MLS

Riqui Puig nets 99th-minute equaliser after Chicharito misses another penalty, Union rout Orlando

By Sports Desk September 10, 2022

Javier Hernandez missed another spotkick before Riqui Puig took over penalty duties to net a season-saving 99th-minute equaliser in the LA Galaxy's 1-1 draw at Nashville on Saturday.

Nashville had gone ahead in the 28th minute from Hany Mukhtar's penalty but Hernandez was the centre of attention once again.

The former Manchester United forward failed to convert a 97th-minute penalty attempting a Panenka last Sunday against Sporting KC, spurning a hat-trick and winner.

Hernandez stepped up again in the 55th minute after being bundled over by Shaquell Moore but had his low shot tipped around the post by goalkeeper Joel Willis.

With their season on the line, the Galaxy earned a late reprieve after a penalty was awarded for a Walker Zimmerman handball following VAR review, with the defender receiving a second yellow card.

But Riqui Puig grabbed the ball and took the responsibility instead of Hernandez, before firing just beyond Willis' fingertips for the goal.

The result means the Galaxy are winless in three games and sit eighth in the Western Conference on 40 points.

Western Conference leaders LAFC stumbled again, suffering their fourth loss in their past five games with a 2-1 defeat to Dallas.

Jesus Ferreira boosted his claims on a spot in USA's World Cup squad with a double for Dallas, while LAFC were reduced to 10 men after Ryan Hollingshead's 13th-minute red card.

Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia Union showed why they are arguably the best team in the MLS with a 5-1 thrashing of Orlando City securing their fifth straight victory.

Lewis Morgan scored a 78th-minute penalty to help New York Red Bulls secure a 2-1 home win over New England to firm up their grip on third in the east.

New York City suffered their seventh defeat from their past nine games, going down 1-0 to Charlotte.

Brenner scored a hat-trick as Cincinnati extended their unbeaten run to nine games, winning 6-0 over San Jose Earthquakes

Thiago Almada fired in a golazo as Atlanta United defeated Toronto 4-2, while Inter Miami slumped to a third straight loss with a 3-1 defeat at Chicago Fire.

Seattle Sounders toppled Austin 3-0, Houston Dynamo and Sporting KC drew 0-0, Portland Timbers edged Minnesota United 1-0, Colorado Rapids beat Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 and Real Salt Lake and DC United ended goalless.

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  • Curtin sacked by Philadelphia Union, Arena new San Jose head coach Curtin sacked by Philadelphia Union, Arena new San Jose head coach

    The Philadelphia Union have parted ways with head coach Jim Curtin, the club announced on Thursday. 

    Curtin was the second-longest serving coach in the MLS, only behind Sporting Kansas City's Peter Vermes, but his 10-year stint at Subaru Park has finally come to an end. 

    During the 45-year-old's tenure, the Union won the 2020 Supporters' Shield and made the 2022 MLS Cup final. 

    But Philadelphia struggled this season, finishing 12th in the Eastern Conference standings and therefore missing the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2017.

    Curtin oversaw 394 matches in all competitions, winning 170 (D90 L134), ending with a win percentage of 41.9%. 

    "We want to extend our heartfelt appreciation to Jim for his passion and dedication to this club over the last 10 seasons," sporting director Ernst Tanner said in a statement.

    "He greatly contributed to the success the club has achieved in recent years and for that, we are extremely grateful.

    "We thank Jim for the significant impact he made both on the field and in the community. Following the 2024 season, we recognise the need for change.

    "We'll continue to evaluate our sporting strategy and make the necessary changes this offseason to best set the team up for success."

    In the Western Conference, the San Jose Earthquakes named Bruce Arena as their new head coach and sporting director after a poor 2024 season. 

    They conceded an MLS-record 78 goals and finished bottom of the overall league standings, parting ways with Luchi Gonzalez before being led by interim coach Ian Russell.

    Arena takes charge of his fifth club in the MLS and his first since resigning from his position with the New England Revolution in 2023. 

    The 73-year-old is the most accomplished coach in MLS history, leading the league in regular-season wins (262) and Audi MLS Cup Playoffs victories (35).

    Additionally, Arena led the United States at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and won three CONCACAF Gold Cup titles.

    "I am extremely excited for the opportunity to come to San Jose," said Arena.

    "I coached my first ever professional game at Spartan Stadium in 1996 – the first game in MLS history – and my first international game with the U.S. in 1998 was in San Jose.

    "The Earthquakes and Northern California have a proud soccer tradition.

    "There’s a lot of potential with the club, and I am looking forward to working with everyone here to unlock that potential and get back to winning ways."

  • Slot: Hard work got Liverpool to where they are this season Slot: Hard work got Liverpool to where they are this season

    Arne Slot believes hard work and intensity have been key to Liverpool's form ahead of their Premier League meeting with Aston Villa on Saturday.

    Slot has won 14 of his 16 matches in all competitions since taking charge at Anfield and, despite his magnificent start, he pointed out that it has not been easy.

    "You only look at results. Brighton was a difficult one on Saturday where we were 1-0 behind and had to fight really hard and that is what you saw," he told the Independent.

    "We have to work really hard with incredibly high intensity to win our games and that has a lot to do with teams who think Anfield is the best place to play, so every team we play against is at the top of their game. If you want to win you always have to be consistent in your intensity."

    Having taken over from Jurgen Klopp, it was understandable that expectations had lowered when Slot took over, but after a stellar start to the season, Slot said he was unconcerned by the pressure.

    "I think if you work at any club around the world there is always pressure. For some managers it is not to go down, for some they have to win a lot,” he added.

    "In our position, there is always pressure and that is the pressure we give ourselves."

    Villa, meanwhile, go into this game having lost back-to-back games against Tottenham in the Premier League and Club Brugge in the Champions League.

    A bizarre penalty conceded by Tyrone Mings provided the winner for the Belgian side on Wednesday, but Unai Emery was still pleased with the intensity his side showed.

    "The first half we played like we were planning... It was a mistake," Emery said after that game.

    "It is difficult and here it is not strange. You watched the match and [Villa] playing, they finished exhausted. It was not intensity, it was that the match changed completely after our mistake."

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Liverpool – Mohamed Salah

    No player has been involved in more Premier League goals than Mohamed Salah (12) so far this season, with seven goals and five assists. He has also had the most touches in the opposition box this term (96), while of players to have had 20+ shots, no-one has hit a higher percentage of them on target (67% - 20/30).

    The Egyptian has scored in four of his last five appearances at Anfield in all competitions, while he was also credited with two assists in the 4-0 victory over Leverkusen last time out.

    Aston Villa – Ollie Watkins

    Only Erling Haaland (16) has had more big chances than Ollie Watkins (14) in the Premier League this season.

    While Watkins has only scored five league goals, with four of those coming from the big chances, he is still Villa's top goalscorer.

    MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN

    Liverpool have won five of their last six home games against Villa (D1), while the visitors have lost 16 of their last 18 Premier League away games against sides starting top of the table (D2).

    A large part of Liverpool's early-season success has come from their defence, with only Manchester City (32) facing fewer shots on target than them (34) in the league. Liverpool, meanwhile, have conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League (six).

    Slot is also only the fifth manager to win eight of his first 10 Premier League matches in charge, with the club also unbeaten in their last seven (W5 D2) against Villa.

    Slot's side have won four and lost one of their five home games in the league this season, accruing the joint third-most points (12).

    However, Liverpool have conceded the first goal in their last two Premier League games but avoided defeat in both (2-2 v Arsenal, 2-1 v Brighton). Indeed, their win against Brighton was the 100th time they have come from behind to win a Premier League match, the third team to reach this milestone in the competition.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Liverpool – 61.8%

    Draw – 19.7%

    Aston Villa – 18.4%

  • The Numbers Game: Can Chelsea dent title hopes of misfiring Gunners? The Numbers Game: Can Chelsea dent title hopes of misfiring Gunners?

    Ten matches into the Premier League season, Arsenal's hopes of ending their long wait for a league title are already in danger.

    Last week's 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United made it just seven points from five games, and they now trail leaders Liverpool by seven points.

    Injuries and suspensions have taken their toll on Arteta's men, and things do not get much easier for them on Sunday, against a Chelsea team currently above them on goal difference.

    Enzo Maresca's Blues fought back to draw 1-1 with Manchester United last time out, and only Manchester City and Liverpool have beaten them since the Italian took over.

    We delve into the Opta data to preview Sunday's headline fixture at Stamford Bridge.

    What's expected?

    Given the two sides are only separated on goal difference ahead of Sunday's match, the Opta supercomputer finds it difficult to split. 

    Across 10,000 pre-match simulations conducted by the supercomputer, Arsenal were victorious in 41.2%, giving them a slight edge over their hosts, who are a 33.2% shot.

    The likelihood of a draw is rated at 25.6%, but you sense Arsenal need to take all three points after seeing their hopes of winning the title drop to 4.4% in Opta's season predictions. Chelsea's own hopes are rated at 0.3%, with City (61.9%) still clear favourites ahead of Liverpool (33.4%).

     

    Chelsea have won just one of their last nine Premier League games against Arsenal (two draws, six defeats), a 2-0 away win in August 2021. The Gunners have managed three victories in their last four league trips to Stamford Bridge (one draw) – as many victories as they recorded in their previous 20 visits (seven draws, 10 defeats).

    Arsenal have also won their last six Premier League London derby matches by an aggregate score of 22-3, winning six of those matches by five or more goals.

    One such occasion was a 5-0 rout of Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium last April, their biggest-ever margin of victory against the Blues in all competitions.

    Blues eye statement victory

    When the Premier League fixture list was drawn up, even the most optimistic Chelsea fan may have struggled to visualise the Blues sitting ahead of Arsenal in the table after 10 games.

    But Maresca's side have shown promising signs in the early stages of his tenure. Chelsea's last two Premier League defeats this season have come against last season's top three teams – 0-5 versus Arsenal in April, 0-2 versus City in August and 1-2 against Liverpool in October.

    They are unbeaten in their last 21 matches against all other teams, winning 14 and drawing seven while scoring 57 goals in total across those games.

    The future looks bright for Chelsea, who fielded a starting lineup with an average age of 23 years and 96 days at Old Trafford last week – their youngest-ever XI for a Premier League match against Manchester United.

    However, they are still waiting on a first statement win under Maresca, and getting one over on the Gunners would earn him plenty of goodwill among the fans.

    Their chances could be decided by the fitness of Cole Palmer, who is an injury doubt after suffering a knock against United.

     

    He opened the scoring when the Blues last welcomed Arsenal to west London for a 2-2 draw last October, scoring his first Premier League goal at Stamford Bridge.

    Since then, he has more home goals in the competition than any other player (21), also leading the way for goal involvements (12 – seven goals, five assists, alongside Mohamed Salah) and open-play chances created in 2024-25.

    Can fit-again Odegaard get Gunners firing?

    Last season, Arsenal won 42 of their 89 Premier League points on their travels, taking nine points from five matches at the homes of their Big Six rivals. 

    This campaign, however, their failure to hit top form on the road has threatened to end their latest title tilt before it truly got going. 

    Arsenal have collected seven points from five away matches this term, the same amount as Brighton and fewer than Liverpool (13), Nottingham Forest (11), Chelsea, City and Aston Villa (all 10).

    While Arteta has long preached the importance of control, Arsenal have simply not been good enough going forward in those matches. They have attempted just 37 shots on the road in the Premier League this season (7.4 per game), with only Brentford (seven) averaging fewer per away match across the entire division.

     

    The fact Arsenal played significant amounts of time at Manchester City and Bournemouth with a numerical disadvantage likely plays a part, but the fact five teams have attempted at least twice as many shots on the road does not make for good reading (Manchester City 90, Tottenham 83, Crystal Palace 79, Bournemouth 78 and Manchester United 74).

    Martin Odegaard's return to training after two months out with an ankle injury is a major boost, with the Norwegian having led all players in the Premier League for expected assists (11.17 xA) and chances created from open play (88) last season.

    Arsenal have actually outperformed their underlying attacking metrics this campaign, netting 17 league goals from 15.75 expected goals (xG), so their finishing does not appear to be an issue. The fact they rank eighth in the league for xG does, however, suggest chance creation is a problem.

    Arteta will hope Odegaard's return can make the difference, or a title challenge may prove a bridge too far. The last time they lost three successive away Premier League games was in December 2021, and they went on to miss out on a top-four finish that season.

    The Norwegian was a late substitute as they were beaten 1-0 by Inter in the Champions League on Wednesday. They have now lost three of their last six games in all competitions, as many as their previous 32 beforehand.

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Chelsea – Nicolas Jackson 

    Since the start of last season, Chelsea striker Jackson has been involved in more London derby goals than any other player in the Premier League (10 goals, two assists).

    All of his 12 involvements have come in his last nine such appearances, and he already has six Premier League goals this term.

     

    Arsenal – Bukayo Saka 

    Saka has provided more assists than any other player in the Premier League this season (seven). 

    He has also either scored (once) or assisted (twice) a goal in each of his last three away games against Chelsea in the Premier League, with Sergio Aguero (2013 to 2017) and Javier Hernandez (2012 to 2018) the only visiting players to do so in four consecutive appearances.

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