Hail GFOP!

No one saw Aston Villa coming, but Emi Marítnez and Unai Emery’s cold revenge against Arsenal this weekend was the moment they rubber-stamped themselves as genuine title contenders. Emery’s been steadily amassing momentum and faith at Villa Park, where he’s reached messianic status, winning 63 of 116 Premier League matches, which is more than any manager in the club’s history. Arsenal seemed untouchable for a while, but after draws that should have been wins against Chelsea and Sunderland in November, this mood-swing Premier League season has left them only two points above City and three above Villa. 🎢

ii. The battle for the best under-seen goal of the weekend is between Newcastle captain Bruno Guimarães’ Olimpico beauty and this thumping volley from Weston-super-Mare’s Louis Britton in the English sixth-tier. You tell us. 🤩

iii. While it was a wild weekend across college soccer’s Final Four, this majestic lob deserves your undivided attention. ☄️

iv. A quick note to all of you that have supported the MiB pod on Wondery+ over the past few years. We are working on a new ad-free platform that we will look to roll out at some point in 2026. Please shoot us an email and let us know if there are any that you have had a good experience with. 🎧

iv. Twenty-nine months after first taking his talents to South Beach, Lionel Messi lifted Inter Miami to their first title on Saturday, with a 3-1 win over Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS Cup final. For Messi, this is trophy number 48 overall — the fourth since embarking on the Florida Man chapter of his footballing journey — and also sends Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets off into the pinkest of sunsets, trophy winners once more in their final games before retirement. 🏆

PS - This is simply the most relatable Messi has ever been and will ever be to us mere mortals. 🐐

Courage,
Tommy Stewart

MiB HQ Bulletin Board 📣

Introducing the Soccer’s Coming Home Collection! Hoodies, crewnecks and scarves, all anchored by our limited-edition kits, provided by New Balance, paying tribute to the original, decade-old Men in Blazers kits and inspired by some of those classic USA designs.

Villa Topple Arsenal at the Death 😱

By Tommy Stewart

Aston Villa 2-1 Arsenal 🦁❤️

While David Raya has arguably been the league’s best (and most unchallenged) goalkeeper this season, there was little he could do to prevent a Matty Cash bullet from going straight through his legs in the 36th minute of this top-four clash. At the start of the second half, Declan Rice won the ball back in midfield, allowing Ødegaard and Saka to combine and set up super-sub Leandro Trossard for the equalizer. But in the final minute of injury time, chaos ensued in the Arsenal box, and the Emi they told Arsenal not to worry about, Emi Buendia, finally said “F*ck it,” hammering home the winner with the last kick of the game, and causing Villa Park’s decibel levels to match Black Sabbath’s emotional farewell gig earlier this year.

Arsenal’s Unwelcome Familiar Feeling 😅

This might only be Mikel Arteta’s side’s second loss of the season, their last one coming at the end of August against Liverpool, but it felt significant. Without the injured Gabriel or William Saliba to marshal the Gunners’ defense, they slept for the first goal, leaving Cash an ocean of space that would likely be occupied were one of the formidable duo fit. Arsenal have plenty of credit in the bank and the season is young, but with Pep on his apprentice’s tail, we’ve seen this movie many times before; only Arteta can change the script this time. 

Villa’s Low-Key Title Challenge 📈

Aston Villa didn’t score a single goal in their first three Premier League games this season, going winless in six, so to see them third and mounting a somewhat quiet title challenge is simply beautiful. Fans, players, and most importantly, manager Unai Emery, held their nerve through those early struggles, because of the faith they have in their benevolent dictator, who’s been a miracle-worker since he arrived in Birmingham three years ago. They’re now on a seven-match winning streak in all competitions, and their fans earnestly feel this haywire Premier League season could be the opportune moment to lift a first league title since 1981.

Liverpool Draw as Salah Speaks Out 🫨

Leeds 3-3 Liverpool

Although this fixture will be remembered for Mo Salah’s tell-all post-match interview that has set the football world aflame, unless you’re a Liverpool fan, there was also a brilliant football match played on Saturday. After a quiet first half, Liverpool’s top scorer this season, Hugo Ekitike, hit a quick-fire brace, putting the champions 2-0 up by the 50th minute. Arne Slot said Ibrahima Konaté is “too much at the crime scene” after he gave away a clumsy penalty 20 minutes later that was vengefully converted by former Evertonian, Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Shortly thereafter, German giant Anton Stach erupted Elland Road with the equalizer, but the Yorkshire faithful were soon silenced by a slick Szoboszlai finish on the counter attack. Leeds left it to the 96th minute to rescue a point after a scrappy corner led to Ao Tanaka’s euphoric equalizer and second goal of the week, adding cement to Liverpool’s spiraling existential crisis. 

More: A very good read — It’s Mohamed Salah vs. Liverpool, and nobody is coming out of it well.

Manchester City 3-0 Sunderland

Manchester City went uncannily direct against surging Sunderland on Saturday, beginning with Rúben Dias’ long-range rocket and continuing with Joško Gvardiol’s towering header from a corner minutes later, adding more evidence to the theory that English football’s had as much impact on Pep Guardiola as he’s had on it. Despite the scoreboard, Régis Le Bris’ side defended heroically at times, but City’s beguiling quality was too much. With his TikTok showreel of tricks, Rayan Cherki won both the assist and backhanded compliment of the year, setting up Phil Foden for his fifth in three matches with this perplexing rabona that Pep “never saw Messi” do. Despite their erratic blend of high-ceiling and low-ebb performances by their standards, after Arsenal’s slip against Villa, Pep and his compulsive winners are two points off the top and smelling blood.

Tottenham 2-0 Brentford

A lot has been made of the much-hyped Xavi Simons’ tepid start at Tottenham, but when his smart run freed him from Sepp van den Berg, allowing him to perfectly tee up Richarlison for the Brazilian’s sixth goal of the season, it felt like his (and Spurs’) day. Just before halftime, the young Dutch maestro took it upon himself to capture the momentum he’d created earlier on, lacerating Brentford’s defense before scoring to finally allow Spurs fans to believe the hype. Were it not for the acrobatics of Caoimhin Kelleher, it could have been a massacre, but that won’t matter to former Brentford manager Thomas Frank, who quelled the boos at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with only their fourth win there in 2025.

Elsewhere in the Premier League: Everton 3-0 Nottingham Forest, Newcastle 2-1 Burnley, Brighton 1-1 West Ham, Fulham 1-2 Crystal Palace, Chelsea 0-0 Bournemouth

Rog Breaks Down the World Cup Draw 🏆

Rog writes: We now know the fateful opening steps of the World Cup journeys for 48 nations who will hope to carve their paths across North America. We also learned other important things during Friday’s draw, like that Wayne Gretzky does not believe in rehearsals. Now that the smoke has cleared and Rio Ferdinand has stopped doing comedy bits, we can start digging into the big picture.

Friday’s draw was long — Ken Burns long —  the ultramarathon of draws, and we all got runner’s nipple along the way. Rory Smith said during our live show that the telecast itself could have been an email, but ultimately it was a reminder of the life truth that football is a mirror to the society that surrounds it. There’s one thing for sure: this is going to be a World Cup of extraness.

A Few Big Takeaways 👀

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England will play Croatia and Panama, as they did at different stages of 2018, but also a new World Cup foe in Ghana. Croatia is not the team you want to open with. 

🇫🇷 The closest to a classic "group of death" is probably Group I, as France were placed with that magical collective Senegal and Norway. Haaland vs. Mbappé on June 26 will be one of many excellent games to watch then, as that day is shaping up to be a World Cup all-timer.

🇦🇷 Talking about epic clashes, defending champions Argentina, with 63-year-old Lionel Messi fresh off fulfilling his childhood dream of winning the MLS Cup, received a kind draw with Algeria, Austria, and Jordan. But the “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?” prospect that they could play Portugal in the quarterfinals — Messi against Cristiano Ronaldo — might be the closest football has ever come to the “Zoolander” walk-off scene between Derek and Hansel.

The USMNT’s Path to Glory 🇺🇸

According to the Opta predictor, reigning Euros champs Spain are the favorites to win the World Cup at 17%. France are second at 14.1%, England are third at 11.8%, and the U.S. have just 0.9%, putting us firmly in “Are you telling me there's a chance?” territory. We will face the lowest-ranked side in Pot 2 in King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s Australia. We then take on Paraguay, who finished sixth out of 10 teams in CONMEBOL qualifying, and then a playoff team from Europe: Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo. This was pretty much the best-case scenario, a group of life. 

Mauricio Pochettino immediately dead-batted anything too optimistic, “To the people who say ‘you have to win’ before you even play — no, they shouldn’t say that… because in soccer you don’t win on the bus.” His answer is not surprising. At the same time, Poch will be very relieved, “We start to live the World Cup. Now it’s the vibes and everything. Now it’s like we are starting today.” USMNT supporters do have reason to be excited. We can dream, and think of stadia with a rare sight: American fans who are happy and expectant.

One More Great Team to Follow 🇭🇹

I am smitten with Haiti, the other team in the Scotland, Brazil and Morocco Group C party. What a story for Les Grenadiers, who are ranked 84th overall and ninth in CONCACAF. This is a once-in-a-lifetime tale of wonder as most Haitians weren’t even alive during their team’s last appearance in 1974. An incredible story amidst a humanitarian crisis in Haiti, this World Cup will be such a respite for a soccer-mad nation, and a win could be narrative-changing for the country as a whole.

For the full breakdown of next year’s World Cup draw and schedule, check out our recent Boston live show, featuring Noah Kahan, Sam Mewis, Rory Smith, James Horncastle, Zdeno Chára, Herc Gomez and Clint Dempsey.

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 🇪🇺

🇪🇸 La Liga: After a devastating 2-0 home loss to mid-table Celta Vigo that ended in a bloodied Jude Bellingham, two Real Madrid players seeing red, and 80,000 Madridistas booing their team and manager, Xabi Alonso is well and truly under the cosh as rumors of his imminent sacking grow. Rivals Barcelona are four points above them after an erratic 5-3 win at Real Betis, where Ferran Torres bagged a hat-trick, while Villarreal stayed in the title race with a 2-0 win against Getafe, and Atlético Madrid disappointingly lost 1-0 to Athletic Club.

🇮🇹 Serie A: Antonio Conte’s Napoli are back in what they feel is their natural habitat at the top of Serie A, beating Juventus and continuing their run as the only team in Europe’s big five leagues to not lose a home game in 2025. Inter Milan convincingly bullied Cesc Fabregas’ strong Como side in a 4-0 home victory that put them second, but AC Milan travel to Torino today (2:45 p.m. ET, Paramount+) with a chance to go back top, a prospect hindered by Christian Pulisic’s fever, which has prevented him from making the trip. 

🇩🇪 Bundesliga: In their southern derby with Stuttgart, Bayern Munich came out 5-0 victors and Harry Kane scored a casual 10th hat-trick for the Bavarian overlords, keeping them domestically undefeated and eight points above RB Leipzig in second. They did all they could, impressively beating Eintracht Frankfurt 6-0, while Borussia Dortmund defeated Hoffenheim 2-0.

Mid-Week Matches Worth Faking a Meeting for 📺

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

Ruben Amorim is too savvy to ignore the blanket of boos that suffocated Old Trafford after their drab draw against West Ham last Thursday. Yet, other than their recent five-match undefeated streak that ended in two draws, during his tenure, United have forgotten the meaning of momentum for the sake of a system. But if any opposition can near-guarantee three points, it’s Rob Edwards’ wretched Wolves. They’re dead bottom, winless and relegated in all but math, yet based on this erratic season, it somehow wouldn’t be surprising if Amorim’s United were to bottle the chance of going level on points with Chelsea in fifth.

Inter Milan vs. Liverpool (Tuesday, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🇮🇹🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

With everything happening in and around Liverpool right now, perhaps the UCL can offer the Reds some respite. However, their last European outing was a humiliating 4-1 home loss to PSV, so it must feel like the walls are closing in for Arne Slot who has left Mo Salah out of tomorrow’s squad. Although Christian Chivu’s Inter Milan recently lost 2-1 in a war with Atlético Madrid, they’re still fourth in the UCL table, second in Serie A and are led by goal-swilling Argentine, Lautaro Martínez. Given the choice, Slot would probably choose a match in hell over a trip to the San Siro right now.

Atalanta vs. Chelsea (Tuesday, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🇮🇹🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Like last season, just when you thought they were onto something, Enzo Maresca’s young Chelsea side slump, but in the UCL, they’re still riding high. Off the back of a demon-resting victory over old European adversaries Barcelona, the Blues are undefeated in four UCL matches and seventh in the table, three spots above tomorrow’s opposition, Atalanta. After the disaster of Gian Gasperini’s successor Ivan Jurić, the Bergamo club replaced him with younger model Raffaele Palladino three weeks ago, who’s won three of his five matches but fell 3-1 to Verona at the weekend.

Tottenham vs. Slavia Prague (Tuesday, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇨🇿

Slavia Prague are winless in the UCL but top of the Czech league, so they offer a perfect opportunity for Thomas Frank to continue fixing Tottenham Hotspurs’ broken home and build some momentum. Spurs are currently 16th in the Champions League table and have kept three consecutive clean sheets at home in Europe, while Slavia have never beaten the north Londoners and are without a goal in their last four in this competition.

Some Non-Football to Start the Week Off 📖

• Everything Is Television. Even Men in Blazers! Stream on Peacock!

• Loved this from the New York Times: How to Fix a Typewriter and Your Life.

• “Whichever line is the longest,” I said. “That's the line I belong in." Very Important People.

• How a Gen-Xer Became Timothée Chalamet’s Biggest—and Most Divisive—Fan. I wish any of this information was new to me, but alas. 

• Extremely cool! These Mobile Games Were Designed to Help Save Dying Aboriginal Language and Culture.

It’s MiB Trivia Time 🤔

This week’s question: After Erling Haaland scored his 100th Premier League goal against Fulham last week, we want to know who he scored his first goal against and who was the goalkeeper?

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

Last week’s winner: Congratulations to Michael Fry, who was the first to correctly identify that Marcos Alonso scored the winner the last time Chelsea beat Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in 2018’s 3-2 victory. Your patch is in the post, Michael. 🚚