Hail GFOP!  

What did we just watch? A weekend spent killing time to find out who dies in “The White Lotus.” One in which the ewoks of Fulham blew three goals in 14 minutes past champions-elect Liverpool, who lost for just the second time this season, but will not let it slip, mostly because Arsenal were well and truly Moyes’d in a 1-1 droppage of the points in their farewell to Goodison Park. Manchester United and City lolloped through a snoozing stalemate, which felt like a Xerox of a Xerox of epic clashes past. Villa dropped Nottingham Forest in a ferocious rumble cut of pure unbridled dreams, and sad Southampton fell through the relegation Moon Door at a record breaking early pace. They came, they saw, they sank without a trace.

ii. The highlight of my weekend came Saturday night: I had the joy of watching the USWNT clip Brazil 2-0 live on an altcast for our friends at TNT. Alongside Sam Mewis, it was like a Manningcast, if one of the Mannings had won a World Cup and the other was bald. We had a blast watching Trinity Rodman stick the dagger in early, then 17-year-old Lily Yohannes trot on late, to a very physical game, and change it with a pure, fearless creativity that was transcendent. It was a blast to spend so much time with you GFOPs sending in your insights via social, alongside that empress of mischief, Lo Labonta, and Lynn Biyendolo. The peak was having Netflix royalty, Uzo Aduba, come and talk about her investment in Angel City and what it can do for girls across L.A. I love her love of tweed, birdwatching, and Tracy Chapman, but I love her life philosophy the most, “Growing up, I never thought there was a seat for me, so I’ve decided to build my own table. Come, pull up a chair.” More of that approach and there can be so much light in this world.

iii. I am delighted that we are continuing to build our relationship with Fabrizio Romano. Fab is now dropping two episodes on a weekly basis for our new YouTube channel, as well as the original Here We Go podcast feed, in which he is going deeper on the stories behind his news-breaking. If you want to stay connected to the helter-skelter race for playing time in the run up to the World Cup, subscribe now, and revel in the hysteria that is the transfer market.

iv. I am off to Liverpool for a couple of days at the end of this week to spend some time with my lovely mum, Val, and have my family lift her as we approach the first Easter and Passover without my dad. I will write to you from there, but I wanted you to know that all of you who have sent in photos of your dogs and cats and their footballing connections to us via [email protected] have given me so much joy and energy when I needed it this week. To better days ahead, and with huge love to all you Villa and Arsenal fans in these epic Champions League nights to come. Rory Smith and I will break them down tomorrow on European Nights. I will also be taping a banger with Wrexham King Ollie Rathbone as Rob and Ryan’s boys approach their third straight promotion. Stay tuned for the beginning of our Bournemouth content too – we shot some really beautiful stuff last week when we were in Cherryland, and I can’t wait for you all to see it.

Courage,

ROG

Liverpool’s First League Loss Since September 🤯

- Written by Tommy Stewart

Fulham 3-2 Liverpool

Since Liverpool had last lost in the Premier League, there have been two different presidents, SNL turned 50, and Patrick Mahomes slept through a Super Bowl. That was in September 2024, which was 26 league matches ago, showing just how relentless Arne Slot’s team has been in his first season as a Premier League manager. Anyone who says they predicted that the Dutch man would handle Jürgen Klopp’s heavy baton with such apparent ease is probably lying, but it does feel like his team are slowing down now that they can see the Premier League finish line. Add to that the fact that the futures of the club’s three biggest assets–Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah–are still unclear, and Liverpool fans could be forgiven for feeling less optimistic than they were a month ago. That said, even in defeat, there were still moments of wonder, courtesy of Liverpool’s newer guard:

Are Liverpool Getting… Sloppy?

Liverpool are a well-oiled red machine controlled in defense by their big Dutch captain, who’s as good an operator as we’ve seen in the Premier League-era, which is why it’s such a shock to see them malfunction like this. Andy Robertson played a bizarre pass across his goal to Iwobi, who somehow managed to get his shot through three Liverpool players, and van Dijk himself was left looking flat footed by Muniz for Fulham’s third. “He who is content with what has been done is an obstacle in the path of progress,” said Helen Keller, and although two league losses all season don’t equate to complacency, Big Virg’s defensive unit has looked messy across all competitions of late. Luckily with their next two games coming against West Ham and Leicester, they’ll get a chance to find their center again as they look to finish their title march on a high note.

Fulham Fancy the Champions League

None of the above should snatch a lightning rod from Fulham’s thunder in a victory at Craven Cottage that puts them in eighth and only four points adrift of those tasty Champions League spots. Marco Silva not only took this team from the Championship to the Premier League in 2022, he has done the hard bit by keeping them there, making smart signings at appropriate junctures along the way.

Ryan Sessegnon, who scored the equalizer yesterday, came from Fulham’s academy, was released by Spurs last summer, and picked up on a free by Silva. In 2023, Alex Iwobi was signed for $28 million from Everton, a price that looks cheaper by the day, and he put his side in the lead before the third goal was beautifully finished by Rodrigo Muniz, who was scooped for cheap up by the Portuguese manager in his first season at the club in the Championship. Wherever Fulham end up this season, it’s probably time to give Silva his flowers, because not only are his team becoming one of the best watches in the league, they now look more than ready to eat at the big boy table with the elite of Europe.

Manchester’s 196th Most Interesting Derby ❤️🩵

Man United 0-0 Man City

Deep-sleeping giants, United, came up against a City side who will hope this season is just a bad dream that happened during a short nap, in one of the most forgettable Manchester derbies in living memory. Sure, both teams will have wanted the victory, and there were chances for each to do so, but the fear of losing was more alluring than the will to win. Kevin De Bruyne announced his retirement last week and United’s attacking players not only got the memo, but seemed to roll out the red carpet for him, which was exemplified in Alejandro Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee’s half-hearted attempts at finishing. Conversely, City often resorted to shooting from distance, which shows just how far these compulsive winners, who used to effortlessly pass the ball into the net, have fallen. Manchester’s Morrissey could have been describing this apparent testimonial in honor of De Bruyne when he sang “I know it’s over, but it never really began,” we’re just glad this one is done. 

Aston Villa 2-1 Nottingham Forest

There are many commonalities between these two resurrected historic heavyweights, who personify this unpredictable Premier League season: they’re both European Cup winners from the Midlands, both are in the FA Cup semi-final, and are each firmly in the hunt for Champions League football next season. Unai Emery flexed his squad’s impressive muscles by making eight changes from Wednesday night’s win at Brighton, but Morgan Rogers, who played in both matches and has been so reliably brilliant for Villa this season, opened the scoring with a first touch and finish that was pure art in the Birmingham sun. Only a few minutes later, Donyell Malen doubled the home team’s lead with his second goal in as many games, and Nuno was left questioning whether bald brothers still love each other. Villa have now won seven on the bounce, and will bravely march into the Champions League quarter-finals against PSG on Tuesday. 

Tottenham 3-1 Southampton

How do you follow up a game where your manager seemingly attempts to mock his team’s traveling fans, while simultaneously losing a London derby in one of the most disheveled displays of the season? Well, if you’re Big Ange and co., you win your next game against the worst team in the league and therefor shift the spotlight onto Southampton, who with this loss were condemned to the earliest relegation in Premier League history. Other than a rather nifty first-half brace for Brennan Johnson, Tottenham continue to look directionless, and with a big midweek Europa League quarter-final against one of Germany’s most in-form squads coming up, let’s hope that Spurs can use this as the first rung on a long ladder towards relevance once again. As for the Saints, this save from Aaron Ramsdale yesterday unfortunately says it all.

Brentford 0-0 Chelsea

After a chippy home victory against Tottenham mid-week where, according to Enzo Maresca, Chelsea finally learned to “win ugly,” his team made the six-mile trip west to the Gtech Community Stadium to continue their ugly streak, but this time with a draw against Brentford. In a game mired in “almosts” from both sides, this unbelievably sloppy play from the Blues’ much-maligned keeper, Robert Sanchez, wasn’t even the most jarring example of mediocrity on display. No, that belonged to Chelsea’s 21 shots with nothing but puzzled looks from around the squad to show for it. Maresca’s men remain in fourth with a midweek trip to Warsaw for a Conference League quarter-final clash with Legia Warszawa up next. Anyone know how to say “another ugly win, coming right up” in Polish?

And Now, Rog’s Super Chill Thoughts on WTF Happened to Everton this Weekend 💙 

Everton 1-1 Arsenal

Rog writes: Strange feelings ahead of this one. I wanted Everton to win so badly, the fourth-to-last game ever at Goodison. I wanted them to do Arsenal, but for them to do Arsenal would only really be a win for Liverpool – so kind of needed Arsenal to win to keep a pretense of a title race. The Gunners, depleted by injury across the backline, had one eye on this week’s Champions League date of destiny against Real Madrid. The game all felt a bit pre-season to be honest, until Arsenal unfurled a stunning move, Raheem Sterling carrying the ball down the field and Trossard nutmegging young Jake O’Brien with some left-foot wizard filth.

The Blues did not muster a shot on target in the first half, but scored from their first of the second, courtesy of a slightly dodgy penalty awarded against young Myles Lewis-Skelly (my guest this week in interview #CurseOfRog). Ndiaye was lethal from the spot, but my lord, David Raya dived so early. Peter Drury summed it up as a “very Moyesian point” and he was right, one filled with joy at the sight of the Everton endeavor and the aching tinge of helping the Red Shite. Huge love to Arsenal as they charge towards the Madrid knife fight. I am rooting so hard for you, Arsenal fans, and pray you don’t have to live out your old friend of hope in the first leg, and eviscerated hope in the second. Godspeed.

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Some Weekend Worldies, Just for You 🚀 🥅

There were a lot of great goals this weekend, but these three get tops marks:

On the Continent 🇪🇺

🇮🇹 Serie A: With league-leaders, Inter Milan, only managing a 2-2 away draw at Parma, all eyes are on Antonio Conte’s Napoli team who can go a point behind the Nerazzurri if they win away at Bologna tonight. AC Milan’s inconsistency is simultaneously baffling and unsurprising at this point; they went 2-0 down at home to Fiorentina, but fought for a 2-2 draw in a valiant comeback that keeps them mid-table. 

🇪🇸 La Liga: Three is a crowd, but crowds are good when it comes to title races, so welcome back to the fold, Atletico Madrid, who in a manner befitting of a Diego Simeone team, are clawing their way back up the table. They beat Sevilla 2-1 away from home, whilst Barcelona drew against an in-form Real Betis team to stay top, and second-place Real Madrid were stunned by 15th-place Valencia in a 2-1 defeat they’ll have to quickly shake off before facing Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday.

🇩🇪 Bundesliga: We might have been closing the curtains on a Bundesliga title tussle were it not for Bayer Leverkusen’s injury-time winner at Heidenheim thanks to Aston Villa loanee, Emi Buendía. Bayern unsurprisingly dispatched Augsburg with a 3-1 win where Harry Kane also unsurprisingly scored again, which maintains their six-point lead at the top of the table. Elsewhere, Dortmund are finding form just in time for the Champions League quarter-finals, beating SC Freiburg 4-1 away from home. Barca, however, may not roll over so easily.

USWNT Defeat Brazil in the First of Back-to-Back Friendlies 🇺🇸🇧🇷

The international break is here, and in case you missed any of the big matchups, here’s what you need to know, courtesy of our good friends over at The Women’s Game:

• On Saturday, North and South America’s top-ranked teams played the first-ever women’s football match at SoFi Stadium in L.A. in front of 32,303 fans with the USWNT beating Brazil 2-0. They’ll play a second friendly against each other tomorrow night at 10:30 p.m. ET on TBS.

• With the 2027 Women’s World Cup set to take place in Brazil, FIFA has announced that the likely hosts for the 2031 and 2035 tournaments will be the United States and then the UK four years later.

• Another NWSL record: On March 29, Orlando Pride beat San Diego Wave 2-1 in Orlando. The match set a new record as the most-watched NWSL game in ESPN history with 357,000 viewers.

Want to get more women’s football updates sent straight to your inbox each week? Subscribe to The Women’s Game newsletter.

Matches Worth Faking a Meeting for 📺 

The Chaaaaampions League Quarter-Final (First Leg)

Arsenal vs. Real Madrid (Tuesday, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

At our live show in Atlanta a couple of weeks back, our very own Rory Smith bravely declared a ‘sneaking suspicion that Arsenal might win the Champions League’ in lieu of a league title that, season by season, has Mikel Arteta cast as the Premier League’s perennial Sisyphus. Don’t feel too sorry for him because at least he gets to see that lovely black Lego block of hair when he asks if he’s the right man to take his club forward in the mirror every morning. The problem for Arsenal is the big, winning White Whale in their way that is Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid. Los Blancos don’t need to play well to win this trophy because history shows they just know what it takes to do that. The North Londoners will be lifted by the return of Star Boy, Bakayao Saka, and although Arteta won’t have given up on carrying his squad’s boulder to the top of the Premier League table just yet, most of his Lego blocks will be building towards the Champions League. 🪨

PSG vs. Aston Villa (Wednesday, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

Luis Enrique’s young and hungry PSG humbled Champions League table-toppers Liverpool in the last round of this competition – in a penalty shootout that made Gianluigi Donnarumma look like Gandalf amongst hobbits. Based on that and the Premier League hierarchy, you’d be forgiven for presuming that the Parisians will qualify for the semi-final with ease, but Unai Emery is a European specialist who’s built a squad prepared for these moments. This is why Rashford and Asensio were brought in and they are firing on all cylinders right now. 🦁

Europa League Quarter-Final (First Leg)

Lyon vs. Manchester United (Thursday, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

Footballing Grey Gardens, Manchester United really need this. Ruben Amorim faces more pressure, more weight of history, than Paul Mescal playing Paul McCartney right now, and unless they win this whole competition, he’ll have stewarded the worst season in United’s recent history. Amorim would probably happily take a draw back to Old Trafford for the second leg, but much will depend on which version of his side show up against Lyon, who currently sit seventh in Ligue 1. 😅

Tottenham vs. Eintracht Frankfurt (Thursday, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

Ange Postecoglou kind of, maybe, did or didn’t promise Tottenham fans a trophy this season, and the Europa League is the only avenue he has left to pursue. Eintracht Frankfurt are the Bundesliga’s Nottingham Forest, surpassing expectations and swimming in their own safe third-placed swimming pool, so Spurs face a tough test – especially with their supporters feeling pushed to the brink and starting to ask tough questions, like “Can Beyoncé play up front?” 🎤

It’s MiB Trivia Time 🤔

Check the clock because it’s time for some MiB Trivia.

This week’s question: Off the back of the Manchester derby, we want to know which two players–one red, one blue–have scored the most goals in this fixture in the Premier League-era? Bonus point for the amount of goals.

Reply to this email with your answer for a chance to win an illustrious MiB patch.

Last week’s answer: Congratulations to our winner, Phillip Stinger, who was spot on with his response: “Answer to the trivia question: Six players have been sent off in an FA cup final. Interestingly, they have all been over the last 40 years.”

The patch is in the post, Phil. 🚚

Rog’s Record Bin 🎶

Rog writes:  I have a massive collection of Football vinyl. I scour eBay in my late-night hours attempting to track down Pelé's lost albums, Cruyff's polka single, and Beckenbauer's love songs with the tenacity of George Smiley. Over the next few weeks, I will share some of my favorites for your listening delight.

This week’s selection is an album curated by Der Kaiser (The Emperor), a.k.a. Franz Beckenbauer, one of three men who have won the World Cup both as a player and manager, and someone who would make many people’s football Mount Rushmore.

Beckenbauer re-engineered the modern game with his attack-from-the-back performances as a sweeper, leading the 1974 West German team to glory. By then, he had already become the pop star of German football courtesy of his hit single, “Gute Freunde Kann Niemand Trennen” (True Friends Can’t Be Separated), a hurdy-gurdy track, that was part Donovan, part Hasselhoff. In 1978, he curated this scintillating album for a German tabloid, featuring Austria’s answer to Billy Joel, Mr. Udo Jürgens, who belted “Buenos Dias, Argentina” with the German national team, as well as the romantic “Think About Me, Young Girls” and the cautionary “The Devil Makes Schnapps.” What can’t Der Kaiser do?