Finally all the anticipation is over and the MLS season has begun with a full weekend of games. Argueably the most surprising result came from the defending champion L.A. Galaxy, who fell 3-1 at home against Real Salt Lake. RSL demonstrated their determination this season from the start and they are certainly still one of the premier teams in the league. Perhaps then the result should not come as such as suprise, but rather the way in which the Galaxy lost, conceding three goals in the final twenty minutes to surrender the lead they had, was quite surprising, particularly at home. Elsewhere in the league, Houston and Sporting KC, who beat Chivas and DC United respectively, were the only other teams to pick up away wins. Of the other games played, all six home teams won and interestingly enough there were no ties on the first weekend.
While most of our attention was probably focused on the opening MLS weekend, the rest of the European season moved on with another week in the books and another step closer to the end of the season. In England the title race became even closer and more tense after United leapfrogged City for the top spot in the EPL. Manchester picked up a 2-0 win at home against West Brom thanks to a brace from Wayne Rooney. On the other hand, City stumbled away against Swansea, who have picked up some great results at home, after Luke Moore scored the decisive goal for the home side. The loss moves City to second place, only one point behind United, with ten games to play. The race for the final top four spots became more interesting as well after Tottenham slipped up against Everton, losing 1-0 and Chelsea took advantage with a 1-0 win. Chelsea, in fifth, are now only four points third place Tottenham, and Arsenal have the opportunity with a win against Newcastle to cut the gap to one point.
In Spain the race at the top remained unchanged. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona picked up difficult away wins, 3-2 and 2-0 respectively, which saw the gap between the two stay at ten points. Furthermore, both Messi and Ronaldo continued their brilliance this year as the two each scored twice to lead their teams to victory. In Italy, Milan extended their lead at the top of the table with a 2-0 victory of Lecce. Juventus slumped to their fourth straight draw, which now puts them four points behind Milan. Juventus enjoyed the lion-share of possession in the match, although they were limited in the number of true chances they were able to create, and eventually left Genoa without a goal scored and an unsatisfactory point to take back home with them.
Its a great time for soccer fans in the US with the excitement of the MLS finally getting underway as well as the title races heating up overseas. There is certainly an abundance of soccer to watch, so feel free to comment with other points that may not have been mentioned or any other thoughts that you may have.
(image courtesy of Getty Images)
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