What a weekend! One in which Set Piece FC outlasted Red Card FC and Arsenal brought their fans joy and made them sweat in equal measure. Manchester City turned out the lights at Elland Road, which is no mean feat. Liverpool had a set-piece orgy with the world watching. Manchester United made Carrick the co-most successful manager after nine games in Premier League history (the other was Big Ange though…). Everton won the Anthony Gordon Memorial derby and passed the 40-points relegation mark to boot! Not you, Tottenham Hotspur. The agony continues as they scream into the abyss… and hear the abyss scream back, “Igor Tudor… Really?” 🫨

ii. Watching Arsenal outlast Chelsea was nervy fare. More corners exchanged than in five seasons of “The Wire.” None of that matters. Arsenal are in win-by-any-means-necessary mode. More on all of it below. One note I was fascinated by about Arsenal: it was revealed this week that the Gunners have released over 50 new drops of retro gear over the past two years, driving total revenue to a record $930 million, with retail revenues soaring 27%. An incredible feat, but also one that reinforces the sense that football is becoming ever more about teams as “content platforms.” 💰

iii. And now, the weekend's best goals from around the world that you might've missed:

🇪🇸 This breathtaking finish from Lamine Yamal must be what it’s like for a defender when Wemby dunks from the free-throw line. Just unstoppable.

🇮🇹 The angle of this Francisco Conceição wondergoal for Juventus should be eligible for an Oscar. Holy crap, that is sensual!

🇪🇨 Meanwhile, in Ecuador, if you’ve ever imagined a Hail Mary on a football pitch, it probably looked like this. The chest control into the volley, stunning stuff.

iv. Quick word on my book, “WE ARE THE WORLD (CUP),” which comes out this week, on Tuesday, March 3, 100 days out from the World Cup. The world is a dark place. I hope this book is a small dose of joy and optimism for you. If you lived these World Cups, I hope it will trigger powerful, joyful memories of your own. If you did not, it will make you feel like you lived Maradona, Zidane, Messi and the rest, and appreciate the power of all that is coming. I am moved by the few thousand of you who have pre-ordered the book. I have sent you all signed stuff. If you have not bought it, please take a second to do so this week right here. I wrote it with love, and Lord knows the world needs more love right now. 🙏

v. JOBS ALERT: We have six open roles here at MiB across our social media, partnerships, creative strategy, and video production teams. We want to work with great people – join us. 🚨

vi. I will be in Houston this week live at a sold-out Rice University with JJ Watt on Wednesday night, then in Boston Saturday morning to film a live show with Brentford’s genius owner Matthew Benham at the Sloan Sports Data Conference. Come and say hello if you are there. 👋

vii. Also, ATLANTA! Join us March 27 as our country-wide countdown tour rolls into town for Soccer’s Coming Home: 76 Days Out LIVE, presented by Bank of America, the Official Bank of the FIFA World Cup 2026™. It’s going to be a magical night breaking down the massive summer that lies ahead of us. Get your tickets here. ✌️

Courage,
ROG

PS - This was by far the best thing I saw all weekend. Well played, Liverpool. Well played indeed. ♥️

By Tommy Stewart

Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea ♥️

Gabriel’s towering header was the ninth time this season Mikel Arteta’s men have gone 1-0 up via a corner, but for a while there yesterday, Liam Rosenior’s side said “hold my beer.” On the verge of half-time, Reece James whipped in a near-Olimpico that Piero Hincapié headed into his own net to stun the Emirates. Yesterday’s London derby was also a tale of two goalkeepers, and unsurprisingly David Raya came out on top, bravely battling Chelsea’s aerial offense with his flying fists. Robert Sánchez, however, drowned in a red sea, and he was nowhere to be seen when Jurrien Timber put the league leaders back on top with, you guessed it, another goal from a corner. Chelsea’s disciplinary woes have been handed over to Rosenior like a spam email, with Pedro Neto the latest to gut punch his own team with a red card and seal his side’s third loss to Arsenal in under two months.

Kings of the Corner 🚩

When Ernest Hemingway said, "We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master," he couldn’t foresee Arsenal’s climbing giants scoring from corners as naturally as breathing. Arteta’s set-piece coach Nicolas Jover has been prime meme fodder during the Gunners’ bridesmaid-era, but with their 16 goals from corners in the Premier League this season now the joint-most in the league’s history, Jover’s recruitment in 2021 seems visionary in hindsight. As Pep Guardiola and Sir Alex Ferguson have proved in the past, the league’s best manager tends to set its trends, and with Liverpool and Chelsea both parroting the corner methodology over the weekend, everyone is now playing catch up with Arteta. 

Rosenior’s Blues Still Seeing Red 🟥

Liam Rosenior’s calm tones and chill persona have failed to translate to his players on the pitch, who are on course to break all the wrong records. With seven red cards, Chelsea have received three more than anyone else in the Premier League this season and it’s also more than they’ve seen in one season in their own history. The last time a team picked up more was Queens Park Rangers in 2012, and Chelsea’s 10 in all competitions under two different managers shows it’s a problem that’s endemic within the squad.

Manchester United 2-1 Crystal Palace

Maxence Lacroix’s in-vogue header from a corner silenced a sunny Old Trafford within minutes yesterday, but his hero-to-villain narrative arc cast him as a footballing Walter White. Less than 10 minutes into the second half, and with his team leading, the French defender wrestled last-man Matheus Cunha to the ground, leading to a red card and an inevitably converted Bruno Fernandes penalty. United’s captain then turned provider for Air Šeško, who headed in his seventh goal in eight games and United’s 50th of the season, which looks pretty healthy compared to last season’s 44 in total. Michael Carrick remains undefeated as interim manager, with 19 of a possible 21 points heroically hoisting the Red Devils from seventh to third in just seven matches.

Leeds 0-1 Manchester City

A Saturday night out in Leeds can be dangerous for Mancunians, and while Pep Guardiola’s side spent a tense 40 minutes under the pump with zero shots, they ended up giving Noel Gallagher two reasons to celebrate this weekend. Had Dominic Calvert-Lewin finished a golden opportunity three minutes in, Arsenal’s revelry might be more fervent right now, but City’s serial winners are a steelier outfit than last season. On the brink of half-time, Antoine Semenyo slid in his sixth goal since arriving for $86 million from Bournemouth in January, pulling out a knee slide x air guitar celly that was part Harry Maguire, part Hollywood Hulk Hogan. Leeds goalkeeper Karl Darlow’s acrobatics kept the score respectable, and while Pep nonchalantly wore the “w****r” label from Leeds fans, Daniel Farke saw red for some wild objections towards the match officials post-match, proving the War of the Roses rages on.

Liverpool 5-2 West Ham

Like music or fashion, football’s trends are cyclical, and since Arsenal’s pioneering of adroitly-rehearsed set pieces, the rest of the league has had to follow suit. That’s never been more evident than at Anfield on Saturday, when all three of Liverpool’s first-half goals came from corners finished by Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister. West Ham fought back admirably in the second half, but the champions’ ruthless finishing suggests Arne Slot’s side are back in their flow state and ready for a strong run-in on the season’s home straight.

Fulham 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Not since Henry VIII has a Tudor had such a contentious start to his reign in charge of a British institution, but for Tottenham fans, Igor is giving him a run. Harry Wilson’s highlight-reel season continued with his ninth goal of the year coming from an emphatic early volley, but for once the goal of the day didn’t belong to him. In the weekend’s less glamorous London derby, he teed up Alex Iwobi who buried a lifeless Spurs before half-time with a rare sort of finish that’s more rewatchable than “Seinfeld.” Richarlison headed in his eighth league goal of the season, but other than that it was a meager response that keeps Igor Tudor’s side winless in the league in 2026.

Newcastle 2-3 Everton

I don't know what I liked best. The three points. Both strikers scoring. The resilience and tenacity to keep storming back. Or the joy of doing that Benedict Arnold, Anthony Gordon? Is it greedy to say all four? Everton’s away form is third best in the league. If only we had a shiny new fortress to play our home games in… 

The best moment of the day, though, was Jordan Pickford’s 94th minute win-preserving save o’wonder. The ball dropped out to Tonali on the edge of the area. He thumped the ball with a perfect body shape while delivering a murderous swipe on goal, through traffic, that Lil’ Picky would have seen late. He instinctively flung himself right and with the strongest wrists of a young onanist. Breathtaking. The reaction of denying Newcastle as a Sunderland fan. Pickford later called it his best-ever save. This was the moment we all recognized Jordan for what he is: a bona fide Everton club legend at the levels of iconic keeper Neville Southall. Rave on, you crazy diamond.

-ROG

Elsewhere in the Premier League: Wolves 2-0 Aston Villa, Bournemouth 1-1 Sunderland, Burnley 3-4 Brentford, Brighton 2-1 Nottingham Forest

🇪🇸 La Liga: A stunning, record-breaking Lamine Yamal hat-trick sunk Villarreal’s Yellow Submarine down to fourth place, giving Barcelona the luxury of four points of breathing room at the summit of La Liga ahead of Real Madrid’s clash against Getafe today. Atlético Madrid won late at Oviedo to go third, while fifth-placed Real Betis and Sevilla drew 2-2 in El Gran Derbi.

🇮🇹 Serie A: Inter Milan recovered from European humiliation with a 2-0 win against Genoa, which keeps them 10 points ahead of bigger brother AC Milan, who matched that score at Jamie Vardy’s Cremonese. After being substituted with the game at 0-0, Christian Pulisic stays on zero goal contributions in 2026, which is a concern for both Max Allegri and Mauricio Pochettino. In the battle for UCL spots, Roma and Juventus put on a 3-3 worldie-fest that included Donyell Malen’s sixth in seven since arriving in the Italian capital, goals Aston Villa are clearly missing.

🇩🇪 Bundesliga: And with that late 3-2 win in a Klassiker that truly lived up to its box-office billing, Bayern Munich probably confirmed their Bundesliga title retention. The 87th-minute siege in Borussia Dortmund’s own home puts Vincent Kompany’s side an exhausting 11 points ahead of their nearest rival in second, while Harry Kane’s brace takes him to an absurd 50 goals for club and country this season.

🇪🇸 La Liga: Real Madrid vs. Getafe (TODAY, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

The ball is back in Real Madrid’s court after Barcelona sent a violent message at the weekend, but Álvaro Arbeloa has one hand tied behind his back with injuries to Éder Militão, Dani Ceballos, Raúl Asencio, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé (yikes). A victory claws them back to within a point of Barca, but humble neighbors Getafe are masters of football’s dark arts and will try any trick to get under the skin of the glamorous Galácticos.

🇪🇸 Copa del Rey Semi-Final: Barcelona vs. Atlético Madrid - Agg. 0-4 (Tuesday, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Barcelona have unfathomably recovered a 4-0 first-leg deficit in a two-legged tie before, but surely such a preposterous miracle can’t repeat itself? They’ve won every game at the Spotify Camp Nou this season, but Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid side are rabid warriors with a point to prove and silverware in their sights. If Barca are to conquer Atléti and defend their Copa del Rey trophy, it’ll be without attacking focal point Robert Lewandowski, who checks notes fractured his left eye socket at the weekend.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Brighton vs. Arsenal (Wednesday, 2:30 p.m. ET, Peacock)

Arteta’s corner kings bring their touring aerobic circus 50 miles south to Fabian Hürzeler’s Brighton, who with two wins on the spin, seem to be out of their slump. These midweek booby traps against mid-table teams have been Arsenal’s undoing this season, and with Manchester City kicking off at the same time, it’s imperative the league leaders remain focused on what’s in front of them in order to stay on top. 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Man City vs. Nott’m Forest (Wednesday, 2:30 p.m. ET, Peacock)

Pep Guardiola’s staring menacingly into Mikel Arteta’s rearview mirror and he seems to be enjoying the thrill of the chase. After scraping through a tough battle over the Pennines on Saturday, Manchester City will dust themselves off quickly for the visit of Nottingham Forest, who are in a relegation street fight and are so far winless in the league under Vítor Pereira.

This week’s question: Which club has received the most red cards in the history of the Premier League?

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

Last week’s winner: Congratulations to Owen Booth, who was the first to correctly answer that Barcelona’s 6-5 comeback from 4-0 down against PSG in 2017 was the biggest-ever Champions League second-leg turnaround. Your patch is in the post, Owen.

🐦‍⬛ We’ll see you again on Thursday. In the meantime, keep sending your stories and questions to [email protected].

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