Hail GFOP!

Rog writes: I type from Liverpool, early Monday morning, after a four-day whirlwind rush-filming across Britain, which took in my first-ever matchday at quasi-fortress Hill Dickinson, experiencing Crystal Palace’s first-ever European night at home, the sizzling wonder of a Wrexham away day, and a morning in the company of Jordan Pickford. We capped it off with a late-night in-person taping with Rory Smith, which was the perfect way to end the weekend. More on all of that to come.

This week we have so much content I am really proud of: a phenomenal interview with Jordan Pickford on Tuesday, the magical Steve Parish on Thursday, and the reborn Ruben Amorim on Saturday. Send us your questions for Big Ruben here. 📺

ii. The footballing result of the weekend was Arsenal. The 1-0 scoreline via set piece was perhaps the most predictable result, but nonetheless sweeter for Gooners, for whom the biggest results of week nine happened at the Gtech and Villa Park. Of course, the Premier League scriptwriters could not resist ensuring the only goal fell to once-Palace hero Eberechi Eze in his first game back against the Eagles. The finish was one that would make Mr. Miyagi proud, a stunning piece of body control born of improvised muscle memory. And somewhere, NBA MVP Joel Embiid rejoices.

I had filmed with Palace chairman Steve Parish for a fascinating episode of our Running the Game series, which takes you inside the boardroom with football's brightest minds, and had the chance to ask him about what such a scenario might feel like. His answer was beautiful, because Eberechi is such a remarkable human being at his core. 🦅

iii. I am increasingly convinced, Liverpool losing is becoming either a comedy bit or some mad rope-a-dope strategy. The pressure is ratcheting up on Arne Slot, who had complained about Manchester United’s missionary-position long-ball styling which undid his team last weekend. Losing in the same way against an impressively organized Brentford was akin to seeing a rake on the floor then walking onto it anyway. The big question I discussed with Rory when we taped last night live together in Liverpool was: Are Slot’s tactics the problem or are the players just not delivering? Or, can two things be true? 🔮

iv. My favorite two late goals of the weekend: Sunderland’s young Chemsdine Talbi charging forward to finish like a smooth criminal after Brian Brobbey’s forever hold-up play undid Chelsea at the death. I also adored Bryan Mbeumo’s back-breaker against tenacious Brighton – come for the ruthless finish by a striker hellbent on every United fan getting their haircut, but stick around for the stunning vision of Bruno with the dummy. 🚀

v. Right now, the Premier League may be the pillar of global democracy. This season is so thrilling. Every team has been inconsistent and vulnerable apart from relentless Arsenal and the stealth-ferocious Golden War Cherries, who slapped Sean Dyche’s Nottingham Forest (this olimpico was the 12th goal Forest have conceded from a corner this season!). I admire Bournemouth so much — pound for pound, the best club in the league. And knowing their fans, they probably enjoyed singing this to Dyche as much as anything. 🍒

vi. Did I ruin it for Everton? Undefeated at Hill Dickinson until I rock up like Jonah in the whale? The Blues’ performance was frustratingly blunt. We have transcendent wingers but a gaping hole up top, and poor Beto’s lack of confidence is contagious as players gave up the chance to shoot, shuffling the ball around the edge of the box in a dominant, but sterile second half. Spurs’ performances on the road are proper Thomas Frank-ball: defending robustly and maximizing the opportunity to score off set pieces and on the break. The darkness of last week’s insipid home defeat to Villa has been replaced by soaring Tottenham ebullience. That their team are this erratic yet third place is the greatest symbol of the wide-open nature of this top-four race.

The Hill Dickinson though is an exquisite palace of football. The most UnEverton thing that ever Evertoned. A must-visit, sci-fi, state-of-the-art visual wonder, as if the Millennium Falcon had been washed up from the River Mersey and landed on Liverpool’s shore. I met so many GFOPs, both English and American, and savored the sense of wonder about the place. The touches of the old docklands, and the deeply thoughtful artwork celebrating Everton’s history weave together to tell two powerful stories: Of the past, of a truly great city and a once-dominant club fusing to build a bold new future for Everton Football Club. I can’t wait to be back to make so many more memories, and could not encourage readers enough to go there this season and sample this place of wonder with your own eyes.

Well played, Dan Meis, well played. What you have dreamed up is stunning, and transformational for the club, for the city and for the world. 💙

vii. 🚨 Save the dates, NYC and Boston! We have some VERY big nights ahead of us in NYC on Dec. 5 and Boston on Dec. 6. You won’t want to miss these. 🗽☘️

To better days ahead.

Courage,
Rog

MiB HQ Bulletin Board 📣

Liverpool Lose Their Fourth PL Game in a Row 🫠

By Tommy Stewart

Brentford 3-2 Liverpool 🐝❤️

Brentford’s record signing, Dango Ouattara, started the party early on Saturday against champions Liverpool, who should have been resurgent after a 5-1 win in the Champions League, midweek. The acrobatic finish was the result of another lethal long throw from Michael Kayode at the Gtech, proving that like death, you cannot prevent it even though you know it’s coming. Arne Slot’s side looked buried on the verge of halftime as Kevin Schade kept his cool, finishing one-on-one against Giorgi Mamardashvili, but Milos Kerkez gave Liverpool a lifeline in first-half stoppage time after some sloppy Brentford defending. The rest of the game became a tale of two fouls, as Mo Salah went studs up on Schade, but narrowly avoided a red card, before Virgil van Dijk clumsily committed a foul just inside his own box, giving Brentford a penalty that was dispatched by Igor Thiago for his sixth goal of the campaign. Salah scored a late consolation, which was his first in open play since the first night of the season, but his former teammates Jordan Henderson and Caoimhín Kelleher may have played their way off his Instagram close-friends list with their big win.

Liverpool’s Lack of Leadership? 🫠

After the champions’ fourth-consecutive Premier League defeat, Slot said, “I don't know if this will be seen as an excuse, but from the last six games we played it's been five away.” That’s not the sort of blameless and avoidant rhetoric Liverpool fans are accustomed to from a man whose stoicism has impressed since he arrived in England. Slot spent approximately $565 million overhauling his squad this summer and it’s hard to look beyond the manager when it comes to finding reasons for their capitulation. There seems to be a mentality virus amongst his squad, and although Alisson’s presence is a massive miss, his deputy, Mamardashvili, has played well in his absence. Salah seems tired, Big Virg suddenly looks human, and the champions are now seven points behind Arsenal, so this might officially be crisis time at Anfield.

Brentford: Giant Killers 📈

It was always going to be a near-impossible task to replace Thomas Frank at Brentford, but former set-piece coach Keith Andrews now firmly has his feet under the table. The Bees have won three of their last four league matches and are leading the field in the Premier League’s latest set-piece trend, long throws. Not only does he already have wins over both Manchester United and Liverpool, but his side are up to 11th, and considering his first-ever season as a senior manager is in the most watched league in the world, Andrews’ appointment is looking smarter by the game.

Meanwhile, Man United Might Be Good Now 📈 

Manchester United 4-2 Brighton

Somehow before Saturday at Old Trafford, Matheus Cunha hadn’t yet scored for Manchester United, so when he shaped one into the bottom corner from outside the box, the pile-on was worthy. Casemiro assisted him and embraced Cunha like a proud dad before deservedly adding the team’s second 10 minutes later, allowing supporters to, for once, enjoy half-time beers that weren’t seasoned with tears. Bryan Mbeumo continued his Anfield momentum with a slick finish after the break, before Danny Welbeck scored his customary goal against his former club via a wonderful free kick that the oddly consistent Senne Lammens could do little to stop. Brighton made bums squeaky by bringing it back to 3-2 in injury time, but the mark of difference in Ruben Amorim’s side right now is their ability to respond. Mbeumo finished emphatically for his second with a no-touch assist from Bruno Fernandes, who is visibly enjoying not having to do absolutely everything to rescue his side. Whisper it, but they might be back.

Chelsea 1-2 Sunderland

Alejandro Garnacho’s first Chelsea goal came within four minutes on Saturday, and for a moment, it felt like the world champions might remind Régis Le Bris’ Sunderland that they’re at the adults table now. But midway through the first half, Wilson Isidor scrambled one in during the aftermath of a very in-vogue long throw. He’s taken to the Premier League quickly, with that the 25-year-old French forward’s fourth goal this season, sending the Wearside support wild in the away end. Enzo Maresca’s side replied with vague threats as the second half became a war of attrition, but with too many men gambled forward, the Black Cats pounced in injury time via a long ball, some Brian Brobbey hold up play, and a cool finish from substitute, Chemsdine Talbi. For one beautiful Saturday evening, Sunderland were second in the Premier League, making the 4 a.m. wake-up call, warm early morning beers and 287.5-mile journey all worth it for their fans.

Aston Villa 1-0 Manchester City

As he did with his pass of the season contender against Spurs last weekend, Matty Cash produced another moment of wonder when he drilled a left-footed rocket past Gianluigi Donnarumma in the first half at Villa Park yesterday. City had their chances, although Erling Haaland may have been preoccupied with his new YouTube channel as he shuddered and passed the ball almost straight to Emi Martinez when through on goal, and later crashed into the posts for an offside goal. Pep Guardiola has conquered all in football, but his compatriot’s Aston Villa continues to be a perpetual headache for the Spaniard. Unai Emery’s side didn’t win and couldn’t score in their first six games this season, raising concerns that his impenetrable bubble had finally burst, but with his side now eighth after four league dubs on the bounce, Emery is once again having very good evenings.

Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace

Eberechi Eze’s first Premier League goal for Arsenal had to be against Crystal Palace, and of course he paid homage to his former club with a respectful refusal to celebrate following his inventive improv volley that came after, you guessed it, an Arsenal set piece. If “1-0 to the Arsenal” is the mantra, Mikel Areteta’s side are clearly understanding the assignment, with this their second-consecutive Premier League win to the tune of that scoreline, putting them four points above checks notes Bournemouth in second.

Elsewhere in the Premier League: Newcastle 2-1 Fulham, Leeds 2-1 West Ham, Wolves 2-3 Burnley, Bournemouth 2-0 Nottingham Forest, Everton 0-3 Tottenham

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: Thomas Tuchel will have enjoyed yesterday’s El Clásico because between Marcus Rashford and Jude Bellingham, an English player contributed in each goal of Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Barcelona. The Birmingham boy who’s spent most of this season on the sidelines assisted Kylian Mbappé for the opener before Barca replied via a Fermín López finish from a smart Rashford assist. Bellingham went on to score a simple winner, but his talismanic performance echoed the Galáctico levels he hit in his first season at the club and helped put his side five points ahead of their rivals in La Liga.

🇮🇹 Serie A: Despite Napoli losing two of their last five Serie A games and the midfield combo of Scott McTominay and Kevin De Bruyne, who injured himself while taking a penalty, looking worryingly unbalanced, they beat Scudetto rivals Inter 3-1 to put themselves top of Serie A. AC Milan turned what could have been a catastrophic 2-1 home defeat to 19th-placed Pisa into a late 2-2 draw to drop to third, while Roma leapfrogged them to go second and level on points with Napoli after a 1-0 win at Sassuolo. Juventus are eighth, winless in eight and on their worst run of form for 16 years, all of which contributed to them sacking manager Igor Tudor this morning.

More: KDB likely out until ‘26 after thigh injury

🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Somewhere in Munich, Harry Kane is clenching his fist like that Arthur GIF, knowing that for the first time in a long time, he didn’t score but Mbappé did. To be fair, he was playing as a quasi-quarterback again in his team’s 3-0 away win at Borussia Mönchengladbach that put his side’s Bundesliga goal tally to 30 for the season. RB Leipzig enjoyed their own offensive monsoon as six different scorers helped them to a 6-0 win at Augsburg to keep themselves competitive, five points behind Bayern.

Mid-Week Matches Worth Faking a Meeting for 📺

Real Betis vs. Atletico Madrid (TODAY, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN+) 🇪🇸

Not only is this a battle between two huge clubs to climb closer to Real Madrid and Barca in the upper echelons of the table, but it’s also a fashion show between managers: the track-suited wonder, Manuel Pellegrini, and the man in black, Diego Simeone. These two are level on points in La Liga, so if there’s a winner they’ll jump to fourth, but the impetus will be on Atleti, who will be licking their wounds after a 4-0 humbling in the Champions League against Arsenal last week.

Wrexham vs. Cardiff (Tuesday, 4 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Although 138 miles separate two of Wales’ biggest clubs, this is still, in everything but geographical proximity, a huge derby. It’s been 21 years since they met in a competitive match, and even though it’s the EFL Cup that has reunited them as they passed like ships in the night between leagues, this will be more bumping into your old arch rival than a happy high school reunion. It’s a battle for Welsh culture, it’s north vs. south, it’s Reynolds and Mac vs. Vincent Tan and so much more.

More: A Welsh rivalry, but is Wrexham vs. Cardiff a derby?

Atalanta vs. AC Milan (Tuesday, 3:45 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🇮🇹

Under Ivan Jurić, Atalanta have become the antithesis of what they were with fun grandpa at the wedding, Gian Gasperini, drawing their last four Serie A matches, but perhaps a bit of calm is what’s required against AC Milan. Max Allegri has transformed this team of vagabonds and veterans, introducing discipline and defensive responsibility, but after a near-loss on Saturday, they are still susceptible to some of their old bad habits. Either that, or they just really miss top-scorer Christian Pulisic, who’s out for another couple of weeks with a low-grade hamstring tear.

Liverpool vs. Crystal Palace (Wednesday, 3:45 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Somehow, Liverpool probably need this EFL Cup win more than Crystal Palace do right now, and Arne Slot’s side will be thirsty for revenge against the team who triggered their losing streak. While Oliver Glasner can’t boast the depth that a Premier League-winning gold card can buy you, his tightly-knit team have an appetite for silverware following last season’s FA Cup win and their Community Shield victory over this same Liverpool side.

Some Non-Football to Start the Week Off 📖

• The King of Comedy Writers (and the best cameo in “One Battle After Another”!)

• Did my seven-year-old self write this? The Kid Is All Right: In Defense of Picky Eating.

• Utter filth: How Much Dirtier Can the Dirty Martini Get? 

• Another incredible read from “The Atavist”: I’ve Gone to Look for America.

• The Ultimate Pilgrimage for the Middle-Aged Skateboarder. This is high on the list of human achievements. 

• Our very own Tommy Stewart’s band Church Party released a new album on Friday. Listen to it here in all its glory.

It’s MiB Trivia Time 🤔

This week’s question: Who is the top goalscorer in El Clásico history?

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

Last week’s winner: Congratulations to Kevin Martin, who was the first to correctly identify that Louis van Gaal was the last Manchester United manager before Ruben Amorim to win at Anfield. Your patch is in the post, Kevin. 🚚

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