24/25 Match Week 3 Recap

International Break Begins - See Off Island 🏝️🏝️🏝️for more.

Far Side of the World. Click here for the story of the song (7min)

In Today’s CleanSheet:

• Headlines 📌

• Current Situation📈📉

• Hot Topic 🔥🔥🔥- Champions League

• Off Island 🏝️ - International Break

• Best Bets 💰

Headlines 📌

• History Made in SIX Minutes. Everton 2-3 Bournemouth.

  • The Cherries became the first team in PL history to be down 2 goals at the 87th minute and come back to win.

  • All looked good for the Toffee’s, who were up 2-0 and had everything in control - until they didn’t.

  • 3 goals, 6 minutes - all in 83s on X.

  • Talked about this in last Friday’s CS - this was a home match against a side many think will be in the relegation battle at the end of the season. Things continue to get nervy for Everton as the season progresses.

• Two Story Lines. Man United 0-3 Liverpool. Luis Diaz scored the first two, Mo Saleh with the third and it really wasn’t that close in the Northwest Derby. Here are 2 min of highlights.

  • Story Line ONE. ten Hag needs to go. Where you sit in the table matters. This team just keeps losing. This team is not getting better - statistically and in the Table. United have a MINUS 3 goal differential since the start of the 2023 season. City is PLUS 93 in that time period, Liverpool +79.

  • Story Line TWO. United have won 2 trophies under EtH, more than any other club during that period (outside of Man City). They look much better this year than last and have some solid signings they are integrating. While the draw at BHA was disappointing, BHA just drew at Arsenal - maybe they are better than people think. Liverpool are looking like a title contender. There is plenty of time for Man United to make a run at a top 4 spot.

Right now, EtH has “full backing of football leadership”.

Regardless of which story you lean towards, one thing is certain - Liverpool fans will continue to remind United fans who’s having the better of it lately “ten Hag at the wheel”.

• Liverpool have 7W 1L 5D in the last 13 derby’s.

• This is a great 2 min from Liverpool Gaffer Arne Slot on the approach they took to attack United.

• Hat Trick Haaland. Deja vu all over again. Just gonna update last week’s post…..

  • Speaking of Hat Tricks. In City’s 4-1 win over Ipswich Town, 3-0 win over West Ham, Erling Haaland got his SEVENTH EIGTH hat trick in his 67^th 68^th PL match, this one came in a 4 min window. This one came on the road.

    • Sergio Aguero, who also played for City, has the most hat tricks in PL history with 12 - he averaged 1 hat trick in every 23 matches. Haaland is currently averaging 1 in 9.7 8.5.

Each hat trick the team gives Haaland a signed game ball…..a teammate seems to have had enough.

• Let Them Play. Just like in American Football when a referee puts themselves at the center of the narrative by making a questionable call that directly influences the outcome of a game (think a taunting penalty giving a key first down to extend the final drive) Declan Rice was sent off for Arsenal with a very questionable Second Yellow Card. A second yellow us then automatically a Red Card. so at the start of the 2H with the Gunners leading 1-0 they are down to 10-men. BHA took advantage of a 10-man Arsenal side and drew 1-1.

  • The Play.

  • The Play in the context of the match.

  • The reaction from most pundits.

• And After 3.

  • 7 teams have yet to lose in the PL: City, Liverpool, BHA, Arsenal, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Forest.

  • 6 teams have yet to win: LCFC, Palace, Ipswich, Wolves, Southampton and Everton.

  • 2 players have scored in all 3 matches: Haaland-7 total goals (City), Salah-3 (Liverpool).

  • There are 18 clubs yet to lose across the top 4 leagues in the EFL. Is your team one of them?

• Transfer Window Closed. Too much movement to comment on. If you are looking for how each team did, NBCSports graded the summer window for all teams.

  • CS Opinion.

    • Arsenal, BHA and West Ham had the best window.

    • Everton, Wolves and LCFC the worst window.

    • City and Liverpool were quiet and could afford to be.

Current Situation 📈📉

CleanSheets Counter & Goal Tracker

And there it is - right back to last season’s clean sheet numbers and way behind the “historical” average of 5.5 per Match Week.

CS will track the clean sheets over the season as well as the number of goals scored compared the last season.

Hot Topic 🔥🔥🔥

Champions League

• Champions League Draw. The CL structure is new this year (UEFA). Here is a 2 min video on X explaining how it works. Here more info and the schedule from Joe Prince-Wright of NBCSports.

• What it all means:

  • 4 more teams make the “Group Round” from 32 to 36, now called the Champions League.

  • The old format had 8 groups of 4 teams, with a home and away match against the other 3 teams in your draw, 6 matches.

  • In the new format teams will play 8 matches, against 8 different teams, half home and half away.

  • The top 8 sides, determined by points, will be automatically put in into the round of 16. The next 8 will come from a two-legged playoff between teams 9-24.

  • UEFA are leaving the “Draws” (who you play) up to a new computer system. WHAT COULD GO WRONG!

Here’s a “simplified” explanation on a page with this year’s qualifiers.

Off Island 🏝️

International Break

We’ve talked about other leagues and competitions across Europe. Now, across (most of) the world, those leagues take a “break” for players to join their countries teams. Not every player makes their countries teams, so for them they get a break. This is also a time for teams to regroup, take a breath and prepare for Match Week 4 which kicks off 9/21/24.

213 Players will be on International Duty from the PL over the next 10 days.

This international break see’s National Teams playing 3 kinds of matches:

• World Cup Qualifiers - South America, Asia and Africa.

• UEFA Nations League - Europe.

• Friendlies - North America.

For players on the English National Team or even other European teams, it's not a big inconvenience. For those from off island, it can be a major inconvenience.

Man City has 15 players leaving for break - S America, N America, Asia…..Here’s a good example of what the players, clubs and fans go through…”just come back in one piece lads”.

• 3 players will stay in England for the English National Team

• 1 off to Brazil

• 11 head out across Europe.

USMNT Schedule

Best Bets 💰

Good News. CS is ahead of last year’s low water mark.

Bad News. CS is has had 3 down weeks to start the season.