Hail GFOP!

Rog writes: What a weekend. I am old enough to remember when we handed Liverpool the title five games in, ripped it back and regifted it to Arsenal for five games, and then decided City were going to City it. Nope. This Sunday, it felt very much like Arsenal’s title to lose again. The only loser in all of this is knee-jerk prognostication, but what the heck…

ii. Arsenal Football Club were magnificent. Also, Spurs were so feeble – their xG of 0.07 turning Tottenham nation incandescent. This victory, though, transcended football. Watching Eberechi Eze score a hat-trick forged of casual balletic elegance was humanly uplifting. This gent who told me in this incredibly moving interview that he lived for Arsenal as a kid – that being in the youth academy was his identity until he was cut aged 13 – and his whole life has been about the journey, taking the hard road back through the levels of English football to be able to make his childhood dream come true. This was his first-ever north London derby. To dominate it so beautifully must have been so profound. A testament to faith, belief, and tenacity. Or as the brilliant @zeets tweeted, “Eze playing like a man who had a near-death experience because he almost moved to Tottenham.”

On Instagram, someone asked me if I have a soft spot for Arsenal. I replied that, honestly, I admire them so much. To come second three times on the run and be laughed at as “bottlers,” and to rise up stronger and harder and go on this hero’s journey is just so inspirational to me. ❤️

iii. Slightly less inspirational: Liverpool Football Club, who seem so sad and bereft, even I can’t enjoy it any more. Pity is such an inhibiting human emotion. This collapse will be studied by historians like the fall of the Roman Empire, or Bill Belichick soiling himself at North Carolina. Sean Dyche — once a Blue, always a Blue — out-tactic’d Arne Slot, who seemed lost on the sideline. Virgil Van Dijk’s comments were honest, but truly startling. I can’t wait to hear Rory’s thoughts on the pod, as he was at the game. 😮

iv. Newcastle fans, I hope you had yourselves a weekend. Geordie Legolas, Harvey Barnes’ winner was stunning to witness, especially as City had just equalized and it needed true Toon self-confidence to maintain their belief. Erling Haaland has been so potent, it is remarkable to see City as Pep’s latest tactical creation. The bald god created Barca and early City teams who could score from all points. On Saturday, we saw the limitation of his latest big idea: this Death Star, which can be shut down if you close down one giant man. 🐦‍⬛

v. A goal you might not have seen: This stunningly instinctive slap from Crystal Palace’s Yeremy Pino. Lord I love this. 🦅

Also: Irish hero Troy Parrott keeps scoring. This beautiful spin-turn and finish will soon grace a Premier League team… 🇮🇪

vi. Lovely for Christian Pulisic. Back from injury and scoring the only goal to win the Derby della Madonnina. We gonna win the World Cup, baby. 🇺🇸

vii. Rose Lavelle is the most clutch player in American football. Her 80th-minute goal was the difference maker in the NWSL final, downing poor Washington Spirit who lost the title at the last for the second-straight season. In the biggest games, the biggest players come alive to deliver big moments. There is none bigger than Rose, who has now done this to win her first NWSL title to add to her winner in the World Cup final and an Olympic gold. Fireball. 🌹

More: Watch Rose talk about what the title means to her from our recent live show. 🏆

viii. If you haven’t had a chance to yet, find your way over to our brand new Men in Blazers shop. It’s full of shiny new merch for all of our shows, plus special collections like Football Feelings, the Breakfast Club and many more to come. We’re so grateful for your support. 🍻

Courage,
Rog

An NLD Hat-Trick From the One Who Got Away 📈 

By Tommy Stewart

Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham ❤️🤍

When Eberechi Eze smoothly scooped the ball to almost assist Declan Rice three minutes into this north London derby at the Emirates, it felt like it was going to be his day. Mikel Merino was similarly inventive with his sand-wedged through-ball just over 30 minutes later, teeing up Leandro Trossard who spun and finished well. Just before halftime, a drowning Spurs side were again put to the sword as Rice and Eze reversed roles, but this time the No. 10, who just about avoided signing for Spurs in the summer, poked it in smartly. Up to this point, Thomas Frank’s team hadn’t mustered one shot in the match, and were punished right at the start of the second half, when Eze whipped in a second with his wand of a left foot. Richarlison replied with his own piece of magic, possibly inspired by Kenny McClean’s long-range antics for Scotland last week, but the Brazilian then meekly lost a header that led to Eze’s hat-trick deep into the game. He emulated his hero Thierry Henry with a finessed but powerful finish and was unlucky to not add a fourth just a few minutes later.

The Battle of Eze’s One Real Winner 🙌

The most pivotal sliding-doors moment this season might be Eze’s “come get me” plea to Mikel Arteta before a ball was even kicked. He was on the verge of becoming Spurs’ marquee off-season signing until the little lad inside of him cried out for a redemptive second chance at his boyhood club, Arsenal. Unless you’re a Spurs fan, if you love football, you probably love Eze, a player who deals in magic and improvisation rather than disciplined positional play, which at first saw him struggle to make Arteta’s starting XI. As much as Arsenal won the north London battle yesterday, furthering their seemingly secure position at the summit of the Premier League, Eze’s eloquent footballing ability and charm dominated the day. His hat-trick was just the fourth in the history of this huge fixture, the first since 1978, and both aesthetically and narratively, probably the best. 

The Honeymoon’s Truly Over for Thomas Frank 📉

It wasn’t all that long ago that Frank was the new darling of Tottenham, with his organized and adaptable philosophy the welcome antidote to two stubborn years of reckless Angeball. However, football, like life, comes at you fast. Spurs’ deep block was impotent and easily penetrated by Arsenal at the Emirates yesterday, and the lack of grit amongst visible disharmony between the squad and their manager in recent outings will be a big concern for fans. After starting the season well by spending most of their time in the top four, they’ve lost two and drawn one of their last three Premier League matches, and with no league wins at home since the opening day of the season and a visit to Paris to take on PSG on Wednesday, the Spursy pressure cooker is severely heating up.

MiB HQ Bulletin Board 📣

Slot’s Lost Boys Are No Match for Dycheball 🌳 

Liverpool 0-3 Nottingham Forest

Liverpool’s early dominance at Anfield was soon deemed irrelevant when Forest’s big Brazilian center-back, Murillo, was allowed the space to drive home from a poorly cleared corner in the 33rd minute. Then, under a minute into the second half, Sean Dyche’s side strolled into Liverpool’s box unchallenged like the Louvre robbers, allowing unmarked right-back Nicolò Savona to finish, prompting questions as to why his surname wasn’t sung to the tune of “My Shirona” for the rest of the match. Liverpool were limp and Alisson’s return between the sticks meant little when the unorganized chaos in front of him couldn’t stop Omari Hutchinson’s run and shot, that was saved well by the Brazilian only for the ball to fall into the assured feet of Morgan Gibbs-White. With the win, Forest move out of the relegation zone and secure back-to-back Ws at Anfield for the first time in 62 years, while Arne Slot’s looking less Pep and more ten Hag, as Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz seem to be expensive mistakes rather than game-changers.

More: One of the most beautiful shots of Anfield you’ll ever see (unless you’re a Liverpool fan).

Newcastle 2-1 Manchester City

While both sides had their chances in an entertaining first half, it was only a trailer for the chaotic movie that unraveled in front of us in the second. Newcastle captain Bruno Guimarães led the charge in the 64th minute, forcing his way through City’s midfield to tee up babyfaced assassin Harvey Barnes from outside the area, but it only took five minutes for Rúben Dias to reply with a very scrappy, deflected goal. Just two minutes later, the ball found its way straight back into the away team’s box with the scramble resulting in Barnes producing a beautiful and weird back-heel straight from either the schoolyard or “Swan Lake.” Just when it looked like City were true title contenders again, this punch-drunk Premier League season hit back hard in the form of a Barnes brace and a post-match Pep Guardiola temper tantrum.

More: Pep ‘ashamed’ of post-game altercation with cameraman.

Burnley 0-2 Chelsea

Jamie Gittens finally appears to be enjoying himself in a Chelsea shirt, perfectly crossing for Pedro Neto to cushion the ball back across Martin Dúbravka’s net with an elegant diving header to put his side up not long before half time on Saturday. The Portuguese winger is emerging as one of Enzo Maresca’s key men this season, with that his third goal in the past six matches. Captain Enzo Fernández was decisive minutes before the final whistle, scoring his fifth goal in all competitions this season and putting the Blues second, while plummeting Scott Parker’s struggling side to 19th. With Barcelona and Arsenal on the horizon, Chelsea’s linchpin Moisés Caicedo didn’t see a minute at Turf Moor on Saturday, something Chelsea fans thankfully won’t have to get accustomed to with his manager saying, “It won’t happen again; it’s the last time,” post-match.

More: Chelsea get positive Cole Palmer injury news, but still likely out this week.

Elsewhere in the Premier League: Bournemouth 2-2 West Ham, Brighton 2-1 Brentford, Fulham 1-0 Sunderland, Wolves 0-2 Crystal Palace, Leeds 1-2 Aston Villa

Some Absolute Weekend Worldies, Presented by New Balance 🚀 🥅

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

On the Continent 🇪🇺

🇮🇹 Serie A: Europe’s most binge-worthy title race continues to captivate, and yesterday Christian Pulisic insisted on maintaining protagonist status when he won the Derby della Madonnina late for AC Milan, moving Max Allegri’s side up to second. That knocked neighbors Inter down from first to fourth, while Antonio Conte’s Napoli went third, resurfacing from the international break with a much needed 3-1 win over a lost-at-sea Atalanta side. They badly miss former manager, Gian Gasperini, who now leads Serie A with his rampant Roma, who were 3-1 victors away at Jamie Vardy’s Cremonese. 

🇪🇸 La Liga: While Real Madrid are still at the top of La Liga by a point, it felt like there was a momentum shift this weekend because their superstar side could only scrape a late draw at mid-table Elche, thanks to a late Jude Bellingham equalizer. Los Blancos are on a three-match winless streak in all competitions, while Barca looked back to their best in their 4-0 Ferran Torres-led demolition of Athletic Club back home at Camp Nou for the first time in two years. Villarreal and Atlético Madrid also both won to keep themselves hot on the heels of the big two.

🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Like Rocky Balboa, Bayern Munich had to take the first couple of hits before unleashing hell on SC Freiburg on Saturday, going 2-0 down until Michael Olise, Harry Kane and co. said “not today,” emerging as 6-2 victors. Second and third-placed RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen both won, but with no losses to Bayern’s name this season, and six points dividing them and Leipzig, Vincent Kompany’s champions already seem out of reach.

Mid-Week Matches Worth Faking a Meeting for 📺

Man United vs. Everton (TODAY, 3 p.m. ET, USA) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Rog writes: A word on Everton ahead of their fearful visit to Old Trafford this afternoon. How I enjoyed the weekend: Everton free, pain free. All of that will change when Manchester United thump us today. See what I am doing here – speaking my worst fears into the world so that I can try and get ahead of them. United are on a five-match unbeaten run. Matheus Cunha is a game-time decision after a mysterious training ground “accident” suffered on Saturday. I don’t think it will make a difference. Prediction: United 2 Everton 1. Kobbie Mainoo gonna do us. Come join me and watch in real time as I spiral into the abyss on our Discord. Win, lose or draw, at least we’ll do it together.

Chelsea vs. Barcelona (Tuesday, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇪🇸

Historically, nothing has divided these two sides when they’ve met in the Champions League: in 14 fixtures, each team has won four times and there have been six draws; they’re also level on seven points after four games in this season’s group phase. Chelsea’s home advantage will matter, but Barcelona are on an upward trajectory with key man Raphinha returning to fitness and Robert Lewandowski firing at the weekend. With both sides second in their respective leagues, we thank the UCL scriptwriters for all they do.

Man City vs. Bayer Leverkusen (Tuesday, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇩🇪

It’s been a transitional two steps forward and one step back sort of season so far for Pep’s City side, but their fourth-placed footing in the Champions League is strong, and after firing blanks against the Magpies at the weekend, Erling Haaland will be keen to make amends. Kasper Hjulmand has revived Bayer Leverkusen, who lost a lot of their key players in the summer and endured a poor start to the season under Erik ten Hag. They’re currently third in the Bundesliga, but 21st in the UCL, where they beat José Mourinho’s Benfica 1-0 in their last match.

Marseille vs. Newcastle (Tuesday, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🇫🇷 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Ligue 1’s second-placed team, Roberto De Zerbi’s Marseille, welcome Eddie Howe’s Newcastle to the fierce 67,000-capacity Orange Vélodrome off the back of three consecutive convincing wins. De Zerbi’s won one, drawn one, and lost one against the Magpies, who head to France bouncing off the back of Harvey Barnes‘ masterclass against City on Saturday. Newcastle are sixth in the UCL table, winning their last three, while Marseille are fighting to stay in it at 25th, winning only one of their games in the competition so far. At 36 years old, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is still as potent as ever for OM, scoring his fifth goal of the season in a 5-1 away win over Nice at the weekend.

Some Non-Football to Start the Week Off 📖

• Meet the incredible man who started the pro-long-snapper-to-pro-magician pipeline. How magic saved a heartbroken 14-year NFL veteran.

• To me, this is true crime. The night ESPN watched two college mascots try and kill each other.

• Buckle the f*ck up: 'Fruit of the Loom Truthers' are out there, and they walk among us.

• Tim Robinson’s next show? One AI transcription startup was really just two (human) dudes taking notes.

• Should you need any last-minute inspiration: How Joan Didion did Thanksgiving.

• And one that actually is about football (please forgive us): Meet the Ipswich teenager who has outscored Haaland.

It’s MiB Trivia Time 🤔

This week’s question: Who’s the top scorer in north London derby history? Bonus points for the correct number of goals…

Email us with your answer for a chance to win a much-coveted MiB patch!

Last week’s winner: Congratulations to Michael Tano, who was the first person to correctly identify that Brad Friedel was in goal when the USMNT last beat Uruguay. They won 2-1 on May 12, 2002, a score topped by Poch’s boys’ 5-1 thrashing last week. Your patch is in the post, Michael. 🚚