Hail GFOP!

What a weekend of football. Manchester United's defense of their FA Cup tchotchke self-immolated in a penalty shoot-out against victorious Fulham, for whom Antonee Robinson rolled home a penalty as calm as you like. Plucky Plymouth Argyle shocked mighty Manchester City for eight stunning minutes their fans will remember forever. The Bournemouth Golden War Cherries clipped Wolves on penalties. Brighton smited Newcastle via a sensational 114th-minute Danny Welbeck finish for the ages. And the FA Cup has an incredible chance of delivering us a first-time winner.

All of this and the joy of not having Everton sully my weekend because they did not play, and the distant thought that Liverpool, now 13 points ahead of the chasing pack, might be deprived of their 20th title because of the outbreak of World War III. Always an asterisk with that lot.

ii. We have been working on a film about our visit to Goodison Park for that epic 2-2 win. The piece is incredibly personal so it has been quite the edit, and I am indebted to the whole team for their creativity and patience. It drops March 9 and I genuinely cannot wait for you to see it.

iii. I guested on John Ourand's Puck podcast. Ourand is a legend in sports media journalism and I have huge respect for his work. It was a blast to talk about the run up to the World Cup with him -- and chat about whether we should be worried about the silence surrounding both the tournament and our U.S. Men's National Team, less than a year out. I wrote a little about that subject in Friday's newsletter and have been blown away by your responses.

Keep writing to [email protected] and voice note in your questions at 646-450-9472 and we will we use them in shows to come. You GFOPs are the single greatest and sustain us more than you will ever know.

To better days ahead for all.

Courage.

ROG

A United Defeat, 117 Years in the Making 🫠

- Written by Max Bonem

Manchester United 1 - 1 Fulham (3-4 on pens)

There may be no team in English football who touts its own history more than Manchester United, and yesterday’s FA Cup clash with Fulham was no different. The club that Ruben Amorim spilt have won their last nine FA Cup clashes against the Cottagers dating all the way back to 1908, the same year that Ford introduced the Model T. It’s safe to say that much like Ford itself, United have let their grip on the competition slip to say the least. The Red Devils entered this game mired in more controversy than we have time to cover, while also only making it this far in the FA Cup due to a clearly offside last-minute finish from Harry Maguire against Leicester in the previous round. Fulham, on the other hand, arrived at Old Trafford sitting comfortably in ninth place in the Premier League, having won four out of five since falling to Manchester United at the end of January. What transpired was the third FA Cup match of the weekend to reach extra time and the second to be decided by penalties with one of Erik ten Hag’s many leftover No. 1 boys Joshua Zirkzee coming up short against Bernd Leno to send the Cottagers to the FA Cup quarter finals and the Fulham faithful into sheer delirium.

Clear Eyes, Fulham Hearts, Can’t Lose

There’s a certain Island of Misfit Toys aspect to this Fulham squad, full of castoffs and missed potential that’s now forming like Voltron under Marco Silva to be one of the tightest units in English football. Whether its the resurgence of Raúl Jiménez, Adama Traoré evolving from a physical specimen into a rather well-rounded winger, or players like Andreas Pereira or Emile Smith Rowe finally finding their footing, the Cottagers are suddenly flying – all under the USMNT’s very own Jedi, Antonee Robinson, who not only scored the deciding penalty at the end of the match, but also served as captain. Throw in the Globetrotters-esque assist below that showed United what a team playing with joy actually looks like and it’s safe to say that this historic win for Fulham did the West London faithful proud on Sunday.

“Bruno Fernandes, He Looks Like a Rat”

One minute, Bruno Fernandes scores a beautiful one-timer that seemingly very few Premier League players are capable of. The next, opposing fans are chanting about how much he resembles a rodent. Amorim’s mob will need to shake this off in time for Thursday’s Europa League clash with Real Sociedad, who just suffered their own battering at the hands of first-place Barcelona. After that? The Gunners come to town in what can only be described as next weekend’s matchup of the weirdest energies in the league.

All Cinderellas Runs Must Come to an End 💚

Manchester City 3 - 1 Plymouth Argyle

You’d think that Pep would’ve learned from the mistakes of Liverpool and Brentford before him, the two Premier League sides that fell to mighty Plymouth Argyle in the two previous rounds of the FA Cup, both of whom sported much rotated sides against the third-from-bottom Championship side. And yet, City started three defenders that were 20 or younger, resulting in a first half where they trailed for 506 glorious seconds after this tremendous set piece – and lone shot on goal – from Plymouth, until 19-year-old Nico O’Reilly scored what would be the first of his two goals on the day. Once Pep sent on all-world defender Ruben Dias, Nico Gonzalez aka Rodri Jr., and Erling Haaland, destroyer of worlds, for the last third of the game, you knew it was over for the Pilgrims. However, the spirit and joy that they displayed not just in this game, but throughout their entire run, will always be cherished – especially by the Plymouth faithful that traveled hundreds of miles to the Etihad and gained an unlikely admirer in Pep himself.

More: Plymouth Argyle’s goal-scoring defender Maksym Talovierov on the help he receives from his father back in Ukraine, despite having not seen him in more than three years due to the war.

Aston Villa 2 - 0 Cardiff City

Like last night’s Best Picture race at the Oscars, Villa can be hard to predict. Since their last FA Cup match–a win against Tottenham on Feb. 9–they’ve drawn with both Ipswich and Liverpool, beaten Chelsea, and most recently were smashed 4-1 by Crystal Palace. Which Villa would we get against Cardiff City? Apparently one that remembered they made arguably the two best offensive signings in the January transfer window. PSG loanee Marco Asensio scored twice, making it six since he arrived in Birmingham, one of which was set up by Marcus Rashford, marking his third assist to Asensio just this week, the same number he had all season before joining the Villains. Next up for Unai Emery’s side: a Champions League round-of-16 matchup against Club Brugge. Which Villa side will we see this time?

More: Cardiff City’s one silver lining? USMNT goalkeeper Ethan Horvath was named the player of the match, despite the 2-0 defeat.

AFC Bournemouth 1 - 1 Wolves (5 - 4 on pens)

A game that can be simply described as: Matheus Cunha: An Unexpected Journey, Wolves’ talismanic No. 10 had himself a day. After a first half where Bournemouth took the lead courtesy of a goal from the recently returned Evanilson, and almost doubled it with a handball goal that took VAR eight minutes to disallow, Cunha netted an absolute banger from well outside the box, before getting sent off for a second yellow stemming from an impressive punch, kick, and head butt all at once. This came back to haunt Wolves when they lost in penalties, and now Tyler Adams and Co. head into the FA Cup quarterfinals for just their third time with Andoni Iraola defying an injury crisis to deliver a season to remember on the south coast.

More: Take a moment to watch one of the coldest penalties you’ll ever see.

Newcastle 1 - 2 Brighton

In a game defined by two strikers at two different stages of their careers having two fantastic seasons, the Seagulls and their ageless wonder Danny Welbeck proved victorious, while Alexander Isak and the Toon will continue their own march toward silverware in the Carabao Cup. The 34-year-old Welbeck, who sealed Brighton’s fifth straight win for his 32-year-old manager Fabian Hürzeler, won this rather chaotic game that included two red cards – one of which belonged to Antony Gordon and his epic mullet – in the 114th minute during extra time, cementing his place as a club legend and sending the Seagulls to the quarters.

Check out the updated FA Cup schedule here. 🗓️

📧 Enjoying The Raven? Check out our other MiB newsletters here.

A Few Weekend Worldies, Just for You 🚀 🥅

There were a lot of great goals this weekend (we see you, Wilfried Zaha), but these are three of our favorites. Got one we should check out? Send it our way.

On the Continent 🇪🇺

🇮🇹 Serie A: Tenth-place AC Milan fell to fourth-place Lazio via a soul-crushing 98th-minute penalty and Inter Milan remain top of the table a point ahead of Napoli after the two drew 1-1 against each other. Need more Italian football? Watch Juventus vs. Verona this afternoon at 2:45 p.m. ET on Paramount+.

🇪🇸 La Liga: Real Madrid fall to third in the table after losing to Real Betis, Atlético Madrid jump to second after a win against Athletic Club, and Barcelona now sit top of the table after a 4-0 beatdown against Real Sociedad.

🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Dortmund comfortably handle St. Pauli with another start for Gio Reyna, Leverkusen cemented their second-place spot after besting third-place Eintracht Frankfurt, and league leaders Bayern took care of business against Stuttgart, leaving them eight points ahead with 10 games to go.

Japan Bests USWNT for SheBelieves Cup Title 🇯🇵🏆

Another week, another round of huge results in women’s football. In case you missed any of it, here’s what you need to know, courtesy of our good friends over at The Women’s Game:

- Japan defeated the USWNT to win the 2025 SheBelieves Cup. The loss marks Emma Hayes’ first as the U.S. manager, but she encouraged fans to consider the team’s long term mission as some exciting young talent combined with the squad’s trusted vets to produce some great football. You can watch Sam Mewis and Angel City’s Ali Riley’s full breakdown of the match here.

- U.S. star Naomi Girma made her much-anticipated debut for Chelsea in a 2-2 draw against Brighton. On the one hand, Chelsea remain unbeaten and finished the weekend still in first place. On the other, Girma was subbed off with an injury in the 59th minute. Get well soon, Naomi!

- 🚨Potential goal of the weekend alert 🚨: English striker Beth England scored this beauty in a 2-1 loss to Manchester City, and is now tied with Arsenal striker Alessia Russo for second-most goals in the WSL. 

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 📺 

FA Cup 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Nottingham Forest vs. Ipswich Town (Monday 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

After a mid-week stalemate against Arsenal, Forest look to get back to their winning ways when Ipswich visit the City Ground later today. Come for Liam Delap trying to show everyone how it’s done, but stay for Chris Wood inevitably teaching him a thing or two.

Champions League - Round of 16 🏆

PSV Eindhoven vs. Arsenal (Tuesday, 3:00 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

Arsenal lack a healthy dependable goal threat and PSV are down to their last healthy American in Richy Ledezma with Pepi, Dest, and Tillman all still hurt. Luckily, Ivan Pericic seems to have taken the substance this season and will undoubtedly cause Mikel Arteta a few headaches.

Real Madrid vs. Atlético Madrid (Tuesday, 3:00 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

Two teams separated by six miles and only two points after swapping spots in the La Liga table over the weekend. ¿Cómo se dice “feisty AF” en Español?

Benfica vs. Barcelona (Wednesday, 3:00 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

Other than Liverpool, Barça have been the best team in the tournament so far and have scored six more goals than anyone else. Benfica, meanwhile, are the lowest seeded squad left in the Champions League. We wish you well, Benfica. Truly.

PSG vs. Liverpool (Wednesday, 3:00 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

Thank you, Champions League script writers. Now that the Premier League is all but wrapped up, Liverpool can focus on winning their first treble since 2020 when they took home Premier League, UEFA Super Cup, and Club World Cup trophies. That said, PSG won 7-0 in their last Champions League match, so expect some fireworks.

Check out the full Champions League schedule here. 🗓️

Europa League - Round of 16 🇪🇺

AZ Alkmaar vs. Tottenham (Thursday 12:45 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

Tottenham could use a vacation to wash off the Erling Haaland of it all from their midweek 1-0 loss to City. Maybe a bit of Dutch air will help them rest and focus on the last potential trophy for Ange to grab in his second season.

Real Sociedad vs. Manchester United (Thursday 12:45 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

Don’t look now, but United are the only undefeated Europa League team left having won five on the bounce. Real Sociedad suffered a tough loss against Real Madrid midweek, meaning there’s still hope for Amorim’s ill-begotten season yet if they can re-solidify after their crushing defeat in penalties to Fulham.

Check out the full Europa League schedule here. 🗓️

It’s MiB Trivia Time 🤔

Welcome to our new weekly trivia game, we’re thrilled you could join us.

Today’s question takes us back to the same year that the Epic of Gilgamesh was first translated into English and Roy Hodgson debuted for Palace (probably):

The 2024-25 FA Cup began with 745 teams from the top nine levels of England’s football league system, but how many clubs competed in the inaugural tournament in 1872? Bonus: who won that first trophy in what is now the world’s oldest national football competition?

Respond to this email with your answer(s) and we’ll send one lucky correct responder a coveted MiB patch.

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