The Beautiful Game 2023 Chapter 1: Patience

6 min readFeb 26, 2023

My first soccer article of 2023 will include my thoughts on the EFL Cup Final, San Jose Earthquakes’ first MLS game, and other notable games I caught during the weekend.

Featured Game: EFL Cup Final Manchester United 2–0 Newcastle United

Manchester United end their six year trophy drought by winning the 2023 EFL Cup Final. Image Credit: BBC Sport.

MUN XI: David De Gea; Diogo Dalot (Aaron Wan-Bissaka 46’), Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw; Fred (Scott McTominay 69’), Casemiro; Antony (Jadon Sancho 83’), Bruno Fernandes (captain), Marcus Rashford (Harry Maguire 88’); Wout Weghorst (Marcel Sabitzer 69’)

NEW XI: Loris Karius; Kieran Trippier (captain), Fabian Schar, Sven Botman, Dan Burn; Sean Longstaff (Alexander Isak 46’), Bruno Guimaraes (Joe Willock 78’), Joelinton; Miguel Almiron (Matt Ritchie 90’), Callum Wilson (Elliot Anderson 90’), Allan Saint-Maximin (Jacob Murphy 78’)

Manchester United fans got accustomed to winning trophies in the Sir Alex Ferguson era, so the six year drought since they beat Ajax in the 2017 UEFA Europa League Final must’ve felt like 10 or 20 years for many of them. It just goes to show how difficult it is to win silverware or competitions across the world and across sports. The EFL Cup is the fourth most important competition available to Premier League clubs, but it rewards consistent and deep teams. For the first time in a while, Manchester United fit that description.

The Red Devils’ performance on the day was quite strong in the first half, capitalizing on set pieces and mistakes for Casemiro to get the first goal and Marcus Rashford to continue his hot streak with the second goal. The best part about this Cup Final was seeing the other players step up. Antony doing what he does best causing havoc on the wing. Wout Weghorst using his frame to win aerial duels and continue attacks. Fred fighting hard and showing composure. Hardly a drop off between Diogo Dalot in the first half and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the second half. Erik ten Hag has done a brilliant job managing Manchester United and his efforts were rewarded.

Manchester United fans, players, and staff should enjoy the moment but there’s still three more months to turn an improved season into an impressive season. A quadruple is still possible, but realistically consolidating a Champions League position and then building for a title challenge next season should be the goal. Adding at least one of the FA Cup and Europa League (especially after knocking out Barcelona) would be great too.

As for Newcastle United, they should keep their heads held high. Aside from the goals which were more unlucky for them than poor, they hung in there and looked dangerous going forward. The Magpies just couldn’t finish their chances. However, the way Eddie Howe has managed this side and the evolution of this club since the takeover is commendable. It still feels like Newcastle United: adding new quality players while keeping some of their core pieces that have elevated their games. As for Loris Karius, I hope he feels better about his abilities after this final. He made some fine saves and clubs across England will be looking at him as a potential option in the summer.

MLS 2023 Kicks Off

Atlanta United 2–1 San Jose Earthquakes

Sometimes you watch your favorite team and wonder “How did we lose this game?!”

Usually that question is met with calls of bias. In 99% of cases, whoever wins the game deserves it. I still believe Atlanta United deserved to win because tactically they played to win to the bitter end. They capitalized on two big chances and their World Cup winner Thiago Almada came through in the clutch. Luiz Araujo probably owes him lunch considering the Brazilian DP missed a penalty in the first half.

Acknowledging that lucky break, San Jose Earthquakes had that bend don’t break defense with a 1–0 lead for most of the game. Unfortunately for Quakes fans, we knew the break was coming. Usually when it comes, it’s more of a fracture. That’s how it played out.

Preaching patience to a fanbase that has been very patient for most of the 11 years since the 2012 Supporters Shield season is a tough sell. Just as Manchester United fans struggled with patience between 2017 and this season. At least from the conversations I’ve had with Earthquakes fans since the game, the style of play at least in the first half merits looking forward to. Wins are the next vital ingredient. San Jose needs to find one sooner rather than later, with their home opener against Vancouver Whitecaps up next.

Around the MLS

In the first MLS game of the 2023 season, Nashville defend home turf with an impressive win. Image Credit: The Tennessean.

The season kicked off in Nashville, where the home team scored a goal on either end to beat New York City 2–0. It didn’t matter that MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar was limited to 20 minutes as he recovered from injury, that was enough to set up a dagger assist.

St. Louis City SC were going to achieve a variety of firsts regardless this week, but many of them were positive thanks to a 3–2 win on the road against Austin FC.

Real Salt Lake also secured a road win coming from behind 1–0 to win 2–1 over the Vancouver Whitecaps. It was a tale of two halves, and ultimately RSL were rewarded by capitalizing on their spells of dominance.

Of the 11 games played on MLS’s opening Saturday, all of them ended with a winner. You could feel the energy and urgency many teams played with in what proved to be a day of all or nothing affairs. If this is an indication of what’s to come for our domestic league, sign me up!

Other Thoughts

La Liga Title Race

Just when you think the season couldn’t be going any worse for Atlético Madrid, they somehow manage to score against their arch rivals after Angel Correa was sent off. From one unlikely goalscorer on the Atlético side (Jose Maria Giménez) to an even unlikelier one through Alvaro Rodriguez for Real Madrid, it finished all even which would be especially frustrating for Madridistas. Luckily for them, Barcelona suffered an embarrassing 1–0 loss to Almeria to keep the Catalans’ lead at the top to 7 points.

Best Goal of the Weekend

Marius Bulter’s backheel goal (move starts at 0:13) against Stuttgart was a sight to behold. You don’t see that in relegation 6 pointers too often. Schalke 04 won that game 2–1 and while they remain bottom of the Bundesliga with 16 points, they’re now only 3 points behind Stuttgart, Hoffenheim, and Bochum (15th-17th respectively).

What I’m Watching This Upcoming Week (All Times Pacific)