confidence or set him up to fail. He’s on the roster so you want to put everyone in the best situation because that way the team is stronger. I also think his teammates understand what he can do once he fully adjusts to the speed of play.
I can’t predict the future or whether he develops into a star or not. That’s where things are now. It’s not time to give up on him. It’s time to develop him. DCU signed him on talent and potential. It would be a waste of everyone’s resources to not try to develop him.
I think Atlanta gets better this season. They have so many pieces. I can’t tell if that forward is a bust or if he was just marked out of the game. They’ll need a better presence in the box to make a run in the playoffs. They’ll give NYCFC and Philadelphia fits, at least on a full-sized soccer field.
As for DC United, they got the closing the game off monkey off their collective back. They knew they could score goals. They knew that Christian Benteke is a once in a generation quality inside the box forward (Zlatan wasn’t as good yet he played on bigger name teams due to better self promotion). Now they know they can credibly kill off a game if they need to.
The left side was less of a liability this week. It wasn’t like with Hererra and Stroud working combinations that lead to good service for Benteke but it was not a weak link so that’s progress.
Zlatan disagrees with you.
Mr. Ferrari!
I don’t think Giakoumakis is a bust. He was a top scorer at Celtic, and he was darn near unstoppable last year. I’m not sure what’s off this year, but I’m thankful we ran into them when we did.
Celtic is coming. They topped Rangers on Saturday. I am despondent. DC U must destroy Celtic.
The MLS website posted a long tactical analysis of the game in their matchday recap:
Atlanta’s regression, Cincinnati fill their biggest need & more from Matchday 13 | MLSSoccer.com
Doyle: “I’m buying DC stock!”
The great thing is that the roster is healthy (other than Canouse), and that there is space on the roster to add some depth. That may only be able to happen with the buying out of someone like Jeahze or Rodriguez, but hopefully ownership will be impressed with the results of the season so far (i know I am!) and give Mackay and Lesesne the ability to keep building the squad. We’re a catastrophic injury or two away from being real bad.
Just saw some reporting that San Diego will try to land Kevin DeBruyne. Let’s beat them to the punch! A Belgian connection between DeBruyne and Benteke would be pretty nice.
It might sound extremely tempting to spend a king’s ransom to bring someone of his caliber to DC, but Man City are shrewd operators when it comes to transfers, and will exact their price. If Levien were willing to invest that much, I think I’d prefer them to spend it more holistically and on someone whose durability isn’t depreciating
The Athletic is also reporting that San Diego is looking at Sergio Ramos.
Give me a moment to contain my laughter.
It feels like San Diego wants to be linked with literally everyone.
*Checks news*
Sounds like even I am linked with a transfer to San Diego, what is this?!
Great quotes from Lesesne about Benteke’s impact on the team culture. I can’t think of much better for the young players than having a PL star who not only performs and involves his teammates, but also listens to the coach’s critiques instead of pouting like some Italians up north.
^^^^This
Benteke did not come here for a vacation/retirement party, gotta respect that.
“Death, Taxes and Benteke headers…”
(I must give props to MLS press on this one…)
Neither did Klich. Both have been outstanding acquisitions–it just took a while to find the right system for their strengths and assets to shine.
Benteke has played as many games for DC as Wayne Rooney, and Klich is just a few behind. Benteke has scored more goals than Rooney did, and Klich has as many assists as Rooney did. Not too bad!
No Buzzard Points summaries because technically both winners (Spirit and DCU) played on the road but DCU certainly acted as though the Benz (despite 48k screaming Five Stripes fans) was a home pitch. An impressive performance.
48k booing fair-weather Fake United fans….
I was at the game and saw a handful of people with DC United gear. Great to see a Benteke hat trick to help keep the crowd mostly subdued during the match!
I do think it’s a little nuts, having experienced the Freddy Adu era, that we’re basically passing over the Cavan Sullivan news like it’s nothing. In some ways, this is Freddy’s gift to us all. We have far more perspective and patience collectively for prospects, and it seems we finally know how soccer works- there’s no messiah who wins us a World Cup, or makes the US relevant. It’s a gradual lifting of the quality line overall.
So, I’m unironically thanking Freddy for putting us through that lesson, it must have been dreadful for him.
Congrats to Kiel and St.Pauli, despite the dread of Koeln hitting the skids.
DC Bayern club heartily salutes Neverkuesen (this name shall be banned) for running a brilliant season. A treble potentially awaits, and Xabi Alanso is now running in the rarified air of Pep, Jurgen and Ted Lasso….
Bayer Leverkuesen, you never stunk it up historically, and now your consistent efforts have paid off wonderfully. Viel Glueck!
Oh my…
This just dropped…
DC United is a part investor in a second DC women’s soccer team…..
See WashPost, Goff
And Frederic Brillant is tipped to be the coach.
I suppose that is one good thing about this….
As someone who thinks it’s cool that the Spirit now play at Buzzard Point along with DC United, and doesn’t want that to change due to some weird tension or conflict, my general reaction is “ruh roh…”
Goff mentioned that the Spirit are under contract to play at Audi Field through 2026, I believe. So, there’s some opportunity to work any issues out. More use for Audi Field in the meantime!
That’s somewhat reassuring, but my concern is mainly related to the personalities involved. Kang does not strike me as the compromising type when it comes to the Spirit’s status, and I can’t say I trust Levien and co. to be mindful of that if they’re investments lead them elsewhere. All in all, my gut is uneasy on this one.
Understandable. I think there’s a chance that the new league’s finances aren’t totally secure, and the situation “resolves itself.”
Yeah, I’m very unconvinced a dueling pair of women’s leagues is a good thing for the development of the sport in this country. Just because the NWSL has survived as long as it has, doesn’t mean this development makes a lot of sense other than for investors who don’t want to buy in to the existing league. There’s the theory that the more women’s teams the better, I think at the moment it’s a weak one.
Am I mistaken by thinking this was the minor league womens team DC United promised us 2 or 3 years ago? If that’s the case I don’t see as many issues, personally.
Looks to be a direct competitor
https://apnews.com/article/womens-soccer-new-league-usl-nwsl-fe7c2eef9bd964046b777fc9d7806ac5
Hard to read tone or what’s behind the NWSL’s statement apparently welcoming this, but it may be more of a “we’re unbothered, bring it on, short bus” type thing.
If it’s a direct competitor with hopes of being a top flight league the I agree that it’s stupid and really only hamstrings both leagues. Maybe they are aiming for a merger down the line? NWSL has been growing slowly and adding a competitor would only dilute viewership and attendance I’d imagine. Puzzling decision.
This has been public since the USL Super League was announced a little over a year ago. We hadn’t heard much about it since then, but it was a similar partnership to Loudoun United with Attain. The switcheroo was in the stadium choice. This team was slated to play at Segra, but now that Attain is out of the picture (I have some theories about this), DCU will have the team play at Audi.
Goff responded to my tweet about the hell it would do on the playing surface to say that DCU is considering switching to a hybrid turf.
Care to elaborate on your theories?
Also gotta say, I have concerns whether Buzzard Point could house a decent quality hybrid field…