Luis Suarez makes a shameless gesture in celebration of his “wrist” ball.

Today, the third round of the FA Cup included two very different matches.  Arsenal and Swansea, both English Premier League teams, exhibited a Spanish “beautiful game” style of play.  Liverpool vs. Mansfield Town was a frustrating show-down between an EPL giant and a 5th level league team.

The FA Cup is the only realistic option for Arsenal to win a trophy.  The club are desperate to win something this season considering the former league leader hasn’t won a trophy in almost eight years.  Today’s draw with Swansea means another match-up against the Swans, which is not exactly an ideal path to trophy territory for the Gunners.

Spotty and inconsistent throughout the season, Arsenal morale has been suffering and there is much work to do. The absence of Robin van Persie has been sharply felt, especially considering he has been acting as the savior of Manchester United, keeping them at the top of the league almost single-handedly.

The second match of the day between Liverpool and Mansfield Town was a much more exciting and controversial game.  Everything about the Mansfield host team and town screamed underdog.  The former mining town residents, hit hard by the economy, showed the same undying football passion as their players.  One couldn’t help but support them.

Being part of a fifth level team means the Mansfield players all have full time jobs that aren’t part of football.  They are like a glorified rec team which advanced to the third level of the Cup to face one of the most decorated clubs in English football.  And they could have tied or even won.

Even though the Reds scored first, it was the second goal, a contentious goal, that should have taken the life out of the hosts.  Luis Suarez’s blatant hand-ball, leading to a second goal, was pure injustice. The fact that after the goal, the striker had the nerve to kiss his wrist should get the player fined or even banned in my opinion. It was the third Liverpool handball that hasn’t been called, but somehow the Stags didn’t lose their resolve.

Down two goals, Mansfield finally got one back late in the second half.  I believe they had enough fight and determination to carry them through to the fourth round, had it been a fair match.  But such is the life of football.  It is difficult to watch games like these, yet the final score was 1-2 and Liverpool advanced.

With the return of EPL, that means more of our “honorary American”, everyone’s favorite British play-by-play man for ESPN.

It’s a monster Saturday for soccer, with the English Premier League back in action. There are a few noticeable changes both on the pitch and the sidelines from last year. Andre Villa-Boas now leads the Hotspurs as they’ll try to pay back Chelsea for knocking them out of the Champions League. Both Fulham and Arsenal are missing their leading scorers from last season, with Clint Dempsey still refusing to play for Fulham and Robin van Persie completing the transfer from Arsenal to Manchester United. Aside from personell changes, what are the key questions facing each club this season? Ian Darke, of course, has the answers. This and more in today’s Daily Kick Around.

English Premier League

Before we get to Saturday results, let’s look at the key questions for each club this season, courtesy of America’s favorite English soccer announcer, Ian Darke, for the newly branded “ESPN FC”. Darke’s first question was how Arsenal would fare without leading striker Robin van Persie, and after their season-opening match vs Sunderland, the question still remains, as the home team “enjoyed plenty of possession but lacked a killer instinct in the final third.” Fulham, on the other hand, had no trouble scoring without Clint Dempsey, drilling Norwich City 5-0 in their home opener. Manchester United fans can breathe a little easier, after the club rejected a transfer of Chicharito to Chelsea. Andre Villa-Boas was sacked at Chelsea last season before the club made a miraculous comeback to claim the Champions League title, bouncing the fourth-place Tottenham Hotspurs out of Champions League contention for this season. Now Villa-Boas, head coach at Tottenham, aims for payback as he will try to get the club back into the top four. He’ll have to do better than today’s result, however. The Spurs fell to Newcastle United, 2-1. Swansea City shocked QPR 5-0 at Loftus Road. QPR had hoped that many of their new additions would make an impact to help dig them out of last season’s basement, but it was Swansea’s new face, Miguel Perez Cuesta, aka “Michu,” who made the biggest impact with two goals to lead the Swans to the win. Liverpool hoped to make a statement in their opener as they attempt to return to the top of the tables, but it didn’t go as planned, as they fell 3-0 to West Brom, losing defender Daniel Agger to a red card in the 58th minute.

Major League Soccer

The Cascadia Clash is back, as Seattle takes on Vancouver this afternoon, but the Whitecaps will be without Barry Robson, suspended for “aggravated dissent” in Wednesday’s loss to FC Dallas.

Columbus Crew’s new DP, Argentina’s Federico Higuain, could be on the pitch for tomorrow’s match against the Houston Dynamo:

Warzycha said Higuain’s role will be fluid, but emphasized that the Argentine would be deployed in familiar positions where he can find space and time on the ball. One of the players likely to be feeding Higuain, midfielder Milovan Mirosevic, said he is anxious to get their partnership off the group and suspects it won’t take long for the pair to click, just as he and [Jairo] Arrieta have done.

Follow us on @AerysSoccer for more EPL and MLS commentary and reactions this weekend!

Okay, I hope you guys are feeling great today. After a crazy race to the airport in Baltimore, I’m back after the USMNT game yesterday and there are tons of headlines to report! The English National Team have bad news, Liverpool get their man and Barcelona and Real Madrid might actually agree to share something.

And after you read the headlines, don’t forget to head over and check out this week’s Midweek Muscles post featuring David Luiz!

Here’s the Thursday Daily Kick Around!

USMNT

Fed Ex Stadium was rocking last night as the USMNT took on Brazil. Being there in person was crazy and I have to say I enjoyed pretty much all of it – except the U.S.’ loss to the Brazilians, 4-1. U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann basically said after the game that from a learning stand point, it was a great game for the U.S. And I agree . Look for a post from me soon on what I saw not only in the game, but in the open U.S. practice I attended two days before the match.

Euros 2012

As if the England National team didn’t have enough on their plates, today they were hit with the news they would have to head into the tournament without Frank Lampard. Apparently the Chelsea man picked up a thigh injury in practice and is out for the June competition. Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson is coming in as his replacement.

English Premier League

Speaking of Liverpool, seems like a new manager has been pulled into the Reds. A deal has been reached between Liverpool and Swansea City for manager Brendan Rodgers. ESPN is reporting Rodgers will be “paraded around Friday” during an official announcement.

I don’t think anyone thinks EPL teams don’t spend beyond their means and provide players massive ego boosts in the way of pounds. That was confirmed when reports were released to show that EPL wages have gone up £201 million in the 2010-11 season! That’s crazy!

La Liga

Here’s something that might surprise you. Real Madrid and Barcelona are thinking about sharing something – TV rights that is. In hopes to make La Liga more competitive, Barca and Mardid have said they are open to negotiating TV rights. They own the most of any other clubs in the league, which means more of their games are broadcasted and they get more money. More money means bigger players, etc, etc. The hope is that if the wealth is shared, other teams will use the money to get better and the league will grow.

Everyone is trying to sign Porto player Hulk, and it seems Real Madrid are adding their hat to the pile, competing with the likes of EPL side Chelsea. Not only that, but free agent Didier Drogba is showing interest is hooking up with Madrid. Summer transfers are going to be interesting guys! UPDATE – ESPN is now reporting Chelsea will sign Hulk for an estimated 38 million!!

Major League Soccer

Yikes, eight – EIGHT- MLS clubs were knocked out this week in U.S. Open Cup play. Sporting Kansas City, DC United, San Jose, Philly, New York, Chivas USA and Colorado remain standing after the carnage Tuesday night, and Seattle joined them Wednesday. Congrats to all the winning teams though! Makes the US Open Cup interesting this year!

Whew, what a crazy couple of days! Eden Hazard has officially made a choice on an EPL team, there’s been a few other signings, England has an official Euro roster and hell, Liverpool might even have a manager! We’ve got the headlines in today’s Daily Kick Around.

English Premier League

Welp, Eden Hazard’s had everyone hanging around wondering what he was going to. Many have expected him to head toward Manchester United or City. But he’s snubbed them both and declared today via Twitter that he’ll head to Chelsea. Hmmm.

Man United aren’t sitting back on their heels though. Some reports from Germany are claiming the Red Devils are closing to signing Japan midfielder Shinji Kagawa.

Many have questioned the future of Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie. Rumors have swirled that he would follow in the footsteps of others like Cesc Fabregas and Nasri, and head out of Arsenal. But fans have a huge fighter in their corner. RVP’s wife Bouchra has urged her husband to repay the loyalty and faith of the club and fans and stay in London. 

So, Sky Sports reported May 12 that Swansea City manager Brendan Rodgers turned down an approach from Liverpool about filling the  position left after the Reds sacked Kenny Dalglish. However, on their twitter account this morning, Sky Sports said to watch out for more details about Rodgers being the “odds-on favorite” for the job.

La Liga

La Liga are doing their own signings too. Atletico Madrid announced on their club Web site that Porto’s  Cristian Rodriguez, who’s contract with the Portuguese side expires next month.

Mexico midfielder Andres Guardado also has a new contract in Spain. Top club Valencia announced yesterday they would sign Guardado to a four-year deal. This is a great opportunity for the young player!

Serie A

Oh dear, the match-fixing scandals in Italy are out of control it seems. Yesterday, news broke that Lazio captain Stefano Mauri was implicated in the investigation and would miss the Euros. Juventus coach Antonio Conte is also being questioned in the proceedings. Yikes!

England National Team

New Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson announced his final 23-man squad for the Euros today. Some are surprised as Liverpool’s Andy Carroll was handed the coveted No. 9 shirt.

U.S. Men’s National Team

So, Clint Dempsey didn’t get a start against Scotland as he was nursing a groin injury. However, sources  - including myself, as I was at the USMNT open practice held at the University of Maryland yesterday – confirm that Dempsey has been training with the team. But it’s pretty clear he’s not quite to full strength. And even Clint says that he’s not ready to face off with Brazil.  Kind of disappointing news for the fans here in DC. But I personally would rather have him full strength for the World Cup qualifying matches coming up.

Major League Soccer

Okay, I got to brag a little bit. The Columbus Crew’s Emilio Renteria was huge this week in team’s wins against Seattle and Chicago. This earned him a top spot in MLS’ top three performers of Week 12. Check it out here! 

It’s a late night DKA tonight friends! We’ve got a few big headlines to share that you might have missed today. And they’re from all over! Here’s your Friday Daily Kick Around!

Serie A

There’s a lot of rumors that go around concerning transfers. But one you might not be entirely aware of deals with USMNT midfielder Michael Bradley. Mikey B has always been one of those players whose talents tend to get over looked. He’s been working his butt off and it seems that finally. Talk is that Italian super club Inter Milan are looking to make a huge offer to the American International. Way to go Mikey!

Major League Soccer

It’s always good to hear about European teams coming to tour America and play with MLS teams, but this year, it seems like there are tons! You can now add Swansea City to the list as it was announced today the EPL team would take on the Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes this summer.

English Premier League

The season is just now winding down, but many clubs are looking to next season as they start to release pictures of their new kits. Liverpool have been among them. But while the Reds new kits look sharp, the design has set off a bit of controversy with many Hillsborough families.

Women’s Professional Soccer

Finally, there may be some hope on the front of professional women’s soccer in America. The United Soccer Leagues are alluding to possibly starting their own professional league for women called W-PRO. If they can get it started and a strong following, this could be amazing.

It was a huge win today for Queens Park Rangers and could be pivotal when it comes to their battle against the drop.  They faced Champions League-chasing Arsenal at Loftus Road a week after a surprising victory over struggling Liverpool last weekend.

Apart from a few minutes of life coming from Arsenal in each half, QPR were the better side and truly deserved the win.

QPR pressed and attacked from the start.  They took the lead in the first half when Adel Tarrabt turned and finished making it 1-0.

Arsenal equalized soon after.  Theo Walcott’s initial shot bounced off the post but he followed it up with composure by tapping the rebound home.

Arsenal didn’t look themselves, especially considering they have been on a winning streak lately, recently overtaking Tottenham for 3rd place.  They had a tough time navigating the ball effectively and looked sloppy overall.

The home side were effective in shutting down Arsenal by using their physical attributes to great effect on both offense and defense.  Bobby Zamora, with whom the Gunners were in talks with over the summer, caused the most interference.  I’m sure the North London side were wishing that purchase would have come to fruition after today.

The final goal came after Samba Diakite took a pass from Jamie Mackie.  Diakite took a shot that got past Wojceich Szczesny after central defender Thomas Vermaelen slipped on the pitch.  The score was 2-1 QPR.

The Gunners never looked like a real threat after while QPR continued to press.  Arsenal only managed to keep their deficit from growing by what looked to be last-ditch efforts from the squad.

Today Arsenal were outplayed and QPR were the better team giving a great performance. They will be relishing in this victory for quite some time.

Arsenal has now lost ground in their race for the Champions League spot but remain three points ahead of Tottenham.  Tottenham host 10th place Swansea City tomorrow, which Arsenal fans (namely me) will be watching closely.

Stay with Aerys Soccer for all your EPL coverage!

It’s a pretty somber day today in the footy world. With the news of Bolton’s Muamba, there has been little else taking the forefront, which only proves that when something as tragic as this happens, teams and fans also come together in support. We do have a few headlines from the EPL for you today, in case you missed the match ups, and what’s happened in MLS. Here’s your Saturday Daily Kick Around.

FA Cup

If you haven’t heard about the tragic collapse of Bolton’s Fabrice Muamba during the FA Cup game again Tottenham, our own Dana Wagner has been keeping an eye on the story with great updates. So far the news is that he is in critical condition after collapsing during today’s match. The ladies of Aerys Soccer send our thoughts and prayers to him and his family and hope he fights through this unfortunate event.

English Premier League

Welp, both Manchester teams are not only out of the Champion’s League, but they are out of the Europa competition as well. As everyone begins the question the strength of English teams in world competition, Manchester United and City know that their one redeeming chance this year is the Premier League title.

Speaking of City, with the arrival of Carlos Tevez back in the ranks, everyone is wondering what will happen now with the Argentinian. Former City striker Rodney Marsh’s suggestion is to keep Tevez out of the first team line up.

“I wouldn’t bring him back because he is so volatile, because there are so many negatives around him which reflect on the football club and the team.”

If you missed the two matches held today in the EPL, Swansea City had a killer match against Fulham, notching three goals and keeping a clean sheet for the win. Wigan and West Brom also faced off, but ended the match in a tie.

Major League Soccer

Expansion team Montreal Impact had something to prove today as they hosted their home opener against Chicago Fire today. It was a record crowd, drawing out more than 58,000 fans for the game. It was pretty heated and definitely worth it for the fans that attended, but the Fire were able to hold the new team to a 1-1 tie. I have to say, I’m loving the fact that these opening games for MLS 2012 are getting record numbers. Always great to see the game grow in the US!

There are still matches carrying on right now, and even more tomorrow. If you want to catch the late night games, at 10 p.m. ET, Real Salt Lake and our Midweek Muscles pick Chris Wingert will take on New York  and Seattle and Toronto FC will face off. Even later, at 10:30 ET, you can watch Chivas USA and Vancouver take to the pitch. Tomorrow’s game schedule can be viewed here, and keep with Aerys Soccer for your round up of the MLS weekend!

Real Salt Lake defeated L.A. Galaxy 3-1 in the Galaxy's home opener. Photo courtesy of mlssoccer.com

Three words, ladies and gentlemen: MLS is baaaack! It feels like ages since the L.A. Galaxy hoisted that cup in November but now spring is in the air and that means MLS is here.

In today’s MLS First Kick Hangover DKA, we see the three of Saturday’s matches through the eyes of Kayla, Elizabeth and Trista, plus other fan perspectives. Day One may have spelled loss for a few of our favorite teams but there’s a whole season ahead so we’re just going to grab a bloody mary this morning, shake it off and look at the positives, as we have a a whole new season to look forward to.

Also, what’s slowing down Brazil’s preparation for the 2014 World Cup? Who got Mario Balotelli to open up about all the rumors swirling around him? And how is WPS Rookie of the Year Christen Press faring with her new club in Sweden? Read on.

 Major League Soccer

Kayla Knapp was at the Galaxy’s home opener against Real Salt Lake and offers her own perspective to L.A.’s first home loss since 2010 by a score of 3-1, where they allowed all three RSL goals in the last 15 minutes. One early-season loss is not what Kayla’s most worried about with the Galaxy, though.

So what went wrong for the Galaxy in those final minutes? Fatigue, according to Bruce Arena:

“We were obviously a tired team tonight, I thought we still could have won this game and I think that this loss is on me. It’s my fault, I think I should have used fresher bodies,” Arena told reporters after the match. “We hit the wall and made mistakes that are attributed to fatigue. I think that the travel and two games this week added up to being a pretty tired team over the last 24 minutes and it cost us the game. I take full responsibility for that.”

Moving along in other MLS first day action, 2012 expansion team Montreal Impact dropped their first match to fellow Canadian club Vancouver Whitecaps and Trista Lutgring offers a positive spin on her Columbus Crew’s opening loss to the Colorado Rapids.

Is there anything better than being on Twitter during a live match? Maybe only being at the game itself. Personally, I love feeding off of others’ reactions — explosions of cheering at a goal, sarcastic commentary when something is going wrong. It’s like having a bar filled with your favorite people in your living room. If you love running Twitter commentary, don’t miss The Bent Musket’s “recap” of the Revolution-Earthquakes opener: The Match in Tweets: Revolution 0-1 Earthquakes.

Finally, have you joined Women United FC yet? It’s a new community for female MLS fans, co-founded by our very own Kayla Knapp. Check out their blog, join the group for your favorite MLS club and contribute to this amazing new community of fans!

Keep tuned into Aerys Soccer for more on today’s MLS First Kick matches.

English Premier League

Manchester City suddenly finds themselves looking up in the EPL standings as they were knocked off the top rung of the ladder in a 1-0 defeat to Swansea City with an 83′ goal from Luke Moore. For Swansea, the win most likely keeps them in the EPL for another season.

Mario Balotelli hates the media and avoids interviews. So how to get information on him that doesn’t have a 99% chance of being made up? When the lead singer of one of his favorite bands is the one conducting the interview. Balotelli recently opened up to Oasis’ Noel Gallagher for BBC’s Football Focus, putting a rest to several myths in the lore of Balotelli.

FIFA

Things aren’t going so smoothly in Brazil’s preparation to host the 2014 World Cup. FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke caused a stir when he proclaimed that “Brazil needed a kick up the backside to speed up preparations for the tournament.” Valcke later offered a backtracking apology and Sepp Blatter had to step in to apologize as well. So what are the issues that are slowing down preparation? Could it be stadium infrastructure? Nope. One of the culprits, my friends, is beer.

Women’s Professional Soccer

When news spread in late January about WPS folding for the 2012 season, one of the biggest concerns was where some of the non-USWNT players would go for the season. The window for transfers into European leagues was closing the following day, nearly impossible for any of the players to have hope of playing abroad. However, WPS Rookie of the Year Christen Press, who thought she was going from magicJack to the Atlanta Beat for the season, was able to sign with Sweden’s Göteborg FC. Now, Press is chronicling her first season in Sweden on a blog for Stanford University women’s soccer, her alma mater. In her first two posts, Press tells us about an early “bonehead move” and  tips for a rookie to survive in Sweden, including “Try to avoid using a Spanish accent when speaking Swedish…Espanswenglish?!”

Enjoy today’s full slate of matches, and don’t forget to follow Aerys Soccer on Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest for more coverage of your favorite leagues!

At the start of the day, Manchester United sat just two points behind Manchester City in the EPL table. Today was an opportunity to pull ahead, or at least level, with City. But United would need a huge favor from Swansea City.

The Red Devils took it to West Brom early and often, with constant attacks on net. A goal was inevitable, a matter of when and not if.

That goal came from none other than Wayne Rooney, when he flicked in a cross in the 35th minute. It was a great finish, and more importantly, an early lead for United. City was still scoreless against Swansea, leaving the door open for the Red Devils to gain ground in the standings.

Still, West Brom had a few chances of their own, especially in the second half. David de Gea has looked more comfortable as of late, and made a couple of excellent saves to keep a clean sheet.

Patrice Evra was lucky to not concede a penalty in the second half after taking down Peter Odemwingie in the box. Then, not long after, Ashley Young was tripped up in the box, and a penalty rewarded. Rooney converted with ease, giving United a comfortable 2-0 lead in the 71st minute.

After that, the Red Devils were in cruise control, dominating possession and keeping West Brom from any real chances. Around the 85th minute of the match, a roar ripped around Old Trafford as it was announced that Swansea had scored on City, taking a late 1-0 lead. As long as the scorelines held, United would jump ahead of City to sole possession of the number one spot.

And guess what? At the final whistle in both matches, it was United with the win and City a loss. For the first time since October 15th, the Red Devils are at the top of the table at the end of a round of matches. It’s going to be a tight race to the finish line!

Stay with Aerys Soccer for all your EPL coverage!

Photo courtesy of Sporting Life

Swansea revel in victory over Arsenal.

Swansea City have developed their own reputation for a similar and equally attractive style of play.  Today, Swansea were able to play their game, which usually belongs to the Gunners, and snatch three points with a 3-2 win.

In their first top flight season since 1982-83, Swansea City gave a remarkable performance.  The Swans made about 100 more passes than Arsenal and dominated possession.  Plain and simple, the South Wales club outplayed Arsenal offensively and held strong defensively.

Within four minutes of the start, Robin van Persie, back from a break last weekend, made a welcome return.  The Dutchman put the Gunners ahead with a ferocious finish at close range and gave him his 18th goal of the season.

Swansea winger Scott Sinclair evened things up eleven minutes later from the penalty spot.  Nathan Dyer was already taking a stumble as Aaron Ramsey’s foot got caught in the fall.  It was a questionable decision, but the ref awarded a foul in the box, making it 1-1.

In the 57th minute, Nathan Dyer involved himself once again. The forward put his home side in front with a venomous strike from the edge of the area, making it 2-1.

Arsenal winger Theo Walcott equalized in the 69th minute but the Swans came back immediately when Danny Graham took advantage of some slack defending to hit a 70th-minute winner.

Three deserved points were awarded to Swansea after beating the Gunners 3-2.  This win gave Swansea their third of three matches in 2012, putting them in the number ten spot in the standings.  The loss leaves Arsenal four points behind fourth place Chelsea.

Queens Park Rangers 0 – Newcastle United 1

In the first match of the morning, Queens Park Rangers traveled to Sports Direct Arena to take on Newcastle United. The only goal of the match came in the 37th minute when Newcastle’s Leon Best found the back of the net, assisted by Ryan Taylor.

Despite QPR having lots of shots on goal, the Rangers just couldn’t seem to finish any of them. A total of nine shots on goal, but none
found the back of the net. The Rangers desperation for a goal showed; they also played a scrappy match, with four QPR players receiving yellow cards.

The loss was not the result bottom-dwelling QPR was hoping to get, as they struggle to stay out of the relegation zone. The win pulls
Newcastle even on points with Arsenal, as both teams sit just outside of the top four teams on the league table

Stick with Aerys Soccer for all your EPL coverage this season!