MLB

Believe – Mariners living in 'Ted Lasso world' as they seek end to playoff drought

By Sports Desk September 28, 2021

The Seattle Mariners have adopted Ted Lasso's mantra as they chase down a playoff place: "Believe".

Unlikely football manager Lasso uses that one-word message in the popular television show, and it is one that rings true with the Mariners as they seek to end a 20-year postseason wait.

Seattle must still reel in two teams in the AL East to take a place in the Wild Card Game, but their belief is not wavering.

A 13-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Monday opened up a two-game gap to their AL West rivals, with Mitch Haniger hitting a pair of three-run homers.

"We've got five games left, folks," manager Scott Servais said. "Here we sit. It's been some kind of season we've had, and we've still got a lot to play for."

Haniger missed all of last season but now has 37 home runs this year, ranking ninth in MLB.

Only Willie Mays (41 in 1954) and Ted Williams (38 in 1946) have ever scored more home runs in a season after not appearing in any professional league the previous year.

A's pitcher Cole Irvin gave up five runs for his fifth loss in five starts in 2021 against the Mariners. The 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers, against Tom Glavine, were the last team to face a lefty starter at least five times in a season and win on every occasion.

Irvin is not alone in having a tough time against this team, though. Seattle have not been shut out in 92 games, the longest streak in the major league this season.

Two years on from propping up the division, the Mariners are a serious prospect again. They are 8-2 across their past 10 games, the form team in the American League, and, of course, they believe.

"Believe," read a simple banner that hung in T-Mobile Park during this latest victory.

"That was pretty cool," Servais said. "You know every team's got their thing. It's the world we live in. And right now, it's the Ted Lasso world.

"Our guys are having fun, and we should all enjoy it, because we've had some kind of season."

Haniger added: "That's what is fuelling and firing us. As a team, we want to win every single game the rest of the season.

"Just come in every day, prepare to win and that's the goal. It's just control what we can control when we go out there."

Seattle host Oakland again on Tuesday.

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    Emile Smith Rowe and Harry Wilson were on target in either half as Fulham triumphed 2-0 over 10-man Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

    Smith Rowe broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time, taking Raul Jimenez's pass into his stride before finishing past Dean Henderson.

    Fulham forward Smith Rowe had another goal ruled out in the second half for offside, before Daichi Kamada's 76th-minute red card for a poor challenge on Kenny Tete made matters worse for the hosts.

    Wilson, the two-goal hero against Brentford on Monday, made sure of all three points with seven minutes remaining, latching onto Alex Iwobi's superb throughball and slotting home.

    The Wales international saw another late strike overturned for handball, but another London derby victory moved Marco Silva's side up to sixth place and saw them join a cluster of sides on 18 points.

    Meanwhile, Palace's sixth league defeat of the season leaves them 17th and just a point clear of the relegation zone heading into the international break.

    Data Debrief: Cottagers extend streak as super sub Wilson strikes again

    Fulham have now kept a clean sheet in each of their last four away league games against Palace, not going longer without conceding against a single opponent on the road.

    Now unbeaten in seven Premier League London derbies, the Cottagers are now on their joint-longest run without defeat in such matches.

    Wilson sealed the victory with his third goal as a substitute in the space of a week. Only Collins John (four) has netted more times as a substitute for Fulham in a single season than the Wales international.

    A difficult day for Palace was worsened by Kamada's dismissal. Three of the Eagles' last six Premier League red cards have come against the Cottagers, against no other side have they seen more.

  • 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.

  • Fulham full of confidence for Palace trip after dramatic derby win Fulham full of confidence for Palace trip after dramatic derby win

    Fulham are preparing to visit Crystal Palace with renewed confidence after a dramatic late win in another London derby against Brentford.

    Marco Silva's men were trailing heading into stoppage time at Craven Cottage on Monday, only for a sensational Harry Wilson double to snatch a 2-1 victory.

    That was a first win in four in the Premier League for Fulham, although their performances might have merited more points.

    Alex Iwobi certainly believes so, explaining: "It's a big lift because we feel like our performances recently deserved a lot more, in terms of getting points and results.

    "And the way we did it, against Brentford, we knew it wasn't going to be an easy game, a derby as well... To win it in the manner we did has definitely given us a confidence boost going into another London derby against Palace."

    Palace have themselves been given a big lift in the past couple of weeks, following their belated first league win of the season against Tottenham with an EFL Cup defeat of Aston Villa and a controversial draw at Wolves.

    The Eagles are still only a place above the relegation zone, and Iwobi is hoping Fulham can check their progress.

    "We know it's not going to be easy," he said. "Another derby, it's never easy at their stadium.

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    "They've only had one win this season – hopefully it remains that way against us and we'll get the result we want."

    Will Hughes had a message for the Palace fans ahead of their return to Selhurst Park: "Thanks for sticking with us, as usual.

    "It's not been the best of starts for us in the league, but hopefully they can see, especially over the last few games, that we're turning a corner, not only results wise but the intensity we're playing with.

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    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Crystal Palace – Jean-Philippe Mateta

    Goals have been hard to come by for Palace this season – especially at Selhurst Park.

    Oliver Glasner's side have netted a league-low three times at home, but all of those have been scored by Mateta, continuing his strong form from the end of last season. He has 14 goals in his past 12 home league games for Palace.

    They will again rely heavily on the French striker, with Eberechi Eze injured and fellow forward Eddie Nketiah struggling for form. New signing Nketiah has attempted 17 shots without scoring, the most in the Premier League this season.

    Fulham – Harry Wilson

    There is increased competition in the wide areas for Fulham this season, with Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson signed and battling with Iwobi, Adama Traore and Wilson for minutes.

    But if Wilson cannot get his opportunity after sensationally stealing a win against Brentford last time out, he might wonder if he will ever return to the XI, still waiting for his first league start of the season.

    His cutting edge was exactly what Fulham had previously been missing, attempting against Brentford 26 shots – their most in the Premier League for over 10 years – but requiring that late show to come away with the points.

    MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

    Following their comeback against Brentford, Fulham are unbeaten in six Premier League London derbies – their longest run since 2006-07 – and also their past five matches against Palace.

    Yet four of those clashes with the Eagles have ended all square, including each of the last three.

    Palace will hope for more as they look to move clear of the bottom three, but they have not won consecutive league derbies since April 2017 and were victors in their last capital clash against Spurs.

    Perhaps 0-0 is therefore the most likely scoreline. Fulham have kept three consecutive clean sheets at Selhurst Park, and their five away matches in the league this season have seen only 11 goals scored.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Crystal Palace – 37.5%
    Draw – 26.3%
    Fulham – 36.2%

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