The most shocking result of the weekend has to be Manchester City’s 2-0 loss to Everton. Yup. They actually lost to Everton. I know what you’re thinking, How in the world did a team like Manchester City- a team that has players like Joe Hart and David Silva- lose to a team like Everton- a team that has….well, not that many well known players? Besides Tim Howard (USMNT keeper) but he’s currently injured.

The answer? I don’t even know. Sure, the league is already lost for City, but that doesn’t mean they should just give up and lose to teams like Everton.

Another surprising result was Liverpool’s 3-1 loss to Southampton. But then again, maybe that’s not so surprising, considering it is Liverpool. They do have a good team, Steve Gerrard and Luis Suarez are two of the best players, but they tend to win the difficult matches, while losing winnable matches.

Saturday’s results

On Sunday, Andre Villas-Boas’ Tottenham Hotspur suffered a defeat to Fulham.  They played at home (White Hart Lane), but unfortunately, they lost 1-0 thanks to a goal scored by former Spurs player- Dimitar Berbatov.

This was the Spurs’ second straight loss. They lost 4-1 to Inter Milan last week in Europa League, but were able to move on thanks to that away goal. With this loss and the Chelsea win, Spurs are now in 4th place.

Sunday’s results

Frank Lampard handed Chelsea the 2-0 win over Everton with a double.

Frank Lampard took responsibility for Chelsea’s fourth win in a row by scoring twice to win 2-1 at Everton today.  The 34-year -old England midfielder has been with the club since 2001 and has yet to be offered an extension to his contract ending in June.

Today’s win helps to keep the Blues in contention for the Premier League title race and also might give some hope the club will hold onto the seasoned Lampard.

On Saturday, Manchester United took their seventh win in eight matches thanks to star striker Robin van Persie.  His 90-minute shot, his League-leading 14th goal of the season, made the score 2-0 over West Brom.  United now have a seven-point lead in the standings going into 2013.

Arsenal dominated Newcastle 7-3 with help from a Theo Walcott hat trick.  The England national has refused to re-sign with the Gunners and there is speculation he will be sold in January.  In an attempt to change his mind, for the last few games, Arsene Wenger has allowed the winger to start as center striker, his requested position for many years.  He has been very effective, but is it too little too late will remain to be seen.

Manchester City squeaked out a 4-3 win over Norwich Saturday no thanks to Samir Nasri’s first half send off.  The thrilling match was a fight to the finish, but Edin Dzeko replaced the ill Carlos Tevez up front to score two plus the usual quality from Sergio Aguero helped City hold on to the lead.

Even after Sunderland beat Manchester City 1-0 last Wednesday, Tottenham managed a come-from-behind win over Sunderland in the 52nd minute thanks to a fine strike by England winger Aaron Lennon.

Other matches played over the weekend:

Stoke City 3 – 3 Southampton

Fulham 1 – 2 Swansea

Reading 1 – 0 West Ham United

Aston Villa 0 – 3 Wigan

QPR 0 – 3 Liverpool

Here at Aerys Soccer, we love to hear everyone’s opinion. Especially concerning our favorite feature, Midweek Muscles. So, naturally, when I was drawing a blank on who to feature in this week’s MWM, I turned to our Twitter followers for suggestions. And they didn’t disappoint!

Today’s lovely footballer was suggested to us by Twitter follower Danielle (@lilcap75)!!  Ladies and gents, let me introduce you to the fabulous, glorious, Australian  Tim Cahill.

This 32-year-old attacking midfielder was just snatched up by the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer. But before that, he was a staple for English Premier League side Everton. Do you need to know much more? Eh, not really. Just enjoy the picture goodness!

Check out Aussie Tim with his New York Red Bulls and don’t forget to follow the ladies of Aerys Soccer at @AerysSoccer for all your footy news, headlines and more!

You’ve got to love Mondays! Today’s big news revolved around transfers, possible transfers, talking of transfers … it’s a transferpalooza! And with summer winding down very quickly, it’s safe to say we might see more.

But for today, we’ve got Tim Cahill, Frank Lampard, Kaka and more! It’s your Monday Daily Kick Around!

Transfers

The biggest news today has got to be the afternoon announcement of Australian international and Everton star Tim Cahill getting the clear to transfer to the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer. This is pretty huge, considering Tim is a world-class player and a legend on the pitch! This statement from New York is pretty clear; they want the MLS Cup and they’re pulling out all the stops!

Could Frank Lampard join Cahill in Major League Soccer? Eh, he could in the future. While on tour with Chelsea in the states, the English star was asked if he would ever consider MLS, to which Frank replied  he wouldn’t “rule anything out.” Hmmm.

Maybe Real Madrid and Brazil wonder Kaka will consider MLS. Twitter was a buzz this morning with claims Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has basically asked Kaka to leave the Spanish giants. A google search for Mourinho and Kaka yields … well a lot of speculation. And what would the start of the La Liga season be without speculation about Kaka? Never the less, without the promise of a starting spot, could we see the Brazilian move in the closing transfer window?

Finally, Sir Alex Ferguson has never been shy about what players he wants for Manchester United. Recently he owned up to making a bid for Arsenal’s Robin van Persie. Today, he admitted the club is in talks with Sao Paulo midfielder Lucas Moura. This 19-year-old is in hot demand in Europe at the moment, so only time will tell where he goes!

Hey guys and gals! Happy Thursday to you! We’ve got some big headlines for you today. From Chicharito out of the Olympics, to goal-line technology reports and drama with Messi. It’s all here in your Thursday Daily Kick Around!

English Premier League

I don’t think anyone can say that Sir Alex Ferguson tends to get his way when it concerns his players. And it turns out Mexican International Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez is not exempt from this. In a battle with the Mexican Football Association, ol’ Fergie has won out and pulled Chicharito from the Olympic roster. Ferguson has stated Chica would only have 28 days of rest if he competes in the summer games before joining back with United in pre season. And as Chica has struggled in his second season at United, a good rest is probably needed.

If you think it’s tough staying in EPL, imagine trying to get back in it. That’s what USMNT international Jonathon Spector and his Birmingham City team attempted to do this week as they faced off with Blackpool. Unfortunately, Spector picked up an injury and Birmingham City lost.

Manchester City may be on the brink of winning their first EPL title in some odd years, but that hasn’t stopped the Blues midfielder Yaya Toure from talking about where he really would like to finish out his career, former club Barcelona.

Chelsea’s interim boss Roberto Di Matteo is probably on pins and needles right now as the club announce they haven’t picked him to be manager next season…. but they haven’t ruled him out either. Reports yesterday buzzed that Di Matteo had already been told he wouldn’t lead Chelsea next season. But club chief executive Ron Gourlay has dismissed those claims.

La Liga

A surprising claim about Barcelona wonderkin Messi came to light today. Many news sources were reporting today Everton winger Royston Drenthe has claimed Messi had used a racial slur against him several time when Drenthe played for Real Madrid and Hercules.

“We played against each other a lot, and we always had problems. You know what really bothers me? That tone with which he always called me ‘negro, negro’,” Drenthe stated in an interview with Dutch magazine Helden.

I hope it’s not true, but unfortunately there is a lot of racism in football across the world.

Major League Soccer

Houston Dynamo fans are buzzing! The official opening and first home match in their new stadium, BBVA Compass Stadium, is this weekend! Today is the soft opening for season ticket holders. If you’ve seen any of the photos the team’s twitter account have been putting out, you probably agree how beautiful it is. This is a huge step for MLS and the Dynamo! Congrats!

Midweek game results:
New York 1 – Houston 0
Seattle 2 – Dallas 0
Chicago 0 – Real Salt Lake 0

Finally today, the discussion of goal-line technology is coming to a head, my friends! Equipment has been tested and July 2, International Football Association Board will convene to make a huge decision – will FIFA approve the use of goal-line tech?

It’s Wednesday! That means only a couple more days until the weekend.  Get a boost to your day and get your soccer news highlights here to help you over the mid-week hump and on the downhill slide towards Friday.  Besides John Terry’s nutmegs – PLURAL -  check out why Chelsea may not play in Champions League next season, which super hot players (in ability and looks) want to make a move to the EPL and another big gambling scandal for the Italians. Just enjoy the sport piasanos!

English Premier League

Just over a week ago, Chelsea beat Liverpool to win the FA Cup. Yesterday the Reds and Blues met again and this time Liverpool prevailed.  The loss means that Chelsea can only qualify for next year’s Champions League if they win this year’s tournament when they play Bayern Munich next week.  Fat chance of that happening if Chelsea continue to play as they did yesterday.  Their disgraceful defending was led by their captain, John Terry, who was nutmegged three times in the first half, twice by Suarez.  I can’t’ tell you how happy it makes me to write things like “John Terry nutmegged”! Within nine minutes, Liverpool netted three times thanks to Jordan Henderson, Daniel Egger and an own goal by Michael Essien. The  half ended at 4 – 0, with a final score of 4 – 1.  The Blues stay in sixth place and Liverpool move to eighth, a single point behind their Merseyside rivals, Everton in seventh.

A bidding war may be taking place over the 21-year old Lille midfielder Eden Hazard.  Hazard says he likes both Red and Blue, Manchester United and City, that is.  Hazard has been a coveted purchase since last summer, and a move to the EPL for next season looks promising.

Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen fancies a move to the EPL as well.  He seems to have his sights on Tottenham, although rumors were abound that his top choice was Arsenal.  The Belgium international hopes that with one year left on his contract, Ajax do not price him out of range so he can make the move.

La Liga

Barcelona defender Carles Puyol is set to miss the Euro 2012 due to knee surgery that will keep him out for six weeks.

Serie A

The Italian football federation, known as FIGC, will place 22 clubs and 61 people under investigation in the latest match-fixing and betting scandal to mar the national sport.

Championship League

Hey Leeds United fans, want a little more at your stadium? You might just get it! Sources are reporting Elland Road could feature a casino in the future, which adds to Leeds United’s ambitions of a hotel as well. Man, clubs are getting creative to bring in the dough, aren’t they?

Ciaran Clark plays hero not villain as he opens up the scoring for Villa

Tottenham Hotspurs had so much riding on this match today, but so did Aston Villa.  A single point from the final 1 – 1 score will give each a lift, but Tottenham needed more.

Coming into the match, Villa were only three points clear of the drop so any points gained today would help distance them further from relegation.  The West Midlands team had only won one of their last 14 league matches and have been winless against Tottenham since 2008.

In addition to today’s well-earned point, the Claret and Blue also got a little help from their local West Midland rivals, West Brom.  Albion also earned a draw today when they met up with Bolton, leaving Villa virtually safe from relegation. Even without next week’s results, the Villans have such a superior goal differential, they will most likely remain in the top flight for another season.

As for the Spurs, they are not fighting to remain in the premiership.  Their goal all season has been to qualify for Champions League for the first time in their club’s history. They have shown good form this season and spent most of it in third place.  They would have preferred a win today, but manager Harry Redknapp seemed content with the single point.

Spurs were down one nil at the interval and then early in the second half went down a man as Danny Rose was given a red card.  But Spurs held on and Emmanuel Adebayor made no mistake from the spot after Sandro was brought down by Richard Dunne. All tied up at the hour mark, the 10-man team began to look for a win.  But Villa continued with their impressive defending and clung on to the well-deserved draw.

The North London side is now tied with Arsenal while Newcastle is a point behind after losing to Manchester City earlier in the day. It will all come down to next week, the final week of the season.  Newcastle will play Everton away, Arsenal travel to West Brom and Tottenham host Fulham.

For additional information about Champions League qualifications and the teams fighting for those positions, yesterday’s Arsenal v Norwich City match report can explain the significance of at least the EPL’s third and fourth place positions for this season.

Did you know that more Americans are watching top international soccer matches than ever before?  Yes, it WAS rhetorical and also not surprising to football fanatics like us, but it’s good for those less passionate or informed Americans to know – so spread the word!   Besides that remarkable data, today’s Daily Kick Around is chock-full of soccer news for your mid-week fix.  Headlines include Fabrice Muamba’s return to Reebok Stadium, a new head coach named for England and so much more.  Get over your Wednesday hump and read on for the exciting soccer news of the day.

English Premier League

A warm welcome back to Fabrice Muamba, who will attend his first Premier League event since his cardiac arrest occurred March 17.  The Bolton midfielder has made a remarkably quick recovery but is uncertain about his football career at this time.  We’ve missed you!

EPL Results

Liverpool 0 – 1 Fulham

Stoke City 1 – 1 Everton

Everton fans were hoping for a win last night, but a single point is still satisfying considering Liverpool lost to Fulham on the same night.  Everton is currently in seventh place, only three points above their Merseyside rivals with only two weeks left in the season.  Everton may well finish above the 18-time champions for the first time.  Dig it out to the end Toffees!

Today’s EPL Fixtures

Chelsea v New Castle United

Bolton v Tottenham

The Football Association made a surprising announcement today.  They named West Brom manager Gary Hodgeson as the new manager for England on a four-year contract.  Most people predicted Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp would get the job, but the FA insisted Hodgeson was their first choice.

This year, more US television viewers tuned in to the highest level of football than last year.  Both Champions League semi-final matches and Monday’s Manchester Derby averaged over a million viewers, up 29% from 2011.  American’s have been a bit slow to embrace the sport with the same passion as the rest of the world, but this is a good sign in the right direction.

Serie A

Last night’s win over Palermo puts Napoli firmly into the third place position in the Italian league and gives them the final Champions League berth.  Their 2-0 victory broke a four-way tie and gives them the opportunity to return to Europe’s top competition next season after a stellar performance this year.

La Liga Results

Getafe 1 – 1 Santander

Granada 2 – 1 Espanyol

Gijon 2 – 3 Villareal

Tonight’s La Liga Fixtures

Atletico v Sociedad

Barcelona v Malaga

Mallorca v Vallecana

Zaragoza v Levante

Sevilla v Betis

A Bilbao v Real Madrid

Valencia v Osasuna

Wayne Rooney introduces his palm to his face after Manchester United blew a 4-2 lead against Everton on Sunday.

One of the first posts I ever wrote for Aerys was an homage to a baseball blog I love, You Can’t Predict Baseball. Every day, YCPB runs through the craziness that happens in baseball, which, judging by the success of the blog, is plentiful.

Unpredictability is one of the aspects of sports that makes it so exciting to watch, and soccer is not immune. From El Clasico to Old Trafford, and throughout MLS, this weekend has been a clinic in unpredictable and crazy moments throughout the soccer world. So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, I give you today’s Daily Kick Around: You Can’t Predict Soccer Edition.

 La Liga

Let’s start with El Clasico. Yes, yes, our own Tamara Rinehart actually predicted the final score of the heavyweight Real Madrid-Barcelona matchup. But most didn’t. Real Madrid had not defeated Barca since May 7, 2008 — nearly four years! Since then, Barcelona had outscored them 20-4. I repeat: TWENTY TO FOUR. Not to mention, it was Barcelona’s first loss at home this season. So how did the inevitable Liga champs do it? Tamara has the full recap.

English Premier League

Manchester United had a chance to seal the Premier League title today at Old Trafford with a defeat over Everton, and it looked to be a pretty predictable outcome when they went up 4-2 in the 67th minute. Everton hadn’t won at Manchester United in 20 years, and their last draw came 6 years ago. In 18 matches before today, Everton’s record against MUFC was 0-15-3. Then Everton scored two goals in the final 7 minutes to force a draw, and keep Manchester City within striking distance – only 6 points behind United. Everton are only the third team to score 4 or more at Old Trafford.

Major League Soccer

Eastern Conference leaders, Sporting KC, were riding a perfect record coming into Saturday’s match against the woeful Portland Timbers. Portland was on a four game losing streak. Kansas City was on a seven game winning streak. So how did Portland hand KC their first loss of the season, and hold them scoreless? Well, KC did it to themselves – with an own goal. Ouch.

Two MLS matches yesterday saw a team handed two red cards, left to finish the match with nine men. Real Salt Lake nearly hung on, as their match against the San Jose Earthquakes was still 1-1 at 90 minutes, but RSL allowed two goals in stoppage time to hand the Quakes the Western Conference lead. Simon Dawkins scored the go-ahead goal for San Jose, his first goal of the season. RSL held an 8-0 scoring advantage over the Quakes in their last 4 meetings prior to this match.

Chivas USA, however, couldn’t take advantage of their 2-man advantage over the Philadelphia Union, falling 1-0. This was their fourth consecutive 1-0 defeat at home.

Chicago Fire won a game! Then again, it was over Toronto FC, who managed two goals but remain winless on the season. Now with two wins this season, the Fire may soon have more wins than the Cubs.

Follow @AerysSoccer on Twitter and check back here throughout the day for more commentary around this crazy soccer weekend. 

Happy Thursday! Can you believe it’s almost the weekend? We’ve got a bunch of headlines for you today, from how the 2014 WC is already plugging into social media, to EPL results, an MLS player back in training after a huge injury and Olympic qualifiers tonight! It’s your Daily Kick Around!

World Cup 2014

So, World Cup won’t be kicking off for at least two more years (yeah, we are a little anxious too), but that hasn’t stopped FIFA from going ahead and starting the hype early on the Internet. The soccer governing body announced yesterday the WC will have it’s own Youtube channel for highlights and clips, and last week, Brazil’s national tourism board released a mobile phone game app to help those visiting the country become familiar with the 12 host cities. Have to say, that’s a pretty awesome idea.

English Premier League

Carlos Tevez is back, in case you weren’t aware. The … ahem… troublesome Argentinian striker was subbed on yesterday in City’s match against Chelsea. He bagged an assist and helped MCFC come back from a goal deficit. I’m sure City fans are excited, but one has to wonder how long the peace will last…

Speaking of troublesome City players, club manager Roberto Mancini had no problem admitting to why he pulled striker Mario Balotelli off at half time yesterday:

“I didn’t like how he played, so I made a tactical sub.”

Can say I blame him – the first half of that game was boring at best, and Balotelli missed a great goal opportunity from a gifted mistake from Chelsea’s Frank Lampard.

If you missed the Arsenal game yesterday, in which the Gunners defeated Everton and moved up into third place in the league, our own Toni Stone has a great look at the game for you! 

Wednesday EPL results

Manchester City 2 – Chelsea 1
Tottenham 1 – Stoke City 1
Everton 0 – Arsenal 1
QPR 3 – Liverpool 2

Fabrice Muamba

Doctors yesterday released startling info that Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba was dead for 78 minutes before being revived.

Mohiddin admitted Muamba’s progress had been extraordinary since he suffered a cardiac arrest at Tottenham on Saturday evening that meant he effectively died for 78 minutes after his heart stopped beating.

With news like that, it really is a miracle Fabrice is alive and making a great recovery. We wish you all the best, Fabrice, and we’ll continue to keep you all updated on his progress.

Major League Soccer

MLS on NBC had another great broadcast week last weekend as teams continued to host their home opening matches, with 145,000 fans watching Philly and Colorado. Fans and hopeful analysts alike are expecting the trend to continue. I certainly hope it does as well!

Tottenham Hotspurs announced today they would be going on a U.S. tour this summer. The EPL side will take on L.A. Galaxy July 24 and the New York Red Bulls on July 31.

Whether you are a fan or not, here is some good news: Colorado Rapids player Conor Casey trained with the team for the first time after he suffered a bad Achilles injury. Reports were that he looked pretty aggressive, but still needed work to get up to match fitness. Congrats, Conor!

USMNT

In case you weren’t aware, the USMNT U-23s will take on Cuba tonight in the first of their summer Olympic qualifying matches in Nashville. Personally, I’m expecting a great run out of the young team, with notables like Freddy Adu and Brek Shea heading up head coach Caleb Porter’s squad.

Speaking of Brek Shea, he was our pick for Midweek Muslces yesterday. Check it out!

Not everything has been smooth for the U-23s has they prepare for the qualifying run. Injuries and players being recalled to their clubs have left Porter and his staff scrambling for replacements. The last minute move to call up the likes of Union defender Sheanon Williams has left a bad taste in coach Peter Nowak’s mouth.

La Liga

Did you think Real Madrid had the La Liga title locked up? Well, you might want to rethink that. Real dropped two points last weekend to Villarreal and with Barca’s commanding finish against Granada, Real might need to start thinking about digging their heels in more to keep their lead.

Serie A

Juventus winger Milos Krasic will be looking to bow out of the Italian side this summer, as he admitted recently he regretted not leaving Juve in the January transfer window. He’s only made four starts for the Italians this season. In January, Tottenham and Zenit made bids for Krasic, but he turned them down he said, hoping to get another chance at his club.